"You were born to wear that jacket."

Rating: 7/10 (9 January 2020)

A truly inspirational story of Daniel 'Rudy' Ruettiger, who's persistence and determination earned him a spot on the Notre Dame football team. But man, talk about jumping through hoops to achieve one's dream. Personally, I don't see how the under-sized Rudy managed to take the pounding he did in practice without suffering myriad broken bones and concussions. It didn't look like the practice squads let up any as Rudy took his share of hits, effectively getting right up again to come back for more. Sean Astin turns in a determined and heart warming performance as the title character, intent on acquiring a goal that virtually everyone in his inner circle 'knew' was unattainable. Such is the power of holding a desire in complete faith and assurance, to the extent of giving up everything else in order to pursue that one, seemingly impossible goal. What was impressive as well was the way the Notre Dame players offered up their own spot in the final game of the season's line-up to allow Rudy his very last chance to get into a game. even if it meant sitting the bench. Whether it happened the way it was portrayed or not, I had to feel somewhat disappointed in coach Dan Devine (Chelcie Ross) for not sharing the team's compassion and loyalty to their indefatigable teammate in that final game. It wouldn't have killed him to show some support for a guy who in turn supported Notre Dame in every way possible. Although the film is more than a couple decades old as I write this, it's nice to know that the real life 'Rudy' Ruettiger is still alive at the age of seventy one, and has served as inspiration for many others to follow. As was mentioned by various characters in the film, we could all benefit from more Rudy's in the world.