message in the movies By Rev. Bruce Batchelor Glader

                 
Invincible  Rated PG
Directed by Ericson Core.  Starring Mark Wahlberg, Greg Kinnear


Photos © Copyright Walt Disney Pictures

Here’s another sports film “based on a true story” that, in its own quiet fashion, stands out from the pack.  In the mid-70s the Philadelphia Eagles were having a miserable run and the city of Philadelphia was in the midst of economic struggles and labor strikes.  Dick Vermeil (Kinnear) is hired to coach the team and, in hopes of boosting the hometown morale, decides to hold open tryouts.  Vince Papale (Wahlberg) is struggling to make ends meet as a substitute teacher and part-time bartender at the neighborhood watering hole.  Vince is the star of late-night pickup football games with his buddies, who encourage him to see if he can get to play with the Eagles.  Coach Vermeil is impressed and Vince is given his chance.  While the direction the film is going is obvious, the film eschews corny training camp hi jinks (primarily because the other players don’t really appreciate an amateur athlete making the cut) to focus on Vince’s relationship with his friends, his father, and his struggles to handle the aftermath of divorce.  Papale is a modest man who doesn’t expect his dream to be realized, but knows that everyone (including himself) could use a little hope. The film, like Vince, has a lot of heart, and it is a reminder to all of us that there are always new possibilities ahead to those who have friends, family and faith

Pitchfork Rating: Five halos.  (. (Friendship and persistence are honored in a film that celebrates second chances.)   One pitchfork. . (Since much of the film takes place in a bar, there’s much alcohol consumption; one scene of implied off-screen hanky-panky.)

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