Movies have played a big part in molding America in the last one hundred years. They have inspired people to become politicians, activists, doctors, and more, but they have also inspired people to play sports.
So What makes a great sports movie then? One that inspires? One that makes you laugh? One that makes you cry? I don't believe that there is a single element that makes a sports movie great. Just as in life, sports has many emotions running through it. The stories of triumph, tragedy, and everything in between. So I will present my favorite sports movies...
*Baseketball: I know it's strange to call this a sports movie, but I think it is. It's a comedy movie written by the Southpark creators and it revolves around a new sport they created that mixes baseball and basketball. I like the pop culture references that are similar to those that Parker and Stone use in Southpark, but this could be the only downfall to this movie. Fifty years from now, I don't think someone watching this movie will get the references such as "How do you think Shaq got rich? Playing in college, everyone knows that." The movie is upbeat, great soundtrack done by Reel Big Fish, and even a good acting performance by Jenny McCarthy.
*Rudy: It's the ultimate underdog story in sports movies. An undersized football player works his whole college career to play in that one game. His teammates ultimately support him even though he wasn't the most popular player on the team when he first joins the Norte Dame squad. Rudy makes a tackle in the end of the movie that is probably the biggest tackle in a football movie ever. Superb acting by Sean Austin and Jon Favreau.
*Bang The Drum Slowly: A sad movie based on a catcher for the New York Yankees. Robert DeNiro stars as the terminally ill player that is friends with a pitcher who becomes a teammate not only on the field, but off the field. Sort of Lou Gehrig like story, but with a DeNiro twist.
*Dodgeball: Look I know what you're thinking. DODGEBALL? Yes. It's a sport, albeit one played mostly by children, but still a sport. Also with Ben Stiller, Vince Vaughn, and Christine Taylor's performances, and lines like, "Nobody makes me bleed my own blood," this movie was funny.
*Any Given Sunday: True, none of the teams are real NFL teams, but you still had to be intrigued by the drama. A lot of the best scenes in the movie were what happens behind the scenes of a football team. Also Al Pacino gives a great performance as an aging head coach and Cameron Diaz does a good job as a ruthless woman running a team in place of her deceased father. Performances by Dennis Quaid and Jaime Foxx also bolster up this movie that falls under most movie watchers radars.
*Major League: A comedy about an owner whom is trying to create a team of misfits, so attendance will drop and she can move the team to Florida-this movie was released before the Marlins and Rays joined the MLB. This group of unknown players, take the team and the city of Cleveland to the playoffs. All-star performances by Charlie Sheen, Wesley Snipes, Tom Berenger, Rene Russo, and James Gammon bolster the movie as well.
*Happy Gilmore: Yes this is an unrealistic movie, but it's funny. Where else would you ever see Bob Barker punching away at Adam Sandler? Sandley plays the title character, Happy and represents an "every man" persona that a lot of people have. Happy could be any of us-if we could hit the ball three hundred yards.
*Field Of Dreams: This movie poses as a baseball movie until the final scene of the movie when it's revealed what the movie is truly about. I won't ruin it for those who haven't been able to catch it yet, but make a point to watch it. Kevin Costner stars in yet another baseball movie...sort of. He hears voices that sound out one of the more popular movie catch phrases of all time, "If you build it, he will come." Costner's journey leads him to James Earl Jones' character in Boston and eventually to players of the 1919 Chicago White Sox, including Shoeless Joe Jackson played by Ray Liotta.
*Rocky: I know Slyvester Stallone wrote this one, but it's his masterpiece. The music, the action, the acting by Stallone and Carl Weathers. This movie is classic. It's what every boxing movie should aspire to be.
And my number #1 movie....
*Bull Durham: Another Kevin Costner sports movie, but this one is the best and most realistic of any baseball movie. Star writer Ron Shelton penned this script and actors Costner, Tim Robbins, and Susan Sarandon take it to a higher level. Costner is Crash Davis, an aging catcher on the verge of breaking the minor league home runs record, but hoping to play just one more season. He's brought into Durham to teach Nuke LaLoosh (Tim Robbins) how to pitch and step up to the major league level. Susan Sarandon is the ultimate fan/groupie that falls for both men and changes their outlooks on their life. A love story, drama, comedy, and in general a good sports movie rolled into one.
