By Talia Smith
Growing up, there tends to be a degree of separation between the “sports people” and the “arts people.” While we know in our hearts that those separations are quite stupid, for some reason the separation sticks. Like High School Musical suggests, most people “stick to the status quo” when it comes to blending the arts and sports. There is one notable exception… sports movies. Movies about sports have the unique ability to blend two things that many find to be total opposites - athletics and art.
When planning out our San Francisco Giants episode with Aya, I was inspired by all the sports movies I love and grew up with. I firmly believe sports tell some of the most engaging and enticing stories and I wanted to do an episode that explored this idea. So, for this blog, I am compiling a list of some of my favorite movies about sports* for the theatre kid** in all of us***!
* Okay, maybe some will be movies with an “element” of sports added in for the ~dRaMa~
** Not all these movies have a “theatre kid” theme, but I like them and I’m a theatre kid.
*** One does not need to actually do theatre to be a theatre kid. If you know, you know.
Without further ado-
A Theatre Kid’s Guide to Sports Movies
1. High School Musical (1, 2, 3: Senior Year) (2006-2008): It would be very out of character for me NOT to include the legendary High School Musical Trilogy in this list. It’s number one because all I know about basketball, I learned from HSM’s “Getcha Head in the Game.” I used to say the same thing about HSM2’s “I Don’t Dance” and baseball, but Aya really helped me out in that department.
2. Rocky (1976): Again, this is just one of those movies that morphed into my personality. When I was a sophomore in college, I actually did a lot of research on how the Rocky Franchise demonstrates the USA’s attitude towards “American Exceptionalism” through de-industrialization and the Reagan Years. So yes, I know a lot about Rocky. What is so special about this movie, especially the first one, is that it follows the journey of an underdog athlete and how he responds to the world around him. Boxing is merely the background to an incredible love story. A story about romance, home, and strength.
3. A League of Their Own (1992): Penny Marshall is a LEGEND and an underrated queen! Not only does this movie have Madonna and Rosie O’Donnell, but it tells the story of two sisters who join an all women’s baseball league during World War II. Girl Power, history, and an incredible creative team? Honestly, who could ask for anything more?
4. Remember the Titans (2000): I don’t know if it was just me, but my middle school/ high school thought that showing this movie was the cure for racism. While the jury is still out on that claim, it is, nevertheless, a fantastic movie which I have seen hundreds of times. Starring Denzel Washington, Ryan Gosling, and Donald Faison (to name a few), the film focuses on a Virginian high school football team in 1971 when it was forced to integrate. The film and Denzel Washington won a host of awards that season, including The Image Awards (NAACP) for Outstanding Motion Picture and Outstanding Actor in a Motion Picture.
5. Race (2016): Race is a phenomenal film following the story of Jesse Owens during the 1936 “Hitler” Olympics. The 1936 Olympics in Germany is infamous for acting as an international platform for Hitler’s Nazi agenda. Jesse Owens was an African American track and field superstar who broke records as a collegiate athlete at Ohio State University before winning four Gold Medals at the ‘36 Olympics! The film tells the story of Owens' life, but focuses on his experience at the Olympics focusing on his strength and perseverance. It’s honestly such a good movie and I can’t recommend it enough.
6. Eddie the Eagle (2016 USA): The year 2016 brought us SO MANY GREAT OLYMPIC THEMED MOVIES! Starring Taron Egerton and Hugh Jackman (be still my beating heart) as Eddie ‘The Eagle’ Edwards and Bronson Peary respectively, this film tells the story of a British Ski Jumper who decides to train for the 1988 Olympics. Now, for me, this is a home run (notice the baseball pun!). I love the olympics, I love an underdog, and I love the casting!
7. Bend it Like Beckham (2002): This trailblazing film stars Parminder Nagra as Jess, a young, passionate woman determined to pursue her dream of soccer stardom. Despite her parent’s disapproval, she meets Juliette (Kiera Knightley) who convinces her to join a semi-pro women’s team. This movie deals with a lot of social stigmas through the lens of soccer and, in my opinion, is brilliantly managed (another sports joke, get it? Because of team managers? Oh never mind…). I also feel like this film could be considered the first of many soccer themed films of the early aughts.
8. Take Me Out to the Ball Game (1949): So basically, MGM said let’s put Gene Kelly and Frank Sinatra in a movie together but make it baseball. And I’m not mad about it. Fun fact, the title track “Take Me Out to the Ballgame” was written in 1908 by Jack Norworth and Albert Von Tilzer. Legend has it, neither of them attended a baseball game before the song was released. Kinda explains its very vague lyrics and the line “root, root, root for the home team, if they don’t win its a shame,” because that just sounds like something a theatre kid would say when trying to talk sports.
9. Lagaan (2001): You seriously didn’t think I would make a Theatre Kid Guide to Sports without including a Bollywood flick, did you? This film was not only my introduction to Bollywood, but my introduction to the sport of cricket! Based on a true story during the British occupation of India, an Indian village decides to challenge the British self-imposed authority over a game of cricket and literally changed the game. This. Movie. Is. So. Good. It’s also on Netflix.
10. Jump In! (2007): Considering my other picks, this should not be a surprise. In this DCOM classic, Corbin Bleu plays Izzie Daniels, a boxer who tries to live up to his father's expectations. After being introduced to the world of double dutch by his friend and childhood crush, Mary (Keke Palmer), Izzie has to decide if he focuses on his dad’s dream, or his own. This movie has a great soundtrack and tackles, again, a lot of social issues as well as includes the classic “what’s up” response - “Whats don’t go up, prices do.” Iconic.
In Conclusion- Every sport, every game, every player comes with its own enticing narrative. There’s a built in bad-guy, a struggle, and an inevitable victory of either the game or the heart. Movies about sports have the ability to bring to light various social and political issues through a lens that is digestible for the average movie-goer. Every single movie on this list tackles some form of oppression, using sports and athletics to lift a person up and give them the confidence to achieve. While I could write a whole paper on why that is and how sports movies are uniquely positioned to do that, I’m going to encourage you to watch these movies for yourselves. There’s something magical and addicting to movies about sports. They are a unifier. They are great stories. And that's why I, a proud theatre kid, will not "stick to the status quo" and fully endorse movies about sports!
Honorable Mentions: Kicking and Screaming (2005), She’s the Man (2006), Field of Dreams (1989), Fever Pitch (2005), Rudy (1993), On The Waterfront (1954), Ice Princess (2005), The Game Plan (2007)
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