My Top Ten Football Movies (part II)

So let's start with a quick recap of 10-6 before we start in on the Top Five movies. Remember that you can also check the full review by clicking here: http://lockheed40.blogspot.com/2010/12/my-top-ten-football-movies-part-i.html. Please remember that my list is designed based on movies that I have actually seen. I'm sure there are plenty of movies that ought to be on this list, but if I haven't seen it, I can't give my opinion on it. (Well, I can, but in this case, I won't.)

Top Ten (10-6)

10. The Best of Times.

9. Any Given Sunday.

8. The Little Giants.

7. The Waterboy.

6. The Last Boyscout.

Number 5

I had to do put a lot of thought into the placement for this movie. "The Longest Yard has been made twice, once with Burt Reynolds in the lead role, and this version starring Adam Sandler. At first I had my doubts about Sandler in this role, but he definitely found a way to make the character work for him. It's also a nice touch to have Burt Reynolds in the movie as well.

I planned on putting both versions in the list, but it was hard to decide which one was a better movie. Both movies have some great characters, and take a different spin on the common story. Unfortunately the movie tries too hard to be funny. From the prison cheerleaders to the guy with the burgers, it's just too much nonsense. The movie would have been much better if they'd just let Sandler and Chris Rock make the jokes and try to take the rest of the movie seriously.

Number 4

Once upon a time, Goldie Hawn was a silly girl who giggled and laughed every week on a show called "Rowan and Martin's Laugh-In." I don't think that anyone watching that show in the 60s would have imagined her becoming the actress she is today. Some of her earlier roles played off of that persona she used on TV, but she grew as an actress.

Wildcats is in the middle of her development period. She plays a coach who wants to get out of coaching the typical girl's sports and get into coaching football like her father did. It's an uphill battle and she gets put into the worst school with a team of slackers. I won't say much more about the plot, but I will say it is worth checking out, especially if you are a fan of "Overboard."

Number 3

Scott Bakula is everywhere. He was the time traveling Samuel Beckett. He was the captain of the first star ship Enterprise. He also played the nontraditional student/college quarterback for a team of misfits in this particular football movie.


Texas State University has been caught breaking NCAA rules and cannot offer scholarships and loses all but one player from the old team. They can only accept current students, and the dean decides to try and get rid of the team by making most of the students that try out ineligible. The coaches pull in a quarterback that decided not to go to college after his father's death, and a girl from the soccer team (Supermodel Kathy Ireland) to be the kicker. The rest of the team has to play iron man football (players play offense and defense) This movie also has Sinbad who isn't too overwhelming in the movie.

All in all this is a great movie. It's one of my personal favorite movies. Check it out.

Number 2

Burt Reynolds plays a former professional football player turned prison inmate who is forced to organize a game between the prisoners and the guards. Sound familiar? It should. It's the same basic plot of the Adam Sandler version of the movie.

So what do I like about this movie that makes it two places above the newer version? First, this movie treats the idea seriously. It isn't just a way to make a movie. The plot is completely focused on the game and not on jokes.

The casting is great too. You probably won't recognize most of the actors in this version, but they are all quality actors.

I do enjoy both movies, but this one is definitely better in my opinion.

Number 1

So here's where the shouting starts. "Where is Friday Night Lights?" "How could you not put Remember the Titans on your list?" Let's make sure to add "Lucas" and "Rudy" to the list of neglected movies too. Unfortunately, I haven't seen any of these movies so it isn't fair for me to put them on the list.

Enough about that, let's talk about "The Replacements." Football players are going on strike and the owner of the Washington Sentinels brings back his former coach, Jimmy Maginty, played by Gene Hackman. Maginty decides to build a team of people who have football experience, but haven't played much in the pros. This team includes a preacher, a grocery store clerk, a sumo wrestler, a deaf man, two body guards, a SWAT officer, and a former pro who is in jail.  Now add Keanu Reeves to the mix as a down and out failed QB who is currently scraping stuff off other people's boats.

The movie is just a lot of fun to watch. It takes the games seriously, but it still manages to be a lot of fun. There is also the sub plot of hiring replacement cheerleaders (which doesn't make much sense) and they definitely add to the fun of the movie. Don't forget the standard squabbles between the team that's on strike and the replacements.