So What makes a great sports movie then? One that inspires? One that makes you laugh? One that makes you cry? I don't believe that there is a single element that makes a sports movie great. Just as in life, sports has many emotions running through it. The stories of triumph, tragedy, and everything in between. So I will present my favorite sports movies...
*Baseketball: I know it's strange to call this a sports movie, but I think it is. It's a comedy movie written by the Southpark creators and it revolves around a new sport they created that mixes baseball and basketball. I like the pop culture references that are similar to those that Parker and Stone use in Southpark, but this could be the only downfall to this movie. Fifty years from now, I don't think someone watching this movie will get the references such as "How do you think Shaq got rich? Playing in college, everyone knows that." The movie is upbeat, great soundtrack done by Reel Big Fish, and even a good acting performance by Jenny McCarthy.
*Rudy: It's the ultimate underdog story in sports movies. An undersized football player works his whole college career to play in that one game. His teammates ultimately support him even though he wasn't the most popular player on the team when he first joins the Norte Dame squad. Rudy makes a tackle in the end of the movie that is probably the biggest tackle in a football movie ever. Superb acting by Sean Austin and Jon Favreau.
*Bang The Drum Slowly: A sad movie based on a catcher for the New York Yankees. Robert DeNiro stars as the terminally ill player that is friends with a pitcher who becomes a teammate not only on the field, but off the field. Sort of Lou Gehrig like story, but with a DeNiro twist.
*Dodgeball: Look I know what you're thinking. DODGEBALL? Yes. It's a sport, albeit one played mostly by children, but still a sport. Also with Ben Stiller, Vince Vaughn, and Christine Taylor's performances, and lines like, "Nobody makes me bleed my own blood," this movie was funny.
*Any Given Sunday: True, none of the teams are real NFL teams, but you still had to be intrigued by the drama. A lot of the best scenes in the movie were what happens behind the scenes of a football team. Also Al Pacino gives a great performance as an aging head coach and Cameron Diaz does a good job as a ruthless woman running a team in place of her deceased father. Performances by Dennis Quaid and Jaime Foxx also bolster up this movie that falls under most movie watchers radars.
*Major League: A comedy about an owner whom is trying to create a team of misfits, so attendance will drop and she can move the team to Florida-this movie was released before the Marlins and Rays joined the MLB. This group of unknown players, take the team and the city of Cleveland to the playoffs. All-star performances by Charlie Sheen, Wesley Snipes, Tom Berenger, Rene Russo, and James Gammon bolster the movie as well.
*Happy Gilmore: Yes this is an unrealistic movie, but it's funny. Where else would you ever see Bob Barker punching away at Adam Sandler? Sandley plays the title character, Happy and represents an "every man" persona that a lot of people have. Happy could be any of us-if we could hit the ball three hundred yards.
*Field Of Dreams: This movie poses as a baseball movie until the final scene of the movie when it's revealed what the movie is truly about. I won't ruin it for those who haven't been able to catch it yet, but make a point to watch it. Kevin Costner stars in yet another baseball movie...sort of. He hears voices that sound out one of the more popular movie catch phrases of all time, "If you build it, he will come." Costner's journey leads him to James Earl Jones' character in Boston and eventually to players of the 1919 Chicago White Sox, including Shoeless Joe Jackson played by Ray Liotta.
*Rocky: I know Slyvester Stallone wrote this one, but it's his masterpiece. The music, the action, the acting by Stallone and Carl Weathers. This movie is classic. It's what every boxing movie should aspire to be.
And my number #1 movie....
*Bull Durham: Another Kevin Costner sports movie, but this one is the best and most realistic of any baseball movie. Star writer Ron Shelton penned this script and actors Costner, Tim Robbins, and Susan Sarandon take it to a higher level. Costner is Crash Davis, an aging catcher on the verge of breaking the minor league home runs record, but hoping to play just one more season. He's brought into Durham to teach Nuke LaLoosh (Tim Robbins) how to pitch and step up to the major league level. Susan Sarandon is the ultimate fan/groupie that falls for both men and changes their outlooks on their life. A love story, drama, comedy, and in general a good sports movie rolled into one.
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