Over the hill in the NHL

Rating: 4/10 (14 June 2014)

This is an interesting sports movie set in the past. Its nothing to do with racial integration! 1976 was a good year for Philadelphia not only does the fictional and over the hill rookie call Rocky Balboa get to fight for the heavyweight championship of the world but here in this supposedly true life tale, part time bartender Vince Papale at the age of 30 goes for tryouts and makes the cut for the Philly football team.
Papale lost his job as a teacher, his wife leaves him and his dad helps him out for rent money. He plays football with his friends and the whole city is in an economic malaise with strikes and lay offs. This one shot given by the new coach could be his way out of the slums.
I understand that the film really stretches the truth, however the way Wahlberg plays him even sexing up the story cannot ascend him from anything but a shy if dull everyman who is in a team that dislikes him especially the black players for some reason.
The film is actually pedestrian, even though he has no interesting personality he gets a hot girlfriend, moments of crisis which is only alleviated when he spends time playing football with his boys in the hood and a climax when he can actually block players running with the ball.
I suppose this could had been a better and more melodramatic television film. As a movie its OK but someone other than Wahlberg needed to play Papale.