Scoring at the Movies

The 41st episode of Scoring At The Movies is a looooong look at a rom-com-football…fantasy? Yes, Jerry Maguire is a fantasy. We explain.

Cameron Crowe’s legendary picture is romantic and funny (big score on the rom-com scale, in fact), but it’s also a bit tragic. After all, Cuba Gooding Jr.’s Rod Tidwell might have a shorter shelf life than the movie wants to admit. Plus, Jerry and Dorothy’s already unbalanced love affair might not have the happy ending you think it does. We explain. But, man, let’s get back into the smiley spirit of the season and rejoice in the lovely time at the movies Gerald Maguire is!

Tom Cruise has pretty much never been better, Gooding deservedly won an Oscar and Renee Zellweger is terrific too, but Regina King & Bonnie Hunt STILL manage to steal the movie. You’ll hear just how much the AFI loves this one. You’ll hear us jam in a lot of Simpsons quotes. And you know what? We'll explain some things. Complete us!

Pedantry Alert: Craig Stadler is NOT the golf coach in an early scene and the talk show host is Roy (not Rod) Firestone. Also, Jerry’s first “hello” greeting at Dorothy’s house happens when he walks in on the Divorced Women’s Group the first time. Also also, Candice Bergen is the host who closes out the “100 Years, 100 Passions” AFI show, not Geena Davis. And finally, Beau Bridges plays Matt Cushman. A Thought While Editing: Does Jerry learn ANYTHING? An injured hockey player should probably be told to stop playing and the player’s kid shames Jerry about it. Then we see throughout the movie that Rod should probably stop playing because of repeated concussions, but Jerry negotiates a big contract ENSURING Rod will play another 3 years…and maybe have serious C.T.E. when he retires.

On Boxing Day or anytime, tweet us: @moviefiend51 and @scoringatmovies

The website: scoringatthemovies.podbean.com

Our 40th episode of the Scoring At The Movies podcast goes back to the 1980 Winter Olympics as we gab about one of the greatest upsets of all-time, in one of the best pure sports films we’ve covered yet: Miracle!

We dug into the world-shaping issues of the late-’70s, problems that went way beyond USA v USSR on a hockey rink. Both of us also watched the actual “miracle” game on YouTube, so we were able to spend plenty of time comparing what’s portrayed to what really happened. The hockey action is vividly done by director Gavin O’Connor and the acting (led by Kurt Russell as Herb Brooks) is as good as it needs to be. After all, most of the players were athletes more than they were actors.

So jump on the bandwagon, but play like a bunch o’ commies (we’ve got a hot take on that!) and hear us tongue-wag about Miracle…again…again…again…

Pedantry Alert: Mario Lambert was Montreal’s coach and Ronald Corey was the team’s president when Patrick Roy said he’d just played his last game for the Canadiens. Also, plenty of other Soviets from this dominant USSR team other than Vladislav Tretiak are in the Hockey Hall Of Fame. Also also, just to be clear, Wayne Gretzky was an executive for Canada’s ’02 Olympic team, not a player. Also also also, Mark Johnson scored 2 goals in the miracle game, not a hat-trick (Buzz Schneider and Mike Eruzione scored the other two).

Contact can be made: @moviefiend51 and @scoringatmovies

Our website: scoringatthemovies.podbean.com

Because it’s more of a courtroom movie than a sports flick, The Hurricane makes for a curious choice for our 39th Scoring At The Movies episode.

Denzel Washington is outstanding in director Norman Jewison’s penultimate film and the rest of the cast is certainly fine, but we had issues with how they presented Rubin Carter’s checkered history. He was wrongly imprisoned, but also wrongly depicted.

We could have used a lot less of the Canadians (doesn’t everyone feel that way?) and we’d rather have had more prickly Rubin instead of (mostly) saintly Rubin. So this one is far more about racial bigotry and America’s messed-up justice system than it is about boxing, but… Well, just hit that play button on the ‘Cane 'cast to find out so much more.

Pedantry Alert: The 4th movie we’ve covered this year that Ryan hadn’t previously seen before doing it for the podcast was Creed II. Also, When They See Us was actually released this year, not last year. Also also, when talking about the bleak palette, Ryan wasn’t very clear about saying “a prison AND Canada”, not “a prison IN Canada”.

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The website: scoringatthemovies.podbean.com

The performances by the blue-chip prospects (not to mention Nick Nolte as their complicated coach) in Blue Chips, the 38th episode of Scoring At The Movies, are so much better than the movie as a whole.

Was the problem with the script, even though sports-movie guru Ron Shelton wrote this? Was it poor choices in William Friedkin’s direction, particularly the inappropriate use of so much classic rock on the soundtrack? Was it studio interference? Well, something was missing in any case, especially in the movie’s crappy second half. We DID appreciate the main theme of the massive corruption that’s long been present in “amateur” sports. The students are really just unpaid servants.

This episode isn’t all serious criticism though. We enjoyed some of the film’s humorous touches, plus Ryan has a fun rant about “directional” schools. So don’t take a payoff...or abruptly quit because you were the payoffer. Just dunk this one into your earholes!

Twitter time: @moviefiend51 and @scoringatmovies

Our website: scoringatthemovies.podbean.com

How disappointing. It’s Halloween today and this movie was supposed to be frightening(ly bad), but it’s actually…almost bloody good fun. That doesn’t mean Lionheart, or is it “Lyon’eart”?, isn’t without a great many flaws. We touched on plenty of those with vim and also vigour.

Jean-Claude Van Damme does okay work in the leading role and the AWOL’er is suitably handsome & chiseled. JCVD is also the blonde-babe-avoider, the prude who would rather kick people and stalk his family than relax and make out with JR’s secretary. We have a theory as to how he could resist this sexy and oh so willing woman.

