Invincible
Movie Review

It’s well-documented how tough Philadelphia fans can get when that scoreboard doesn’t read in their favor. Had Rocky Balboa thrown a jab the wrong way they’d let him know it. “Hey, coach,” the Eagles contingent blurts during an early scene here, “Thanks for the three wins!” Putting it mildly, the mid 70s was not the best time to be a football fan in green and white. But even with the 31-0 scores, Vince Papale (a pretty cut-up Mark Wahlberg) announces his allegiance. The franchise owner, well, not so much, so he goes out and gets hot shot University of Southern California head coach Dick Vermeil (portrayed superbly by Greg Kinnear).

Vermeil is a hard worker –“I’ll sleep in December”- who brings fresh ideas from the West Coast to the troubled franchise, one of which is a team tryout open to any Joe Schmo who thinks he looks good in a helmet and pads. Scenes with pot-belly-carrying, can’t-catch-a-cold-having men on the field are great. Papale, an out-of-work substitute teacher and just-dumped husband, plays ball once a week in these grueling, Ultimate Fighter-type games with his buddies from the bar. He’s real good, too. Nice hands. Super quick. Yeah, but he’s 30 years old! And has zero college experience. Still, he gives it his all, not just for himself but for his entire blue-collar neighborhood in Philly.

Some of those quiet moments with his pals and pop are a tad saccharine –“When I told you not to get your hopes up, it didn’t mean I wasn’t,” says Vince’s glass-eyed dad during one scene- for some palates. But you gotta hand it to Disney (Glory Road, The Rookie). The Mouse knows how to make a sports-centric flick that’s entertaining to jocks yet inclusive to jills. Seeing as how Wahlberg’s effectively acting out one of the most fascinating stories in NFL history, most know how the true story ends: Papale plays on the team for three years, gets the girl (Elizabeth Banks) and inspires a city. The twist? You smile internally the whole time the thing’s playing out. Grade: B