I am not an athletic person. By any means or by any description. I'm not horrifically uncoordinated, but I wouldn't be your first pick. But when it comes to sport in films - SIGN ME UP. I went to see 'Goon' in the cinema last night (a strong 3/5, I recommend) and it got me thinking; a lot of my favourite movies involve sports. Which is a bit weird, as I don't really like watching sports on television or anything like that. Again, I don't hate it, but I would much rather watch a documentary about someone who is horrifically obese or something like that.
The fascination started from an early age. 'Little Giants' and 'The Sandlot Kids' were two of my favourite ever films as a child, and they pretty much still are. The THRILL of seeing the underdog triumph is second to none, and this is perhaps the root of my passion. I also developed an intense obsession with 'A League of Their Own' and was entirely convinced that I too was going to become a female baseball star. It could still happen, just FYI. Other highlights from this period would be 'Cool Runnings' (still gutted they never won) and 'The Big Green' (they played SOCCER). And let's not forget the BEST TRILOGY OF ALL TIME, otherwise known as 'The Mighty Ducks'. Who doesn't love those films?
Don't even get me started on crap dance movies. OMG I LOVE THEM SO MUCH. 'Save the Last Dance', all of the 'Step Up' films, 'Bring It On' (and sequels), 'Dirty Dancing', 'Footloose' (original and remake)...I could go on forever. I am completely confident in saying that there is no dance film out there that I would not love.
As I have matured, in years at least, I have become ever more interested in this genre of film. I have now developed a deeper love of a sub-genre of this genre - fighting movies. 'The Fighter', 'Karate Kid', 'Warrior' (still obsessed), 'Fight Club' (sort of counts) - I just can't get enough. I never think that I'll be that bothered, then by the time the climax arrives I will be weeping and rooting for the hero.
So why am I so interested? It baffles me a little, but I think I've worked it out. It simplifies the basic concept of most films (someone trying to surmount an obstacle) into something concrete and tangible - if they win the fight, they win at life. It is perfect for illustrating good against evil, light against dark, David against Goliath. Inevitably, I always end up cheering for the underdog and, inevitably, they usually win. This is because generally, in sports movies, the goodies always win. The baddies are usually Russian or something, but let's not dwell on the frequently employed racial stereotypes and just focus on the TRIUMPH OF THE GUY WE PROBABLY FANCY. We don't need to think about anything during the film or worry about anything after it, as we can usually assume that the guy out cold probably had pretty low morals, and the guy bleeding profusely, but conscious and fist pumping, represents all that is good in the world.
The exception to all of this is 'Rocky', and the many sequels. I just can't deal with Sylvester Stallone.
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