So hit that button to hear episode #37 of Scoring at the Movies justify how this is an MMA movie (stop arguing, it kinda is)! But don’t forget that at the 43-minute mark, as we segue into our favourite horror flicks and our most horrifying scary-movie moments.

Pedantry Alert: We said that JCVD is “playing a French guy”, but of course everyone—including us SATM’ers—knows he’s from Belgium (as in, “The Muscles From A Certain City In Belgium”), not France. 

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The website is scoringatthemovies.podbean.com

Place your bets on the 36th edition of Scoring At The Movies. Or maybe just listen to it and don’t bet at all because gambling is what got these guys in trouble in the first place.

Eight Men Out is the authentic but somehow also fake-sounding dramatization of the fixed World Series from 100 years ago. Sometimes it feels just right and sometimes it feels like they want to jam all that old-timey straight down your piehole, whether you bushers want it jammed down there or not.

Chris sets the record straight about some of the facts of this era (especially about the Black Sox trial), while Ryan brings up an old pet peeve: the steroids v. gambling comparison. So get in your third-sacker stance (ugh) and hear our straight dope about John Sayles’ morose baseball picture.

Pedantry Alert: Bull Durham came out in mid-June 1988, so it was not REALLY released “in the spring”. Also, the 1920 White Sox roster was indeed mostly the same, but 1919 was the last season of Chick Gandil’s nine-year career. Also also, it’s more accurate to say that Babe Ruth hit more home runs by himself than most teams did in 1920 when he hit 54, not in 1919 when he hit 29.

Twitter for us be these links: @moviefiend51 and @scoringatmovies

The website: scoringatthemovies.podbean.com 

The 35th drop in the Scoring At The Movies bucket slugs its way into a hockey comedy that stars Paul Newman: Slap Shot! 

Curiously, one of the greatest of movie stars is overshadowed by 3 of his fight-lovin’ co-stars. And maybe that’s fair. They’re dumb, but he’s playing their coach and he's barely smarter than they are. Everybody seems to love the Hanson Brothers and their antics probably WERE funny back in the ’70s. However, their behaviour and many of the insults shouted by a lot of the guys haven’t aged all that well. So what we’ve got is another sporadically funny cult-favourite from the ’70s in The Longest Yard mode. Rats, was hoping for better.

Anyway, drop the gloves (because there are more fisticuffs in this than in a boxing movie) and find out what we thought about this opus about the Charlestown Chiefs.

Pedantry Alert: Michael Ontkean was not the sheriff in Blue Velvet, of course, but in the TV show Twin Peaks. Also, there IS a Peterboro in New York and a Peterborough in New Hampshire, but the distance from Pennsylvania is about the same as it is from the city in Ontario, so that just strengthens our point that you don’t need to drive anywhere near 15 hours for road games in the Federal League.

Twit shhhhtuff: @moviefiend51 and @scoringatmovies 

The website: scoringatthemovies.podbean.com

Scoring At The Movies’ 34th go-round is a lengthy yap about one of the 3 or 4 best movies we’ve covered yet: The Wrestler!

The usually-trippy Darren Aronofsky directed his most realistic film here and it's just plain wonderful. Even though it’s about the over-the-top world of pro rasslin', it's filled with subtlety and so many great moments. Mickey Rourke gives one of the greatest performances—by anyone—in decades, and he’s incredibly genuine in what so many have always called a “fake” sport.

We spent some time discussing the origin of Randy The Ram’s real name and we jawed about the issue of athletes living with pain…and regret. The topic of unions in wrestling came up, so we even got to fly some socialist colours.

So, spring chickens, take what might be your last dive off the top rope and enjoy our not-one-trick-pony podcast.

Pedantry Alert: Rourke does cry in at least 1 other movie (The Pledge) and he’s only even in that for a few minutes. Also, what Ram hears in his head before going out to work at the deli counter is crowd noise, not his music.

Twitter barrage ahead: @moviefiend51 and @scoringatmovies

Our website: scoringatthemovies.podbean.com

The 2019 NFL season is now upon us, so for Scoring At The Movies #33, we’re back on the (high school) gridiron with Friday Night Lights! 

Billy Bob Thornton is the stoic mentor & coach of a bunch of young actors (including Lucas Black) in this intense, serious film. There’s not much backstory for any character, but the subtle touches tell us more than first meets the eye. Many facts were fudged and the movie is filled with “truthiness”, but we agree that this is still a rock-solid football flick.

Director Peter Berg finds ways to make us care about all these Permian Panthers, although not as much as their football-obsessed community does because that isn't possible. So don’t pressure children to win at all costs. Just hold hands with the guy beside you and pray as you gulp down our chat.

Twittering can be done: @moviefiend51 and @scoringatmovies

The beefy, glistening (and sometimes cheesy) Pumping Iron might be the most unintentionally homoerotic movie ever made, and it helped make Ah-nuld the star he’s been for over 4 decades.

Just as the movie does, Scoring At The Movies #32 focuses on the rivalry between the Schwarz and his psyche-out victim Lou Ferrigno, a lot of which was ginned up for this documentary/docudrama. The then-reigning Mister Olympia is fond of telling tall tales, but the man clearly always had charisma (our word of the day) coming out every sculpted muscle.

We rekindle the steroids discussion we’ve had in prior episodes (how could that NOT come up in a movie about body-building?) and we even did our own posedown. Wait, that’s not true... or is it? With fabrications like that, maybe we could have been characters in this movie…

Tweets can be twitted: @moviefiend51 and @scoringatmovies