Originally I was going to talk about “Body of Lies” this week, but then a quite simple realization hit me. Kind of like a linebacker coming with full force, but in my brain. I went to Syracuse University; I must talk about “The Express.”
“The Express” is the story of Ernie Davis, the Syracuse running back who became the first African-American to win the Heisman Trophy. Taking place just prior to and during the beginning stages of the civil rights movement, “The Express” tells of the struggle Ernie Davis faced while becoming a legend and activist. And aren’t all good sports movies about underdogs succeeding and overcoming adversity? Yes. Yes, they are. The only thing that might make them better is if they all took place at Syracuse. Unfortunately, that’s not fair to other lovely sports establishments.
In my searches for other movies about Syracuse to grace you with, I found but three others. Neither “The Boys From Syracuse” (1940), or “The Syracuse Sap” (1930) take place in Syracuse, NY; and the third was “Big Daddy” (1999) wherein Adam Sandler mentions he went to Syracuse Law. So, to my dismay, I bring you some other films to catch before hopping on “The Express”…
RUDY (1993)
Having nothing to do with Syracuse, “Rudy” is about Daniel “Rudy” Ruettiger who had no place on Notre Dame’s Football field, except for that he wanted to be there. Too small to play, grades not good enough to attend, and little athletic ability weren’t excuses enough to keep Rudy off that field of the Fighting Irish.
Rudy, played by Sean Astin, is headed down the same path as everyone else in his hometown, working at the steel mill. Once his best friend dies during an explosion at the mill, Rudy realizes he needs to rethink his future. Unlike most dramas that tell of a character on their complete outs and their ascent back to stasis or even superiority, sports films seems to focus on giving the protagonist the slightest glimpse at what’s waiting for them in the end zone, what stands to happen if they don’t get there, and what if they don’t try. After his friend’s death, the question of whether to stay or go became quite simple for Rudy, he must not live a lost life, but make it one that lived to and beyond his dreams.
The key to an underdog story though, is verification that the end justifies the means. That last shot of the film, freeze frame, Rudy on the shoulders of all the players, them too realizing the need for celebration, not just of the game, but Rudy’s accomplishment. By the time “Rudy” ends, if you aren’t cheering along with the crowd “RUDY! RUDY! RUDY!”, I am not sure you are watching the right genre of movies. Go home, emo kid.
DAYS OF THUNDER (1990)
Child of Syracuse, NY, Tom Cruise (yes, Tom Cruise was born in Syracuse) stars in and was a co-writer on this stockcar racing drama. Again here, the main character is in a position he doesn’t belong in, good at what he does, but up against some others who are the best at what they do. In addition to facing adversity from those seasoned racers on the track viewing him as an inexperienced, Cole Trickle (Cruise) deals more with his inner battle against buying into their hype and thinking he isn’t good enough. With help from his nurse (Nicole Kidman) after a injury causing accident, he works up the courage to get back out on the track and prove everyone else wrong.
The will to fight plays a role here as is formula in sports films; here the self confidence is wrangled on screen. While Rudy goes into the match full of vigor, Trickle is unsure at first and works through these uncertainties he battles with inside. And to make another connection back to Syracuse, “Days of Thunder” co-stars Randy Quaid, brother of Dennis Quaid, who plays coach Ben Schwartzwalder in “The Express.”
THE DIRTY DOZEN (1967)
No, it’s not a sports movie, but accompanying lead actors Lee Marvin, Ernest Borgnine, John Cassavetes and Charles Bronson, was Syracuse University’s second Heisman trophy winner: Jim Brown. After a nine-year, record-setting career in the NFL with the Cleveland Browns, Brown went on to become an actor, and “The Dirty Dozen” was his first breakthrough role. His acting career was short-lived, doing mainly blaxploitation films in the ’70s and bit parts in the ’80s, Jim Brown never could shake the fact that he was first and foremost an athlete (he is still the only man in three athletic halls of fame; College Football, Pro Football, and Lacrosse). Now, Jim Brown did do some films about sports. The most recent one he did was “Any Given Sunday,” so why not pick that film to talk about? Well…
“The Dirty Dozen,” although not a sports film, plays by the formula upheld as that of the sports film. An underdog team is put together to go on a suicide mission during WWII, a team made up of convicted prisoners with death or life sentences. This gang of convicts is put to the ultimate task of stirring up the German chain of command the night before D-Day by parachuting in to surprise high-ranking officers of the Third Reich hiding out at a safe house. With odds against them, the convicts are offered clean slates once they complete this mission — the chance of a lifetime that they aren’t going to give up.
Jim Brown’s character, Robert Jefferson, is closest to that of our friend Rudy, though. A wrongly convicted felon, Jefferson has only this one chance for freedom again. Both Jefferson and Rudy are characters with something to prove as an imminent future awaits them, Jefferson with death, while Rudy the loss of his dreams. These films, all sharing the same theme, when given a chance to succeed, no matter how distant or far out, the fight will be tough, but in the end, if you will it, it can be.
GO ORANGE!
