2008 Woodie Awards
Mark Wahlberg turns Invincible
Jeff Strickler ; McClatchy Newspapers
Issue date: 8/30/06 Section: Opinion
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When the folks at Disney stumbled on "Remember the Titans," they fell into a gold mine: inspiring sports stories based on real people doing real things. Every even-numbered year since that football movie came out in 2000, the studio has issued a similar film: "The Rookie" (baseball) in 2002, "Miracle" (hockey) in 2004 and now "Invincible" (back to football).
"
Invincible" recounts the saga of Vince Papale (Pah-pa-lee), a laid-off teacher who went to a tryout for the Philadelphia Eagles and ended up making the team. Don't worry; we're not giving away the ending. Not only is his making the team a vital part of the studio's true-story format, but the TV ads and lobby posters show him in his uniform.
Besides, Papale already is the stuff of legend, especially in Philadelphia. And anyone with an Internet connection can get his story _ and note that, unlike the aforementioned movies, the filmmakers didn't mind taking liberties with it.
Papale is played by Mark Wahlberg. Having lost his teaching job to a budget cut, he's tending bar in a small joint that's home to some of Philadelphia's most ardent Eagle fans when Coach Dick Vermeil (Greg Kinnear) announces that the team is holding open tryouts.
It's a publicity stunt. The team is coming off an atrocious season, and Vermeil is trying to find something that will divert the sports columnists from their daily lambastings. He also figures he can use it to send a message to the players: Shape up or we'll find people to take your place, even if we have to drag them off the street.
Papale doesn't intend to go, but the barflies talk him into it. After all, the tryout will be held at Philadelphia's hallowed Veterans Stadium, so for one afternoon, he can walk the sod on which his beloved Eagles tread.
The filmmakers apparently don't feel that Papale's accomplishment was inspiring enough on its own. They make a big deal over the fact that he never played college football, but don't mention that he was a sprinter who attended college on a track scholarship and played semi-pro football after he graduated.
"
Invincible" recounts the saga of Vince Papale (Pah-pa-lee), a laid-off teacher who went to a tryout for the Philadelphia Eagles and ended up making the team. Don't worry; we're not giving away the ending. Not only is his making the team a vital part of the studio's true-story format, but the TV ads and lobby posters show him in his uniform.
Besides, Papale already is the stuff of legend, especially in Philadelphia. And anyone with an Internet connection can get his story _ and note that, unlike the aforementioned movies, the filmmakers didn't mind taking liberties with it.
Papale is played by Mark Wahlberg. Having lost his teaching job to a budget cut, he's tending bar in a small joint that's home to some of Philadelphia's most ardent Eagle fans when Coach Dick Vermeil (Greg Kinnear) announces that the team is holding open tryouts.
It's a publicity stunt. The team is coming off an atrocious season, and Vermeil is trying to find something that will divert the sports columnists from their daily lambastings. He also figures he can use it to send a message to the players: Shape up or we'll find people to take your place, even if we have to drag them off the street.
Papale doesn't intend to go, but the barflies talk him into it. After all, the tryout will be held at Philadelphia's hallowed Veterans Stadium, so for one afternoon, he can walk the sod on which his beloved Eagles tread.
The filmmakers apparently don't feel that Papale's accomplishment was inspiring enough on its own. They make a big deal over the fact that he never played college football, but don't mention that he was a sprinter who attended college on a track scholarship and played semi-pro football after he graduated.
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