Hail Mary passes, buzzer-beating half-court shots, walk-off home runs. The world of sports can give us the most entertaining storylines of all, which is why scripts about athletes have traditionally been a go-to for Hollywood writers for years.
I recently went to see “The Express,” a movie about the first black Heisman Trophy winner, Ernie Davis. A one-paragraph biography on this guy would make a grown man claim he had “something in his eye.”
In only his sophomore year, Davis carried the Syracuse Orangemen to their only NCAA football championship in 1959. Meanwhile, he fought overt racism in an arena ““ American college football ““ that struggled to make the transition to full integration. Tragically, right before his entrance into the National Football League, Davis was diagnosed with leukemia, and he died soon after.
Unfortunately, the movie left much to be desired, unlike Davis’ real history. It sullied a truly moving storyline with trite dialogue and cliche montages.
After leaving the theater, I was spurred to recount those fortunate few, those rare college sports movies that actually do a good job of capturing the athlete’s genuine passion and all of the outside influences that somehow find their way onto the playing field.
4. “Knute Rockne All American”
Some might claim that this movie single-handedly elected a president 40 years after its production. No matter if he’s your “personal hero” or not, Ronald Reagan’s line “win one for the Gipper” is the quintessential half-time speech for sure.
3. “The Waterboy”
OK, so Adam Sandler’s brand of humor might seem pretty out of place on this list, but the movie is top-notch. With all the elements of an inspirational football movie, Bobby Boucher’s triumph over adversity (he obviously has a mental disorder) gives us all a reason to believe in ourselves and the power of good old H20.
2. “Hoop Dreams”
Probably the greatest sports documentary of all time, this is the story of two basketball players from inner-city Chicago who struggle through high school in pursuit of that elusive college scholarship. The movie’s stark realism will be sure to pull at your heart, as it hints towards the masses of overlooked American stories just like this one.
1. “He Got Game”
In this movie starring Boston Celtic Ray Allen (who gives the best performance by a real athlete in a movie since UCLA alum Kareem Abdul-Jabbar in Airplane!), writer and director Spike Lee analyzes the college recruiting process from the perspective of a young, talented, high school hoopster. Daring as always, Lee’s insights into race, family, and the business of elite college sports hit the nail on the head.
If you’re looking forward to “Moneyball: The Movie,” e-mail Smukler at esmukler@media.ucla.edu.