The Dogg Pound (5/4/06) - My Favorite Sports Movies

Dr. Giganto

Sports Moderator

Sports and movies seem like they were made for each other. There is so much inherent drama that it seems that you can never run out of plotlines for a movie. You can have an underdog fighting the odds to make it, the drama of a heavyweight boxing match, an atheltes' fall from grace, or feuding teammates putting their difference aside to work together and be successful. And that's only the tip of the iceberg. I've watched a lot of sports movies in my time, and I thought I would take time out to write about some of my favoties.

Major League: This is the prototypical "misfits band together to become winners" movie. The premise is simple, the new owner of the Cleveland Indians plans to use a clause in the team's lease with the city that would allow her to move the team to Miami if they finish in last place. As a result, she fills the roster with an unknown pitcher who just got out of jail (played by Charlie Sheen), an old washed-up catcher (Tom Berenger), a voodoo priest (Dennis Haysbert a.k.a. President Palmer from 24), a prima donna who refuses to play defense (Corbin Bernsen), and a speedy no-name who pops the ball up every at bat (Wesley Snipes).

Naturally, the players get wind of the owner's plot and they figure there's only one solution. In the words of Tom Berenger's character, they have to "win the whole fucking thing".

This movie is brilliantly written and acted (other fine performances include Rene Russo as Berenger's love interest, and Milwaukee Brewers announcer Bob Uecker as the Indians radio announcer), with many memorable characters, and hysterical lines that you can repeat to your friends over and over and over again.

Rudy: This story pretty much sums up the Rudy experience. A few weeks ago, my girlfriend and I were spending a Sunday afternoon together, and Rudy was on t.v. It's towards the end, and they go to commercial and they say, "Stay tuned, for the conclusion of Rudy, on Tearjerker Sunday on TNT". My girlfriend says to me, "What the hell, this movie isn't a tearjerker!" She then looks over at me, and there are tears flowing from my face like Niagara Falls.

Basically, if you're a man, and you don't cry while watching this movie, you're not a real man.

It is the true story of Daniel "Rudy" Ruettiger, a young man (played by Sean Astin) whose dream in life is to play football for Notre Dame. There are two problems, however. He's too small to receive a scholarship to play there, and he doesn't have the grades to get into the school on his own. He then enrolls at a local, affiliated school, and works his butt off so he can finally get into Notre Dame. He then tries out for the football team, and although he's not nearly good enough to play, the coaches love his work ethic and determination, and put him on the practice squad. He is then allowed to suit up for the last game of his senior year, fulfilling his dream of playing football for Notre Dame.

Other stars in this movie include Charles S. Dutton, Jon Favreau, Vince Vaughn, and Ned Beatty.

Any Given Sunday: The first thing you may notice about this movie is the ensemble cast, which includes Jamie Foxx, Al Pacino, Cameron Diaz, James Woods, Matthew Modine, Charlton Heston, Dennis Quaid, LL Cool J, Lauren Holly, Elizabeth Berkley, and many others. Also, stars such notable football figures as Lawrence Taylor, Johnny Unitas, Jim Brown, Jerry Jones and Terrell Owens.

The plot revolves around one season of the fictional Miami Sharks, and the conflicts that arise when charismatic 3rd-string QB Willie Beaman (played by Jamie Foxx) becomes the starter after injuries to the top two QBs. He doesn't see eye-to-eye with the traditionalist coach, played by Al Pacino, but he has the support of the owner (Cameron Diaz). Through all the chaos, they end up making the playoffs, and beforehand, Pacino makes one of my favorite speeches ever in a movie. It's worth watching just to see this inspirational masterpeice of a monologue.

With a cast like this, it's obvious that the acting is fantastic, and the football scenes are hard-hitting and intense (although there is one scene in the directors cut that is so over-the-top it's ridiculous...you'll know it when you see it). This is definitely one of my favorite films.

White Men Can't Jump: This is the film that inspired me to write this article, after seeing it for about the 20th time this weekend.

It stars Wesley Snipes as a trash-talking street basketball player in L.A. trying to raise enough money to move his family out of the ghetto, and Woody Harrelson as the "hustler" from the Midwest trying to win enough money to help his girlfriend (Rosie Perez) pay back some money that she owes to some unsavory gentelmen.

There are three things that make this movie work. First and foremostis the chemistry between Snipes and Harrelson. They both play their parts very well, and the interaction between the two is priceless.

The second thing that makes the movie work is the clever dialogue, especially in the basketball trash-talking scenes. The dialogue is witty and really gives you a feel for the atmosphere of playground basketball.

And lastly, the athletic scenes themselves are well-choreographed and flow nicely.

All in all, this a quality sports movie.

Raging Bull: This gritty black and white film is the true story of Jake LaMotta (played by Robert DeNiro), who rose up the boxing ranks, and then fell hard. The boxing scenes are vivid and intense, and DeNiro really captures the transofrmation of a talented young man with the world in front of him to a fat, over-the-hill caricature of his former self. This is not only one of the best sports movies ever, it is one of the best movies ever, period.

The Sandlot: A light-hearted film about a group of adolescents, and their summer full of baseball. The kids in the movie are funny and charismatic, and the plot itself is actually pretty good. A dorky kid moves to a new neighborhood, and in order to impress his new friends, he brings his father's baseball to the field after the best player in the town "Benny the Jet" literally knocks the cover off the ball. What the kid doesnt realize is that the "woman" who signed the ball, happens to be the greatest baseball player ever: Babe Ruth. When the ball goes over a fence into a yard guarded by a dog called "The Beast", the kids need to find a way to get the ball back without being mauled by "The Beast". This movie is a lot of fun to watch, and gives the viewer a strong feeling of nostalgia.

The first 4 Rocky movies: The first one is the classic "underdog triumphs over the unbeatable favorite" story. The second is the rematch, and shows the growing mutual admiration of the two fighters. The third and fourth have great opponents for Rocky (Clubber Lang and Ivan Drago). It's too bad the 5th installment was such a stinker, because this is far and away one of the best movie franchises ever.

Blitzkrieg

Administrator

Great read once again Tom.. I gotta say I've probably seen Major League, Any Given Sunday, The Rocky Films, and White Men Can't Jump all a 100 times over..

Great movies. I think I own all of them on VHS but I only have Any Given Sunday on DVD.

Funny how Wesley Snipes is in two of these..

Dakstang

MMA Moderator

Those are some good ones. I have to say my favorite you listed was The Sandlot.

We are....Marshall will be on that list soon.

Stop talkin' bout stayin' the course
You keep on beatin' that old dead horse
You know they lied about why we went to War
I can't take it no more