Can Ryan Reynolds bail out a struggling soccer team? 'Welcome to Wrexham' finds out

Maybe “Ted Lasso” has spoiled American audiences for soccer forever.

Casual fans, at least. And make that “football,” not “soccer.” Sorry for the ugly American act.

One good thing about “Ted Lasso,” and there are many things, is that, like all great sports shows and movies, it’s not strictly about sports. (Binge “Friday Night Lights” — the TV series — and you’ll see what I mean.)

So when a documentary series like “Welcome to Wrexham” comes along, even though it’s real life, comparisons are inevitable. You keep waiting for the folksy, down-home words of wisdom from the fish-out-of-water coach. Which is unfair (and not forthcoming), but what can you do?

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“Welcome to Wrexham” follows the journey of Ryan Reynolds, movie star, and Rob McElhenney, TV star, in their pursuit to buy and restore to glory the Wrexham Red Dragons, the third-oldest football team in the world — but one that, like the town it’s based in, has fallen on hard times.

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You know the Premier League? Top of the rung competition? This isn't that. In fact, Wrexham has fallen to the ignominy of being a fifth-tier team — professional football but barely.

It’s not 100% clear why Reynolds and McElhenney want to buy the team and restore it to glory. A certain Emmy-magnet TV series can’t have hurt. (The words “Ted” and “Lasso” are not mentioned in the first four episodes, but a lot of the establishing shots certainly evoke the Apple TV+ series — the small town, the idyllic pub, etc.)

But the pair come at it from different angles.

McElhenney is from Philadelphia and a raving Philadelphia Eagles fan (is there any other kind?). He is the impetus behind the purchase. He’s best known for “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia,” but as he observes, he’s got TV money. He needs someone with movie money. He needs someone with liquor money. He needs Ryan Reynolds.

The two had never met in person before agreeing to try to buy the team. But they’re both engaging, funny, curious, ambitious — and rich. The town approves overwhelmingly and there is immediately a lot of hope for improvement.

Then the team plays a match.

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This is when real-life intrudes. It’s going to be a tough road back to respectability — which is what the series is really about. And it’s better when it is about that, the players and the townspeople sharing excitement and apprehension — the agony of a red card, the fear of what the future holds with new owners who won’t stand pat, the increased attention — rocky transitions make for good TV.

Reynolds and McElhenney aren’t distractions; the series wouldn’t exist without them. But their fretting over the cost of new turf for the pitch at Racecourse Ground, the world’s oldest stadium that still hosts international games, is less compelling, especially when McElhenney is talking from inside his fabulous LA home.

Reynolds and McElhenney are charming, but the stakes aren't high

It’s a tricky situation. It’s tempting to say that the producers, of which Reynolds and McElhenney are two, should recede from the spotlight altogether. A superior documentary like “Dark Horse,” about a small town in Wales that breeds a racehorse, has no stars at all; the story is enough. (The documentary was the inspiration for the later feature film “Dream Horse.”)

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But of course without an infusion of Hollywood money, there is no story, just a downtrodden team piddling along. It’s Reynolds and McElhenney who are paying for better players, a better manager, stadium improvements and priceless publicity (though some of the latter just comes with the territory).

And it’s not as if Reynolds' and McElhenney’s bits aren’t entertaining. McElhenney is the true believer, living and dying on every goal as he wakes up at 4 a.m. to watch matches on TV. Reynolds comes off more like the famous guy who’s in it for fun. It’s not that he doesn’t care about the success of the team. He just doesn’t seem to agonize over it like McElhenney.

Besides, if it fails, it’s not like Reynolds and McElhenney are going to go belly up. The stakes for Wrexham are a lot higher.

For viewers, the stakes are middling. "Welcome to Wrexham" is intriguing enough to watch, but not enough to convert the audience into fanatics.

'Welcome to Wrexham'

10 p.m. Wednesday, Aug. 24 on FX. Episodes stream the next day on Hulu.

Reach Goodykoontz at bill.goodykoontz@arizonarepublic.com. Facebook: facebook.com/GoodyOnFilm. Twitter: @goodyk. Subscribe to the weekly movies newsletter.

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This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: 'Welcome to Wrexham' review: Ryan Reynolds, Rob McElhenney try soccer