Movie Review: Invincible

Invincible

I'm one of those apparently rare women who actually happens to like watching professional football. I like it better when it matters to me who wins, but I usually enjoy it regardless of whether or not I've got some personal stake in the game. That's one reason I tend to enjoy football movies, and if they're good movies, well, I get some real bang for my admission buck. I had high hopes that Invincible would offer both some good football footage as well as prove to be a decent film, and so I bought a ticket and settled into my seat (ironically, the theatre was mostly empty because high schools in the immediate area were playing their "pre-season" games).

Even with the opening credits, we're brought back to the grim reality of South Philadelphia in the mid 1970's. Union workers are striking at many of the local factories; striking and laid-off workers alike are struggling to pay the bills. In the midst of the hardship is South Philly native, Vince Papale (Mark Wahlberg). As he tries to make ends meet, Vince works part time as a substitute teacher at a local high school as well as at a bar in his neighborhood.

In his few hours of free time, Vince likes nothing better than to play some rough and tumble football with a group of friends and acquaintances — there's no touch football for these men! Their sport is full contact, and Vince not only loves it but he excels at it. In some ways, the games are a way to blow off some of the stress of day-to-day difficulties and worries; in others, they're a bond between the players. Underlying everything, though, is the fact that these men are some of the most diehard Philadelphia Eagles fans you might ever want to meet.

Unfortunately, the Eagles haven't been doing so well of late. Even worse, Vince's wife Sharon (Lola Glaudini) begrudges him even the small joy of these casual games, and their troubled marriage falls apart around his shoulders as Sharon accuses him of being worthless and worse. The Eagles organization decides to hire famed college coach Dick Vermeil (Greg Kinnear) to do something about their problems; Vince, meanwhile, goes to his father, Frank (Kevin Conway), to get a little sympathy for his own.

Vermeil promptly shakes up the Eagles organization and the entire city of Philadelphia when he announces he'll hold open try-outs for the team. Vince's buddies, including his boss Max (Michael Rispoli) urge him to go ahead and give it a shot. Even Max's cousin Janet (Elizabeth Banks), who occasionally tends bar with Vince, seems to be behind him despite the embarrassing fact she's a New York Giants fan.

Vince has no illusions. He knows full well he may be pretty good in a vacant lot, but that there's no way he's qualified to be a pro. Still, it's his one shot at actually being on the field of the stadium rather than in the stands, and he doesn't hold back while he's there. After he runs 40 yards in 4 and a half seconds, though, Coach Vermeil starts to think his open tryouts may pay off in more than publicity. Vince himself is just thrilled to get the invitation to attend football camp with other contenders for the team. But with every success, Vince is also feeling just a little better about himself and to have more reason to hope. And that's more valuable than anything else where he lives.

I don't honestly remember the mid 1970's as being so bad (though at the time I was probably too young to have noticed). But Invincible surely brings home how tough it was for many men in Philadelphia in those days. The movie makers have done a terrific job of depicting rundown housing, dirty factories, and hopeless men. They even tinted the film to resemble the yellowed and washed out kind of thing we saw then. When you combine that with the costuming and the storyline, it's almost as if you can remember such details about those days after all.

Mark Wahlberg is a consistent surprise. As Marky Mark the erstwhile rapper, I wanted nothing to do with him. But the more I see him as an actor, the more impressed I am with his considerable talent. He's very, very good here, making us feel defeat and hope right along with his character but without being overstated about any of it. In fact, his stoicism alone is, at times, heartrending. Meanwhile, Kevin Conway is perfect as the father who has nothing left but to dream for his son, while Elizabeth Banks is more than capable of holding her own with an almost entirely male cast. Greg Kinnear, as always, holds up his end of the picture perfectly well.

First time director Ericson Core is has a terrific future ahead of him if Invincible is any indication. His football scenes in particular are spectacularly shot — no real surprise given that Core has most of his experience in movie making as a cinematographer. The script, while a bit slow to build, also does a good job of telling Vincent Papale's Cinderella story. In fact, if there's any shortcoming in the story itself, it's that we already know how it's going to end. On the other hand, Papale and his story are both so inspiring that even that knowledge doesn't take away from the greatest impact of the film.

The only real criticism I have for Invincible is that the characters were unbelievable in their roughness. These men — most of them, at least — were tough union members and factory workers. They didn't have hoity toity educations, and they surely played as rough as they worked. And yet, because Invincible is a Disney release, there's no bad language and no really serious strife where there was doubtless plenty of both in the real world 30 years ago. The upshot, though, is that you can bring even younger boys (most girls are, I'm sorry to say, not going to like it) to see this movie, and I'd suggest that all of the fathers out there do just that.

FAMILY SUITABILITY: Invincible is rated PG for "some sports action and mild language." Yes, the football hits are hard, and yes, they're shown graphically here. But most boys already know that and can handle it without any problems, so I wouldn't hesitate to say that Invincible is fine for kids age 7 or so and older. As far as adults go, well, Invincible has more than a few moments that will make you cry or cheer as well. I can't imagine too many things better than that to share with your kids! (As an aside, my guess is that young football players everywhere will also appreciate the bonus of some of the details from the football camp — who knew it was quite that tough?)