Entertaining enough but overrated

Rating: 6/10 (31 May 2020)

Considering all the critical gushing that surrounded this movie back in 2017, it is possible that I came in with too high expectations, but I found I, TONYA disappointing in almost every category. Reviews would have you believe this is a pitch-black satire of media circuses and class privilege, but it's just your standard Oscarbait biopic, paying lip service to its themes while never really exploring them in an interesting way.
Of all the actors, Allison Janey came off the best as the mother from hell. Maybe a bit one-note, but generally entertaining. I enjoy Margot Robbie as an actress and she does credible work here, though there are a few scenes where you can tell she's self-consciously swinging for that coveted Oscar gold rather than inhabiting a character. The other actors are pretty good, though they never really feel "real" to me-- considering the whole "unreliable narrator" schtick the movie insists it has going on, this might be the point (people exaggerating events and behavior in retelling a story), but even in the "mockumentary" sections, the acting felt off.
The movie fires on all cylinders when it's doing its best Coen Brothers imitation. The dark comedy generally works, especially in regards to the criminal antics of Shawn, Tonya's hapless bodyguard. However, the dramatic scenes work less so and feel like they're from another movie altogether. These scenes are more conventional, hitting the usual "biopic" beats we've seen hundreds of times in other movies. Even the unreliable narrator conceit falls apart: the movie is pretty firm in its ideas regarding what the "truth" of the situation is, even if the Harding character claims there is no such thing as the ultimate truth.
It's funny-- I saw this movie just last night and my opinion of it plummets the more I think about it. Another case where I like what the movie is trying to do more than its execution of those ideas.