You come away from this one feeling like the you can do anything and that's always a good thing

Rating: 8/10 (29 October 2015)

I've seen this a couple times now over the years and always really enjoy it. Its hard not to, another one of those inspirational sports-underdog stories that has you invested and cheering for a down on his luck local hero.
Mark Whalberg puts in a great performance here as Vince Papale, he's a hero we can relate to, just an average neighborhood guy trying to get by in a tough economy, working as a bartender after he loses his teaching job due to budget cuts, his wife has just left him (and a "nice" note) proclaiming he will never amount to anything. Vince gets his chance when the Philadelphia Eagles announce open tryouts for the team. At 30 and never having played college ball he doesn't expect this to lead anywhere, instead just decides to take the opportunity to stand on the same field as his idols.
The story here is very similar to 'Rocky' with the Eagles taking the place of Apollo Creed (actually when I think about it there's too many comparisons to count so I won't go there) It's a great movie regardless, lots of interesting secondary characters to get invested in, with the whole neighborhood garnishing hope from Vince's success, a budding romance, a coach that is very likable (Greg Kinnear) yet also out of his depths with this losing team.
This has been put on by Walt Disney Pictures so there is a certain amount of sugar coating to how this story has been told. The soundtrack is excellent transporting you back to the mid 70's I especially enjoyed the real footage cut in of Papale after the outcome of that all-important Big Game. He looked ecstatic.
You come away from this one feeling like the you can do anything and that's always a good thing. 10/19/15