Viewed in
1996, 2012
Formats
VHS, HDTV
Premise
Sean Astin stars as a down-and-out-and-undersized steel worker is determined to go back to college to play American football for Notre Dame.
Thoughts
Man, I didn't realize how cheesy this was. After dopey/mopey Astin survived the gauntlet of forced obstacles, predictable doubters, kindness of strangers, cliched scenes, repetitive dialog about achieving your dreams, and the obligatory training montage, my cholesterol level skyrocketed.
Despite the eye-rolling scenes, they did wear me down, and the last thirty minutes still packed an emotional punch. Rudy and his goals were personable and relatable (in my case, the memories of regret from quitting high school football, and accomplishment from directing a feature, flooded me throughout). Kudos to the late great Jerry Goldsmith for carving out a fitting and memorable score. Within three notes, I instantly remembered watching it nearly two decades earlier.
For amusement sake, it was fun watching a young, pudgy Jon Favreau as Astin's college buddy. I wonder if his character name, D-Bob, was patient-zero for the slew of T-Mac nicknames?
Rudy was the typical uplifting underdog story, but it's done well.
