The Best College Football Movies!
Fourth Alternate: Friday Night Lights (movie version). If you haven't seen this, you probably should just hop onto Netflix and add it to the queue. It can't be an actual winner, since it is about high school football, and even I have to keep some kind of integrity on here. Still, it's my blog so I can bend the rules if I choose. I didn't grow up in Texas (I think I'm supposed to say here: "But I got here as fast as I could"), and I really enjoyed the perspective on Texas high school football - or at least Texas high school football in the movies. If you can watch this movie without ending up a Panthers fan, you have no soul. Plus, Billy Bob Thorton is greatness in this. Just sayin'.
Third Alternate: Varsity Blues. Again, bendy bend...not about college football. But amazing none the less. I don't think it gets much better than getting to hear Dawson say "I don't want your life!" in a horrific accent. Also, there's a player with a pet pig. And a teacher who moonlights as a stripper! Movie greatness. If nothing else, Scott Caan flawlessly plays a character named Tweeder who is plain greatness. Plus if you - like me - find John Voight to be terribly scary all the time, you will be kept in utter suspense the entire movie waiting for him to tear off his football-coach-mask and go all deliverance on me. If you're not a total movie snob, you'll enjoy Varsity Blues for the unintentional comedy factor if nothing else!
Second Alternate: The Blind Side. Mostly not about college football and kind of not really about football at all, I will generally stop to watch this movie if it's on TV. The sweet movie about Michael Oher and the Tuohy family. Sandra Bullock and Tim McGraw are excellently cast and it's just so all around feel-goody!
First Alternate: Friday Night Lights (the TV series). You get the drift here...not about college football, but my blog, my rules! I win! If you haven't seen this series then 1) I don't trust yo
u and 2) your priorities are way out of whack and 3) immediately acquire all of the seasons, call in sick to work and watch them straight through. DO IT! Each character is cast perfectly. The relationships are spot on, the dialogue is honest and believable, the story is totally relateable. It's just wonderful. But don't forget to buy Kleenex first: you'll laugh until you cry and cry until you laugh in just about every episode. Director Peter Berg (who I will always think of as the cryogenically, brain powerly and kidneyly challenged Frank in "Late for Dinner") did a phenomenal job bringing this series to life. Also, as a music gal, I REALLY liked what they did with the music in these! From My Chemical Romance, Bright Eyes, and Iron & Wine, it seems like they always pick just the perfect song. Plus I love Kyle Chandler and he can do no wrong. Ever. Love me some Friday Night Lights.
u and 2) your priorities are way out of whack and 3) immediately acquire all of the seasons, call in sick to work and watch them straight through. DO IT! Each character is cast perfectly. The relationships are spot on, the dialogue is honest and believable, the story is totally relateable. It's just wonderful. But don't forget to buy Kleenex first: you'll laugh until you cry and cry until you laugh in just about every episode. Director Peter Berg (who I will always think of as the cryogenically, brain powerly and kidneyly challenged Frank in "Late for Dinner") did a phenomenal job bringing this series to life. Also, as a music gal, I REALLY liked what they did with the music in these! From My Chemical Romance, Bright Eyes, and Iron & Wine, it seems like they always pick just the perfect song. Plus I love Kyle Chandler and he can do no wrong. Ever. Love me some Friday Night Lights.
Fifth Place: The Waterboy. Yeah, I know....not the most intellectual choice, but still hilarious! Kathy Bates + Adam Sandler + football + backwoods Louisiana?! There's no room for your movie snobbery here! Watch it and love it. (Side note: Fairuza Balk shows up in this movie as bad-girl Vicki Vallencourt - I hadn't seen her in anything since Return to Oz - which is on my list of 80's Children's Movies Not Appropriate for Children - and after a quick IMDB search realized that she was actually in a lot of stuff since 1985, I just hadn't seen any of it. Side-side note, she was in a movie version of a book/play called "The Best Christmas Pagent Ever." I'm pretty sure at one of my elementary schools they performed this - I wasn't in it, but I can sing you the title track...I think this was at some point prior to my third-grade on-stage debut as Betty Body in "Shape Up Santa!" Weird, right?! Anyhoo...Fairuza will always be Dorthy to me.)
Fourth Place: The Express. A little hard to watch at times, The Express tells the story of Ernie Davis, the first African American to with the Heisman. What a heart breaker - watching his struggles at Syracuse as one of the few black players and the hatred towards him. After taking the team to their first National Championship and winning the Heisman, Ernie signs on with the Cleavland Browns and - gulp - well, you're going to need to watch it. Everyone does a great job - including Dennis Quaid. Even though I've heard Dennis Quaid is a real jerk in person, I can't help but love every character he plays...and in The Express he wears a fedora! Greatness! I think it was his portrayal as cocky fighter pilot/astronaut Gordon Cooper in The Right Stuff that made me first love him. "Who's the best damn fighter pilot you ever saw?" Even if you're not a Dennis Quaid lover, you'll probably love this movie anyway.
Third Place: We Are Marshall. I'll be honest right up front here: the Matthews (Fox and McConaughey) are really not the top tier of actor. I mean, Fox was pretty good in LOST I guess, but let's be real - after about three episodes of LOST, the plot line had gone so haywire that you likely couldn't tell who was acting well and who wasn't....and just when you thought you'd decided, a smoke-monster came out of a tree and ate someon
e and a new character was introduced. I'm just sayin'. (Side note: I recently finished series of weekly phone seminars at work. The moderator noted that he was in a fraternity with one of the guys that wrote for the series LOST, and began to explain how his buddy used the very principles we were learning to develop his characters. Because I'm a jerk and slightly short-sided, I interrupted him and asked "can you have him call me, because I have no idea what the Hell went on there." This might have made the moderator uncomfortable. Yep, this is me.) It's a sweet movie about the very tragic true story of Marshall University, the plane crash that killed almost the entire football team, coaching staff and many boosters. The movie chronicles how the new head coach and the town deal with this loss. It's a sweet movie and I found myself gulping back tears when the new Marshall coaches visited West Virginia University to watch some game film. The Matthews may night be the finest actors, but both were suited for their roles and the movie is absolutely worth the watch.
e and a new character was introduced. I'm just sayin'. (Side note: I recently finished series of weekly phone seminars at work. The moderator noted that he was in a fraternity with one of the guys that wrote for the series LOST, and began to explain how his buddy used the very principles we were learning to develop his characters. Because I'm a jerk and slightly short-sided, I interrupted him and asked "can you have him call me, because I have no idea what the Hell went on there." This might have made the moderator uncomfortable. Yep, this is me.) It's a sweet movie about the very tragic true story of Marshall University, the plane crash that killed almost the entire football team, coaching staff and many boosters. The movie chronicles how the new head coach and the town deal with this loss. It's a sweet movie and I found myself gulping back tears when the new Marshall coaches visited West Virginia University to watch some game film. The Matthews may night be the finest actors, but both were suited for their roles and the movie is absolutely worth the watch.
Second Place: The Program. College Football Greatness! In The Program we follow a "fictional" top tier football team for a season and witness all kinds of debauchery as the kids and staff deal with the pressure of college football, drugs, crime, school in general and the particular stress of a Heisman campaign. There is alot of Roid-Rage, which pretty much always leads to something bad. It's a little over the top but when watching The Program, you kind of get the eeks thinking this might actually be happening in your beloved school's football program (ehem, USC). (Side note: I remember when the trailer first came out, there was a scene shown where the players laid down on the yellow line of the highway in some kind of roided out adrenaline rage to prove they were untouchable. When the movie came out this scene wasn't in it, because it turns out some people don't understand THIS IS A MOVIE and they went and tried it to an unpleasant end. People ruin everything.) The Program isn't the most well acted or written of the movies on the list, but I think it's a great movie about college footbal. Also, I think of it anytime someone takes off running with the ball Chris Simms style, with the football held straight out in front of them at arm's length.
First Place: Rudy. Of course it is, it's the whole reason I wrote this blog! If you didn't see that coming....(I tried to sneak a joke in right here about The Longhorn Network, but I couldn't mentally put the pieces together.)
While Rudy is more about Rudy (the true-ish story of Rudy Reuttiger) than football, it's still greatness. The only problem with the movie is that it makes me feel really bad about myself every time I watch it. Here's Rudy, working so hard to achieve his dream of playing football at Notre Dame. EVERYONE tells him he can't. The hits just keep coming and he just keeps working so hard!! Everytime I watch it I feel like a chump, as the closest I've come to fulfilling my dreams is writing this blog. Additionally, I don't know why everyone makes fun of Sean Astin so much - not only is he excellent as Rudy Reuttiger, but he was great in Goonies, Memphis Belle, Courage Under Fire and also as that hobbit. He also was great in the TV movie "Please Don't Hit Me, Mom." If you haven't seen Rudy, I don't feel bad about spoiling it here - in fact, you should feel ashamed of yourself. Against my will, even when I know it's coming, there are two particular moments in the movie where I get really emotional. When Rudy gets into Notre Dame and is sitting on the bench reading his acceptance letter, Astin does such a superb job that EVERY TIME, i end up doing a half sob/half excited laughter snort. Second, when the grumpy groundskeeper leaves the key on the cot because he knows Rudy is homeless, I start to tear up...mostly because I'm depressed that I'm not as determined as Rudy or as nice as the grumpy groundskeeper (that's right people, keep about me here). If you don't do a mental fist pump when the curmudgeonly groundskeeper does a single-clap-closed-lip-restrained-excitement 'hell yeah', then you are dead to me. Seriously.
Clear Eyes. Full Hearts. Can't Lose!
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