Countless stories in sports are as outrageous as they are gripping. Such stories, of course, make excellent movie plots.
Movies based on these stories are no longer solely about the sport. They are stories about the human spirit and determination, steeped in the emotions and feelings that come with overcoming obstacles when the odds are stacked against you.
Throw in some teamwork and a David vs Goliath storyline, and you’ve got yourself a perfect sports story.
We are Marshall:
“We Are Marshall” is based on a true storey about the Marshall University football team and the surrounding West Virginia community after a plane crash in November 1970 that killed 75 team members, coaches, and boosters.
Coach Red (Matthew Fox) does his assistant a favour by putting him on the doomed flight from North Carolina and driving himself home, completing a recruiting run along the way.
Red quits football, terrified that his decision resulted in the death of the assistant, assuming, like everyone else, that the university will disband or at the very least suspend the programme.
However, according to the film, some surviving team members (who were injured that weekend and thus were not present at the game) request that the programme be reinstated.
Don Dedmon (David Strathairn), the university president, eventually caves to their demands, hiring a new coach, Jack (Matthew McConaughey), who serves as the yin to Red’s yang.
As a new and inexperienced head coach, Jack accepts the challenge of rebuilding the team with only first-year students and athletes who had never played the sport before.
Even though he had a “losing” record in his first years in front of the team, his bravery and determination are remembered every time the Thundering Herd Football Team takes the field.
Karate Kid:
Eight years after Rocky, director John G. Avildsen delivered another underdog sports film, “Karate Kid”.
It tells the story of Daniel (Ralph Macchio), a New Jersey kid who moves to Southern California, falls in love with Elisabeth Shue’s cheerleader character Ali, and trains with an immigrant handyman (Pat Morita) after being beaten up by bullies.
The Karate Kid is a daydream for every sensitive young kid who fantasises about being cool, and it’s full of heart, kindness, and sympathy.
Macchio epitomised adolescent insecurity for the Atari generation. Morita (nominated for a Best Supporting Actor Oscar) gave compassion and wisdom to a portrayal that could have easily been a stock wise-mentor part.
(Not for nothing, but The Karate Kid gave lip respect to Mr Miyagi’s life before he went to California at a time when racial sensitivity wasn’t exactly in fashion in Hollywood films.)
Before lacklustre sequels and remakes ground down the winning formula, the film hits all expected beats with competence and enthusiasm.
Coach Carter
Coach Carter, starring Samuel L. Jackson, is based on the story of Richmond High School’s basketball squad and is an inspiring movie that emphasises the importance of sports and discipline.
Jackson portrays Ken Carter, a high school basketball coach who made waves in 1999 when he suspended players from his undefeated team due to poor academic performance.
Carter, a former member of the same squad, was adamant that his players not just play basketball but also live disciplined lives, and he was harsh with those who disagreed.
This film depicts the significance of a coach in the life of a young athlete. Coach Carter develops faithful men out of his high school athletes and teaches them to be respectful on and off the court.
Rush:
One of the fundamentals of sports cinema is that you’re supposed to cheer for someone, whether it’s a team or a single athlete.
“What if both of our main characters are jerks?” suggests Ron Howard’s mildly daring race-car film.
Rush is based on actual events and chronicles the heated rivalry between sexy, charismatic Formula One racer James Hunt (Chris Hemsworth) and aloof, unsmiling Niki Lauda (Daniel Brühl).
Howard makes it apparent from the start that he doesn’t want us to care for either of them.
Rush, on the other hand, isn’t a sports film in which we’re supposed to respect both men equally — these two competitive, closed-off men both seem to be searching for something greater than winning, and both appear to be unable to find it.
Who you choose to side with probably tells more about you than it does about them, and Rush’s appeal is in its questioning of our need to cast athletes in heroic and villainous characters in the first place.
The Rookie
The Rookie is a film starring Dennis Quaid about Jim Morris, a high school baseball instructor who pitched his first major league game at 35.
Quaid gave the role a pleasant reality that helped turn what could have been a corny disaster into a lasting sports film.
The Rookie has a Rotten Tomatoes rating of 83 per cent. “Unabashedly lyrical and wonderfully photographed, the film, based on a true event, teaches the hopeful can-do idea that it’s never too late to be what you may have been,” observed Stephen Holden of the New York Times.
