USA Wins Gold; Russell should win Oscar

Rating: 10/10 (10 February 2004)

Often there is talk of sports transcending life. In this day and age of hype machines like ESPN, the line between athletics and everyday life is often blurred beyond the point recognition. There are a few times when David Beats Goliath, when adversity threatens to champion the will of those selected few who always seem to rise above it. A few come to mind, recently - Rulon Gardner's Olympic Gold in Greco-Roman wrestling, Kirk Gibson's walking wounded, one-legged home run off of Eck in the 1988 world series, Brett Favre's amazing performance in Oakland on Monday Night Football less than 24 hours after the passing of his father. And then, the mother of all triumphs: The 1980 USA Hockey Team. A bunch of college guys, primarily from Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Boston. The Lombardi-esqe head coach with a vision, a plan, and the unbridled will to mold together a bunch of role players, a few superstars, and guys willing to put it all on the line for each other, into a team that would pull off the most improbable and amazing upset in the 20th century. Disney made a couple of key decisions regarding this movie. First, they hired Kurt Russell to play Herb Brooks. Russell is a former jock - he made it to AA ball in the Angels system before blowing out his rotator cuff - and understands the intensity of sports, and injected it wonderfully and accurately into his character. Second, Disney used real hockey players, not actors, to portray the hockey players. In fact, Buzz Schneider is played by his son, Billy. The result is some of the most authentic and intense athletic scenes ever filmed for a movie. The bottom line is this film is a gem; it's well made, the story is well told, and the hockey players do a pretty damn good job of acting.