FILM: Invincible

Don't you just love an underdog story? I do, as you can probably tell from the quote on the header of this blog. OK, the movie wasn't Rocky caliber but could anything ever stand toe to toe with the Italian Stallion? I think not.

The movie was very good though. I first saw Invincible in Blockbuster a few weeks ago but decided to wait a little because my interest in football wasn't very high. But now, the SuperBowl is in 2 days (a little less) and I figured that there is no better time. Plus, my interest level went up after the Colts beat out the New England Patriots two weeks ago. That was probably the most fun I've had watching a football game in my life (I root against New England because I associate them with the Red Sox).

The movie, starring very talented Mark Wahlberg (Vince Papale), takes place in Philadelphia (another underdog story from Philly! I was waiting for him to run up the Rocky steps). Papale works at a local bar and as a part-time teacher for a high school. For fun, he plays tackle football in a nearby park with a bunch of his buddies. All of a sudden things go south and Papale is strapped for cash. Lucky for him (well, not totally), the team he loves (the Philadelphia Eagles) are holding open tryouts to the public because they are in desperate need of some help.

I won't tell you the rest. The movie was well made and follows a few things that made Rocky such a success: poor neighborhood, local kid with a 1/1,000,000 shot, rough times, etc. If you aren't even remotely a football fan, I could understand you not being very interested. For example, I'm not a basketball fan so all inspirational basketball underdog movies are a joke to me (Coach Carter).

I will say this though: after watching the film, I threw on my sweatpants and went for a jog. I love underdog films... they pump me up!