Rudy Is A Better Football Movie Than Remember The Titans

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We all know Rudy is a movie that has an ending based on lies. Joe Montana told everyone that on Pardon My Take.

It's an ending based on bullshit…and it still kinda works for me. The whole story is about a crazy person who makes some bizarre decisions but Sean Astin's performance is strong enough that you still do like this guy. Having it all shot on location at Notre Dame also helps a ton. It's the first movie that ND allowed to be shot on location since Knute Rockne, All American in 1940.

Mix all of that in with Jerry Goldsmith's great score and it is emotional. It's manipulative as fuck but it's effective. It shouldn't be surprising I guess. It's the same screenwriter (Angelo Pizzo) and director (David Anspaugh) as Hoosiers.

As far as the ending goes, I do have some issues. Why have the scene with the team throwing the jerseys down at Coach Devine's desk? Isn't this story enough? Why do they need to have so many weird embellishments? They have even that title card saying that Rudy is the last Fighting Irish player to be carried off the field. Except it was all a joke. They were fucking with him.

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Brandon Walker and I go into a ton of detail about both Rudy and Remember The Titans on this week's episode of Double Play. The thing that bothers me the most about this movie is how good it could have been. Having Disney involved turns this true and powerful story into an after-school special. Coach Boone is played so stoically by Denzel Washington. They expect us to believe the team would be dancing to Motown on the field during warmups? The little girl (Hayden Panettiere) would be yelling at grown men during the game? What are we doing here?

To take such a talented cast and interesting story and water it all down sucks. Brandon made a point on the show and said if this was made by the same team that made the Friday Night Lights movie, it could have been an awards contender. I don't think it's that off base. Remember The Titans could have been so much better.

Brandon Walker and I discuss both Rudy and Remember The Titans in depth in this episode of DOUBLE PLAY. You can watch the whole episode below or click HERE to listen: