Football

With the Cowboys and Colts losing today, it’s officially the end of the football season for me. Not only will hours of my life be saved in the following weekends, hours weren’t wasted today since I spent the whole weekend in the hospital working. I thought I’d rattle off my favorite football movies.

North Dallas Forty (1979) – Based on the novel by former Dallas Cowboys receiver Peter Gent, this stars Nick Nolte as a veteran football tight end who’s struggling with the ever-changing and unpredictable world of pro sports. It’s perhaps a little too one-sided where Nolte can do no wrong and the coaches (including G.D. Spradlin- Senator Geary in Godfather II) are pure evil - hell-bent on winning at the risk of the athletes’ health. And Nolte’s love interest annoys, but it’s still smart, well-acted, and fascinating. Bonus points for having Sugarhill Gang’s “Rappers’ Delight” at the party scene. (Click below for more)

Jerry Maguire (1996) – More of a sports’ agent movie, I suppose. But football is used well, especially football’s frightening potential to suddenly end careers, lives, and families. Tom Cruise has only been better once (Frank TJ Mackey) and is fun here, shoplifting Renee Zellweger’s pooty. Great script by Cameron Crowe with numerous memorable and quotable lines. Like North Dallas Forty, it’s a great behind-the-scenes look. The Longest Yard (1974) – not the crappy Adam Sandler remake. This one has Burt Reynolds in the lead playing the incarcerated ex pro football star. He's forced by the warden to play fixed football games against the prison guards to win the warden extra money and prepare his team for another league. Reynolds has rarely been better. It's easy to see why he was the #1 box office star of the 70s after watching this. Favorite scene: Reynolds throwing at the groin.Friday Night Lights (2004) – The movie is inaccurate (Odessa Permian’s last game in 1988 was not the championship game but only a semifinal), but the emotions and motivations are true. This is my favorite Billy Bob Thornton performance. Even Tim McGraw is impressive, placing his ring on his son's finger at the end of the game. Favorite scene: I've seen a milllion "halftime" scenes, but Billy Bob talking about being “perfect” is the very best.Guilty Pleasure: The Best of Times (1986) – Robin Williams dropped the ball Kurt Russell threw to him in their last high school game. 20 years later, they try to redo the game. Williams panders, still searching for his persona. Russell is overly earnest – it’s like they’re in 2 different movies. If it’s so bad, how come I can quote so much of it?

Special mention: The musical score (by Jerry Goldsmith) of Rudy (1993) – near the top of the list for great scores in mediocre movies. Hey, that gives me an idea for another post.