Best of: Sports movies
I don’t care that much about sport, but I love movies about sport. I love the comradery, the struggle, the eventual win against all odds. So, in case you’re in need of a good hit of those things, here are five sports movies that I consider essential viewing.
A League of Their Own
When we’re talking sports movies, I love baseball the most of all. Don’t ask me why. I’ve never played it or seen a real game, but for some inexplicable reason, they’re my favourite. And when it comes to baseball movies, we should really start with 1992 sensation A League of Their Own. Directed by Penny Marshall, the film chronicles the rise of the All-American Girls’ Professional Baseball League, which was founded in 1943 when most men were away fighting in World War II. Marshall re-creates a moment in time when women’s baseball was set to sweep the country, and the film features mostly female characters (highly unusual in films about sport) with complex and relatable dynamics. It’s got the struggle, it’s got the rise-of-the-underdog appeal, oh, and it’s got Tom Hanks flawlessly delivering the line, ‘There’s no crying in baseball!’ Honestly, it’s worth watching for that alone.
Moneyball
Second in my baseball essentials kit is Moneyball, directed by Bennett Miller, co-written by Aaron Sorkin, and starring the likes of Brad Pitt, Phillip Seymour Hoffman, Jonah Hill, and Chris Pratt. The film, which is based on a true story, follows Billy Beane, the general manager of the Oakland Athletics who, growing frustrated with his losing streak, has an epiphany: all of baseball’s accepted wisdom is wrong. With a new approach in mind, Beane transforms his team and goes on to win 103 games in 2002 despite a payroll that was one-fourth the size of the Yankees’. The film has all the essentials: it’s got struggle, it’s got faith born from scepticism, and it’s got Brad Pitt as an ex-jock turned unlikely innovator. There’s not a lot of actual ‘game’ scenes in the film, but if you’re interested in the behind-the-scenes of baseball mechanics, then you’re in for a treat.
Bend It Like Beckham
Veering away from the American Dream imagery that predominates most sports movies, I bring you 2002 football (not soccer) classic, Bend It Like Beckham. Directed and co-written by Gurinder Chadha, the film follows Jesminder, or Jess, who dreams of playing football professionally, much to the chagrin of her traditional Indian family. When Jess begins playing in secret for a local all-girls team, she struggles to maintain her sense of self: both the version she wants to be, and the version her parents want her to be. The film’s formula is a dependable one, but it’s successful mostly for its depiction of ‘girl power’ not as a trite marketing ploy, but as reflective of complex female characters whose relationships feel grounded in reality. It’s as much about friendship, community, and belonging as it is about football, and that’s what makes it so brilliant.
Hoop Dreams
This one is for the committed sport movie fans out there, because let me tell you, Steve James’ three-hour 1992 documentary Hoop Dreams is not here to mess around. Basically, the film follows the lives of two young basketballers throughout their time at high school, beginning with their participation in amateur games and ending with their being recruited by colleges. Gripping and often heartbreaking, the film conveys the gritty realities of life in inner city Chicago, where the two men face numerous obstacles, like parental drug addiction, racism, poverty, and violence, in their pursuit of glory. Hoop Dreams emerged to critical acclaim, and almost two decades later, remains a masterpiece. I’d say it’s a must-watch for anyone interested in the harsh realities of professional sport shorn of glamour.
Friday Night Lights
Based on true events, Peter Berg's 2004 drama Friday Night Lights chronicles the 1988 season of the Permian High Panthers of Odessa, Texas. Odessa is a town in dire financial strife, and its sense of hope hangs on just one thing: the Permian High Panthers and the ritual of the Friday night game. The role of the Permian High Panthers is therefore to protect against the idea that the town is insignificant, and if the team, led by coach Gary Gaines (Billy Bob Thornton), can secure a state championship, then maybe that will prove that Odessa and its people are worth something. It's evident that football functions here not as a recreational sport, but as an obligation and an ordeal, and the film therefore depicts football as a game which simultaneously means everything and nothing. That all sounds pretty self-serious, and it is, but Friday Night Lights is also a traditional sports movie, fuelled by Berg's commitment to creating tension, excitement, and bloody action sequences. Ultimately, the film conveys that rare ability that sport has to involve an audience, to make you care, despite yourself.