Definitely check out this movie, and maybe it will find a place on your top ten list too.

My Top Ten Football Movies (Part I)

I thought it might be fun to do a top ten list every once in a while. I used to post lists on my bulletin board when I was working as a Resident Director during college. The are a great way to get people thinking and to encourage discussion. In this case, I will be listing my personal favorite football movies. I know there will be lots of movies that are not on the list that people will wonder why they aren't on the list. There's a simple answer to that question: I haven't seen the movie. I will probably add those movies in a Top Ten Football Movies I Haven't Seen list.  Anyway, here's the list. I hope you enjoy.

Number 10

The first movie on the list is probably one that you've never encountered. It's really only on the list because I can only come up with 10 movies and as a result this one makes the list. So the basic plot is that 12 years after Robin Williams drops the ball in the game-deciding moment, he convinces everyone on both teams to come back and play the game again.

What can I say about a movie where Robin Williams plays football. I can get over my disbelief on most things. I can believe just about anything, but not that Robin Williams was ever a football player. I can accept him as an alien that ages backwards, or a blue genie, or any of the other eccentric roles he has taken, but not this. The movie is OK, and it follows the standard formula. I won't give away the ending, but I'm sure you can figure it out on your own. It's a decent movie if you don't have to pay too much for it, but I wouldn't track down a copy if you can't find it easily.

Number 9

I know many will disagree with me on the placement of this movie. It was a huge hit, and I do remember liking the movie once things got going, but honestly, I don't remember much about it. I definitely remember the disturbing parts (which are a lot) but not much more.

Here's the rough plot as far as I remember it. Al Pacino is the coach of a football team that loses the quarterback and his backup in the same game. Cue Jamie Foxx as the third-string QB to come into his first professional game. I think he ends up doing really well or maybe he just gets better as the movie continues. I really don't remember. There is lots of great football action, and a great coach-quarterback relationship between Pacino and Foxx. I'm pretty sure it's a better movie than I'm giving it credit for, but I just can't put it any higher on the list without watching it again. Give this movie a chance just be prepared for some questionable material and you will be fine.

Number 8



Movies like "Little Giants" follow a long history of "little league" underdog sports movies. I know there were movies like this in the 40's and 50's, but the movie I think of for this genre is "The Bad News Bears." Take a group of nonathletic misfits and turn them into a sports team. Let them face lots of hard times, and then let them face off against the meanest nastiest group of sports-star athletes in the game of the season.

Oh, and don't forget to throw in the tomboy who's better than everyone else and just wants to play.

This movie changes the formula a little bit. All the kids that get cut from the town's team get together to form a team of their own. You also get the coaches who are brothers with issues. It's a fun movie even if most of it is unlikely. Sure these kids learn how to work together and pull of some really creative plays, but there's still only so much that can be accomplished even with Madden giving you advice.

Number 7

Once upon a time, Adam Sandler was just a guy who did stand up and got a job on Saturday Night Live. After he finished that gig, he started getting the chance to make movies. Fortunately for all of us, Adam Sandler is was able to make some of the best movies around. This movie is one of his best.

Sandler plays a mentally-challenged young man with an obsession with "high-quality H20." Through a strange twist of events he goes from the team's water boy to becoming a player. He uses his pent up rage to make a name for himself. I would probably have put it higher on the list, but It is definitely a movie that is more about the main character than about the football.

Number 6

This isn't a football movie. Instead it is a movie about the politics of football. It's the typical Willis character. His wife is having an affair, his daughter hates him, and he's about as low as a guy can get.Willis and Wayans are both sexist bastards.

Willis plays a former secret service agent that took a bullet for the President. Wayans is a former NFL quarterback who got hooked on pain killers and lost his job. They fight a lot and spend most of the movie trying not to get killed. Willis takes his bad attitude to the extreme in this movie and has some great action-hero moments.

Be aware that this movie is full of profanity, racism, and sexism. This movie may not be for you, but the action is fun, and it may be worth it to see Willis dance a jig.

That's the first half of the list. I'll get the other half out eventually. Feel free to leave any comments or questions.