It's 1974, and the men in Vince Papale (Mark Wahlberg)'s neighborhood are having a tough time. They're either laid off like him or on strike. They do still have each other, though. They love their backlot football games, meeting at the tavern, and cheering for the Philadelphia Eagles, who have also had a lot of bad luck. A new coach (Greg Kinnear) comes to the Eagles and holds an open try-out. Anyone can come down and try for a place on the team. His pals urge 30-year old Vince to go, and the rest, as they say, is history.
I'm not much of a football fan, but I did like this movie. It's a Disney movie so there's nothing off-color, and it's all about trying your best, sticking together, and having a good heart. The cast is excellent and the script really held my interest. There is a lot of hard-hitting (American) football action that should please fans. I liked that we got to know and care about Vince and his friends and their gritty neighbourhood seemed real. A very muddy football game filmed in slow-motion is especially good. Not only is this a good story, it's a true story, with a winning combination of action and emotion.