American Underdog is inoffensive, which is about the best you could ask of a Christian football movie
Anna Paquin and Zachary Levi star in this feel-good biopic of NFL Hall of Famer Kurt Warner
Film Reviews Underdog
Church and God don’t come up until at least a half an hour into the sports biopic American Underdog, but the signs that this is a “faith-based entertainment” are there from the start. There’s the down-home setting, for one, as well as the strangely wholesome aura that surrounds the Iowa honky tonk where future NFL star Kurt Warner (Zachary Levi) meets ex-Marine/single mom Brenda (Anna Paquin) at the beginning of the film. As it turns out, American Underdog was directed by brothers Andrew and Jon Erwin, who have made a career out of PG-rated dramas that combine chaste romance and generic uplift for a churchgoing crowd. But compared to the brothers’ debut, the “abortion survivor” revenge fantasy October Baby, American Underdog is downright palatable.
There’s nothing overtly political about this film’s core message of loyalty and perseverance—translated here as “staying in the pocket,” for those who will only accept life lessons in the form of football metaphors. That helps quite a bit. And stars Paquin and Levi are not known for their obnoxious right-wing shitposts, unlike some other Christian actors we could name. Publicly, Paquin mostly keeps quiet about her personal views, except as an advocate for the LGBTQ+ community. And while Levi does talk openly about his belief in God, he’s also criticized Donald Trump for using the Bible as a “prop.”
They’re also both unusually good for one of these films, bringing tender affection and open-hearted trust to the rough early years of their characters’ relationship. When the film opens, Kurt is a college football player struggling to make a name for himself in the sport. Over the course of 112 minutes, he’ll blow his chance at the pros, work as a stockboy in a grocery store, and crawl his way to the top in the ignominious realm of arena football before the NFL finally comes back around. Along the way, locker-room groupies and unpaid heating bills will test Kurt and Brenda’s relationship, although again this movie is a little too well-scrubbed for sexual infidelity to be a credible threat.
Instead, we have dogged, seemingly foolhardy determination in pursuit of a dream. American Underdog regards dreams as near-sacred things, and although an opening monologue acknowledges that Kurt’s story is improbable, the implication is still that you, the audience member, can do it too if you work (and believe) hard enough. Absent the praying bit, which is less prominent here than in other recent faith-based films, that’s not an unusual message coming from Hollywood. And if you can swallow your cynicism long enough to watch any number of kids’ movies with a “believe in yourself and you can do anything” theme, you can probably tolerate American Underdog as well.
That being said, it might be difficult to suppress a snort during, say, the scene where Kurt is shelving Wheaties and imagining his own face on the box. It’s corny stuff, and Levi has a smirking quality to him that sometimes reads as if he can’t believe he’s starring in this crap. He is credible as a clean-cut, all-American boy, however, and he and Paquin work as an onscreen couple. In fact, some of their banter is kind of cute. The supporting cast has its charms as well, particularly Ser’Darius Blain in the agreeable turn as Mike Hudnutt, Kurt’s boot-scootin’ best friend and roommate at the University Of Northern Iowa.
Another pleasant aspect of this innocuous film is its small-town mid-’90s setting, evoked by way of Tim McGraw jukebox hits and hunter green wallpaper in botanical patterns. Paquin’s wigs will be a nostalgia trip for anyone raised in the ’90s Midwest, and the passage of time is marked by the evolution in her outfits from acid-washed denim to the polyester pantsuits that hung on the racks of every Express in every mall in America circa 1998. None of this is meant to be ironic or kitschy, à la The Eyes Of Tammy Faye. It’s just taken for granted that this milieu is one that the film’s audience will find comforting.
It’s not until its final half that American Underdog really gets into the game of football, bringing in Chance Kelly and Dennis Quaid as St. Louis Rams coaches Mike Martz and Dick Vermiel. Here, themes of destiny and faith are emphasized, culminating with Warner’s first appearance at the Super Bowl in January 2000. We won’t spoil the outcome of that game, as it’s the climax of the film (and easily Googled, if you simply must know). But come on. Do you really think, given the type of movie this is, that Kurt is going to fumble?
197 Comments
really? Anna Paquin. Huh. I like Zach Levi a lot, hope he doesn’t turn into a total shitheel.
for real. I am shocked she made the movie just because she had to wear that god-awful wig (and yes I know that’s what Warner’s wife’s hair really looks like). Paquin must have really needed a paycheck but I guess she and Vampire Bill aren’t working much these days.
Who wouldn’t want to look like Markie Post and David Bowie were wrestling on their head?
I was going to insist that you apologize to David Bowie and Markie Post until I remembered they’re both dead. Which is depressing, to say the least.
Anna Paquin wipes the blood off her tits and hurries over to Acker’s Weed Wacker Hair Affair
go on …
Nobody expects elves to have good hair sense.
Sorry, I meant go on about Markie Post and David Bowie wrestling.
It would be AWESOME with the thrashing about and the hair and G_d rest them both.
Well that just sounds like a fun night in the 80’s
Sounds like an exceptional night in the 80’s!
Brenda Warner grew out her hair, dyed it blonde, and is actually almost attractive now
yeah I just looked her up—hubba hubba, she and Kurt are quite an attractive couple, he grew a beard and has that “silver fox” thing going.
For Anna Paquin trashy fun, seek out “Flack” on — imdbTV? Amazon Prime? It was on Starz I think for its first 6-episode season and got a streaming-only second season. About a messed-up PR woman in London (her sister is Anne Dudek, for those who are fans of her.)
Was listening to an episode of Blank Check and they mentioned how He’s always been an evangelical Christian since his Chuck days. One of those people who when asked how did he do that scene he would tell everyone it was “by finding and letting God into his heart” and was like trying to convert people en masse on set.Add on how quickly him and Missy Peregyrm got married and divorced.I wouldn’t get your hopes up.
I certainly did not expect a guy whose last name is Levi to be a Christian.
Yeah, I’m waiting for some terrible news story about him. I’ve been a big fan of his since his Chuck days, even saw a couple of his theater stints, but he was acting up on social media during COVID in ways that made me uncomfortable (particularly when he went on some big, open-to-the-public, not-socially-distanced camping and rafting trip before the vaccines, and just generally not seeming to take it seriously). I think he’s a decent actor, but I’m less sure he’s a great person.
My hope for Levi is that the rah-rah evangelicalism is just a front, and at some point he’ll break down and admit he’s really a Zoroastrian.
Seeing Levi’s Instagram as this pandemic has gone has really take notice how much stuff he posts is kinda both sides, centrist, be smarter bullshit that generally makes me think there’s lots of red flags on his beliefs.
TILI would have bet anything he was Jewish (as much from his role on Mrs. Maisel as his name, lol).
I also too, hope Zach Levi doesn’t turn out to be the Chris Pratt of the Ryan Reynolds.
I know Warner is one of those real vocal and real proud Christians type, but he does seem like a somewhat decent guy by and large. AND he took the Cardinals to a SB which seems like insanity. And yes I know Kyle Boller and I will put odds the Cards don’t go to the SB this year.
I can’t figure if you meant to say Kyler Murray bc of the Cardinals this year, or if you actually meant Kyle Boller because he’s like the anti-Kurt Warner in that he was shitty and obnoxiously Christian (that second part I interpret from who he’s married to).
I can’t stand Christian movies. And I’m so, so disappointed to see Paquin and Levi in some manipulative religious garbage. ….But then I watched that trailer. And I’m from St. Louis. And I was in high school and watched every week when Warner turned in maybe the greatest season/rags-to-riches story ever. And god fucking dammit if I didn’t start to tear up. Fuck me. I might actually watch this….not in the theater, mind you, I would never show my face and buy a ticket for this. But Hulu in a couple months? I’m there. May god have mercy on my soul.
I think it helps that the Kurt Warner story genuinely is impressive and interesting, religious element notwithstanding, so there’s no reason that even a film that plays up the Faith element can’t be good.I say this as a casual football fan from across the pond but I always liked the whole Kurt Warner thing despite my own godlessness.
Yeah, Warner has always seemed like a humble, genuinely good guy. I’ve always rooted for him. Even long after he left STL. That interception against the Steelers in the SB was heartbreaking.
Kurt Warner seems to live it as well with his charitable acts. I also tend to believe that if two people who went through what Kurt and Brenda need to believe in something to get through the day, more power to them.
Yeah, I think it helps that Warner seems actually Christian (as in “love thy neighbor”, doing good works, etc. without all of the other negative bullshit we see a lot of the time) and Levi and Paquin appear the same. See also Sandra Bullock, by all accounts.Not, you know, Chris Pratt or Betsy DeVos…
Other than that anti-gay church, what has Pratt done? He didn’t go full Kirk Cameron, did he?
Yeach, nothing that bad, per se. You *never* go full Kirk Cameron (or Willie Aames)!But “anti-gay church” is a really bad start…
Came here to say the same. I’m a Giants fan; Warner was here as a placeholder for young Eli. He could not have handled his role with any more class, grace, and humility. He always struck me a genuinely good man.
I remember hearing from one of Warner’s coaches at St Louis. Warner bobbled a snap in practice and it was completely the Centre’s fault apparently. This coach tore into Warner for ages, knowing full well Warner hadn’t made the mistake, and Warner just took it and never once gave up his team mate. The coach said that he knew right there Warner had what it took.This was in a program *about* Kurt Warner so there’s every chance the coach was playing up this story, but to paraphrase the great Stewart Lee “This story about Kurt Warner may not be true, but I think what it tells us about him is”.
The problem with most Christian cinema isn’t so much the Christian element as the fact that almost all of it is artless polemic with the subtlety of a brick through your windshield. Everything, say, Kirk Cameron or Dinesh D’Souza has been involved in has been concerned with communicating a smug self-righteousness far and above hiring anyone who knows how to make a movie.
But, say, Pasolini just did a straight Bible adaptation that’s pretty great because he figured out how to direct before he started lecturing people.
The DeMille fella seemed to know his way around a movie
Yep! Though it’s kind of telling that we’re going back 60-65 years for examples. At this rate, there should be another decent Christian film along in 2080 or so.
I saw a Christian horror movie a few years back called The Remaining, it was pretty good.
I have no problem with this kind of Christian movie, where it is implied that his faith helped him succeed in football, but was hardly the main reason for his success. I have all kinds of issues with the type of Christian move where faith completely changes the course of their future, and suddenly makes them successful or grants their wishes just because they prayed really hard. Or the type where people’s lack of faith makes them by definition worse people than those with faith.
Those types of movies are not only offensive, they’re bad theology. Prosperity Gospel nonsense is ruining Christianity.
I’d say the belief in the supernatural is, but tomato-tomahto
And let’s face it, his story is frankly astonishing. It’s one thing to be out of the league and maybe catch on playing CFL or Arena, maybe one day sniffing a NFL practice squad. But to go from nothing to league MVP and Super Bowl champ (in his first season!) is straight-up unheard of.
In my family’s Christmas tradition of watching the worst Christmas movies we can find, I’ve seen a few “God is the cause of and solution to all of your problems” films and they are really weird. The protagonists just don’t have to do anything, stuff happens and they get frustrated but they just have to keep existing because god’s plan somehow. “Well grandma died and I got sick so you would have the chance to bang this rugged widower. God’s plan.”They also have really specifically weird gender politics presented as normal like the audience wouldn’t be really confused by what’s happening. Like a movie about a family struggling to pay the bills where it’s never once suggested the wife go back to work, or one of the “bang the rugged widower” movies where they definitely have to get married before she can stay at his house when she moves to the region for work.
Bang the Rugged Widower sounds like the title of a bodice-ripper from 1972.
But if a an actual omnipotent being existed, they *could* grant wishes to people who prayed really hard. Sure, there are “reasonable” religious people who still rely on themselves, modern medicine, science, etc. rather than prayer, but if you think about it, it’s because deep down these people get that there is no guy in the sky but don’t want to admit it.
Warner’s a genuinely religious guy who doesn’t cram his beliefs down other peoples’ throats. He just quietly lives it. He also acknowledges fully it’s what kept him from giving up on his career, so for once at least a movie can lean into faith without making it some sort of epiphany that turns the hero’s life around. And good on the filmmakers for not turning him into some sort of locker room prophet. I’m frankly impressed by the restraint.
>I’m so, so disappointed to see Paquin and Levi in some manipulative religious garbageGotta pay the mortgage somehow. Ask Michael Caine what he thinks of Jaws The Revenge.
I don’t think it was fair, though, that Jesus was only on Warner’s side.
have you noticed that the game monopoly is produced by only one company?(stolen from steven wright)
I still remember Warner [uh, spoiler] hoisting the SB trophy and shouting “THANK YOU JESUSSS!”. It was pretty cringy, but I guess it’s what he felt got him there.
There are a lot of good movies out there with a Christian theme, or that have Christian characters and don’t shy away from portraying that, but when I hear “Christian movie” that’s not what I picture. I picture a smug, poorly done movie whose message (usually, “Christians are horribly persecuted in America,” but occasionally, “If you believe hard enough, God will fix all your problems.”) completely overwhelms any sort of artistic ambitions for the movie. There was an article on AV Club back when it still wrote those kind of articles that examined why this is, and I believe the ultimate conclusion was that those type of movies are written for people who never doubt, so there’s never really any conflict. Either there’s basically no antagonist or the antagonist is incredibly cartoonish, and there’s no uncertainty whatsoever about how it’s going to end.
I had a music teacher once who said something along the lines of, you may not be Christian, believe in Christianity, even like Christianity, but think of it like just another entertainment business and it’s just another gig. And can be a very well paid gig at that.
So basically, gay-for-pay but for Jesus?
If you mean like actors pretending to be gay, then even Christians pretend to be Christian all the time.
Yeah I wouldn’t think Anna Paquin or Zachary Levi would need a paycheck that badly to do this sort of movie. So they must be pretty religious, which is fine. Hard to square “Christian Values” with 8 season of Tru Blood though for Paquin. Maybe she’s a late convert?
Not every Christian is a right wing asshole who also thinks that stories about supernatural stuff will send you straight to hell.I’m ashamed it took too many atheists showing their full right wing asshole asses for me to realize this.
Since Paquin is Bisexual I’m pretty sure it’s for the paycheck
Ok, so living in New England. Can we have a sequel where the evil Satan-worshipping Bill Belicheck beat Kurt Warner in SB XXXVI?Then we can at least two more sequels where Bill gets his comeuppance by the Christian-praying Eli Manning and the Holy NY Giants?
I’d rather see the Always Sunny gang make their film debut with a re-telling of Super Bowl LII. I know they already did “The Gang Wins the Big Game,” but this would be set up as the gang’s recollection of the Eagles’ Super Bowl win, which would involve them totally making shit up like Mac inventing the “Philly Special” play or Dennis seducing the entire Eagles cheerleading team.
I would absolutely watch a movie about Belichick and the Patriots’ dynasty that had all the cadences and beats of a standard rousing sports movie, but all the big story moments are just Belichick and the franchise gloriously embracing ruthless amorality. “Coach, what are we going to do about Lawyer Milloy? He’s a legend, but his play has slipped, and we’re paying him so much money.”
*Belichick looks up, a tear glinting in his eyes. The strings of a soaring, inspirational track are faintly heard in the background*“What are we going to do? I’ll tell you what we’re going to do — we’re going to cut him. We’re going to cut him and throw him into the trash heap and we won’t give him so much as a thank you card. Gentlemen, that’s the New England Patriots way.”*Assistant coaches rise and applaud as the inspirational soundtrack becomes deafening*
The rest of America has had enough of the Patriots, thank you.
Like much of the rest of the country has never had issues with the Dallas Cowboys, L.A. Lakers, Pittsburgh Steelers, Boston Celtics or New York Yankees?I don’t even follow sports much at all anymore.
Wait – I know almost nothing about football. There was a player named “Lawyer”?
Ironically, he has a brother who is a lawyer.That brother’s name? Footballplayer Malloy.
The Fargo TV series had a character named Doctor Senator, so why shouldn’t reality have a weird name?The Patriots also had a player named BenJarvus Green-Ellis, whose nickname was “Law Firm” because his name sounded like one; and currently has a player named Jakobi Myers, no relation to the TV-advertising actual lawyers “Jacoby and Meyers”.
I always wondered whether Jakobi Myers was named after Jacoby and Meyers, but in my defence I only knew the latter from the Beastie Boys lyric “Got more suits than Jacoby and Meyers” and I thought they made men’s clothing.
Unfortunately, he was never teammates with former Patriots running back BenJarvus Green-Ellis, whose many names earned him the moniker “Law Firm”
“Money Deflateball.”
And then there would be a scene where’s he’s explaining the decision to reporters and he’d say, in a complete monotone: “Lawyer was a heck of a football player for us. Really enjoyed coaching him. Wish him the best in the future.” With the same inspirational music cues.
NEW England? You’re goin’ back to OLDE England!
You’re last sentence is why many people think the only unifying theme in the universe is chaos.The fucking Giants?? Maybe it says something about the banality of evil or something, a self-aggrandizing yet underperforming organization with a quarterback best described as serviceable, taking down the Evil Empire.
Huh. I would figure that nowadays making an ostensibly Christian movie without guest sermons from Dana Loesch and Mike Lindell would be grounds for excommunication, possibly even stoning.
Oh, I’m sure it is. The nutjobs will be screaming about how this isn’t doesn’t decry sin and abortion enough, and WHY DOESN’T IT SUPPORT PRESIDENT TRUMP.
I’d be happy with a T***p avatar, some fat, loud, overly made up douchebag that the evangelicals in the movie inexplicably followed and even excused, as long as he was named “Baron Fuckface Von Clownstick, heir to the Von Clownstick football empire”.
Oh, but the real Fuckface von Clownstick couldn’t even get his hands on a football team despite desperately trying for years.
There is a school of thought that Trump only ran for President to show those NFL owners what they missed out on. So, retrospectively, I wish they had let him buy a team.
I wish someone bought Hitler’s derivative paintings.
I know I do. Trump being obnoxious in the NFL for the past 35 years would be vastly preferable to what we got.
I bet Dan Snyder wishes Trump were in the league, then he’d only be the second-worst owner
Kurt Warner seems like a genuinely good guy, and he seems to live what he preaches. With that said, this treacly BS looks awful. And I didn’t know Kurt was a 47-year-old rookie that threw like a girl.
As someone who does not follow the football much, when I first saw the trailer I legitimately thought it was about a 40-something stock clerk who becomes a professional football player, which would have been a more interesting movie, if briefer.
I recall back when he was with the Rams him saying in an interview that the reason for his success was that he have up fornication so it’s probably pretty accurate.
When the film opens, Kurt is a college football player 41 year old Zachary Levi plays a college football player.Okay.
Ben Platt walked so Zachary Levi could run.
William Bendix — all 42 years of whom playing the 18-year-old Babe Ruth — nods in silent approval.
Problem?
Robert De Niro played a 20-something Frank Sheeran in The Irishman.
I mean, he technically played a teenage boy in SHAZAM!
the Taysom Hill story!
Yeah I’ve been very confused by this having only seen the trailer (and not knowing who Kurt Warner is). I thought it was about a 30-something who goes back to college and wins a bowl game.
https://www.theonion.com/kurt-warner-cheered-on-by-wire-haired-man-goblin-1819587103
But is it better or worse than the “Kevin James as Sean Payton” football movie?
Since there appear to be other sports-related comments in here… I’m also originally from St. Louis, and like many, I was so disappointed to learn that Kurt was leaving town to go to the Giants, and then again to the Cardinals. His skill-set was clearly diminishing, and it appeared that his days under center as a starter were over.If you’ve ever wondered why he suddenly found new life in Arizona… the apocryphal story is that it had to do with wide-receiver Larry Fitzgerald, but not in the way you might think.Kurt’s problem was that he’d sustained an injury to his throwing hand, and it made gripping the football much more difficult. If you can’t grip well, or feel your fingers, it disrupts your accuracy. He found himself a shadow of the player he was because of it.When he gets to Arizona, Larry Fitzgerald is wearing a pair of brand-new receiver gloves. He encourages Kurt to try on a pair himself, and suddenly… the grip is back. Not all the way, but enough to enable a much more accurate throw than he’d had in years past. The technology on the gloves had changed from years past, and they still weren’t common gear for quarterbacks that traditionally needed to “touch” the ball.It pains me as a St. Louis fan to know that the city didn’t get to have Kurt Warner for his entire NFL career… for want of a better glove. But without it, Kurt doesn’t take two different teams to the Super Bowl, and he’s probably not remembered as fondly across the league.
“And stars Paquin and Levi are not known for their obnoxious right-wing shitposts, unlike some other Christian actors we could name. Publicly, Paquin mostly keeps quiet about her personal views, except as an advocate for the LGBTQ+ community. And while Levi does talk openly about his belief in God, he’s also criticized Donald Trump for using the Bible as a “prop.””What the fuck was the point of these 3 sentences? Sounds like you’re a little triggered, bringing up a “Christian” theme where there really isn’t one.
Lol, you don’t think this movie has a Christian theme?
The review is Rife with anti-religious bigotry.
It is definitely a Christian movie.
I see they didn’t get Paquin’s hair right. Probably would have taken a Rick Baker or Rob Bottin to recreate Brenda’s frightening hair.And Holy Hell, I love NFL football and you still couldn’t convince me to watch 5 seconds of this thing.
Crow’s New Hair, meet Brenda’s Frightening Hair.
Meh, wake me up when Terrence Malick’s life of Jesus movie is released.It’s jarring we have movies like this now, given that a true depiction of American evangelical Christianity today would involve not getting vaccinated and the belief that Trump is still president. But celebrating everyday human values that aren’t particularly religious by calling them “Christian” seems like ignoring the big elephant in the room.
Whenever I see the phrase “devout evangelical Christian” I mentally replace it with “religious zealot.” It’s fun!
Does Jesus spend 45 minutes staring at a bug on a leaf?
Based on the previews, if anyone should have a beef with this, it’s Mike Martz. It’s clear who Warner considers the Satan in his football life.
Let me preface by saying the title isn’t offensive or anything, but why “American Underdog”? “Underdog” is better and it doesn’t seem the “American” modifier really makes it anything special and frankly just more cheesyu. Thinking about other “American” movies — “American Gangster” or “American Sniper” — the modifier has a more important bearing on the themes and stories being told. I guess it comes down to the audience they’re going for — almost like cinematic SEO.Oddly specific musing over.
I once saw someone make a point about how ridiculous the “American _____” naming convention is by replacing it with Canadian.“Canadian Underdog”“Canadian Sniper”“Canadian Psycho”
I’d watch the hell out of two of those three. “Canadian History X”“Canadian Pie”And just to evolve it:“Wet Hot Canadian Summer”
“Canadian Hustle”“Captain Canada: The Winter Soldier”“Once Upon a Time in Canada”
Captain Canada & The Avengers (who are presumably also Canadian)
Isn’t that Alpha Flight, The Kinja Caffeine Spider?I’m haunting everyone from the Greys….
“Captain Canada: The Winter Soldier” can no longer be made, John Candy isn’t here and frankly, he was the only Captain Canada…
There literally is a movie called “Once Upon a Time in Canada”. And there also is a superhero called Captain Canuck, who is the Canadian equivalent to Captain America, but no movies about him (so far).
“A Canadian Werewolf in London”
A Canadian Werewolf in London, Ontario, or: Just a Werewolf
Canadian Bacon . . . whoops, nevermind
Young CanadianCanadian WomanWe’re a Canadian Band
…the Nickelback Story
How “America” and “U.S.” got to be used interchangeably, especially when America is two whole continents joined by a land bridge, really shows us who live in the U.S. up as conceited provincials.Especially given the song in the middle comes from the Canadian group The Guess Who, originally from the exciting city of Winnipeg.
If Eugene Levy is not in Canadian Pie, we all need to question the world we live in.
Canadian Pie would also have Eugene Levy.
The last two could be amazing parodies of Americans’ views of Canadian people. Like the Canadian Sniper only shoots people in the shoulder or something.
“Canadian Psycho”
“Pardon me, Miss, but I’m gonna haveta kill ya now, eh? Don’t fret, I’m not into torture or sick things like that….“Soh-rry.”
Canadian MeA Canadian in ParisCanadian BeautyCanadian Crime StoryOnce Upon a Time in CanadaComing to CanadaAll The Prime Minister’s Men
Team Canada: Canada-Only Police“Canada! It’s pretty okay, eh?”
I was going to say something like this myself. Leave it to fetus-obsessed Christians to unironically use “American” in their title, when it’s almost always interchangeable with “fucked up.” People used to this naming convention will probably expect racism, drug abuse, and/or graphic violence to be present. Would probably make a better movie, though.
This may be very age-specific or even me-specific, but “Underdog” is an animated dog that shines shoes, talks like Wally Cox (you know, him) and is constantly flying off to rescue Sweet Polly Purebred.Perhaps more importantly, there have been several films titled “Underdog” and someone may have decided this one needed to be set apart from them.Also, what we call football is known as American football in much of the world.Or, a naked appeal to nationalism. It could be that.
Good point on the Underdog (at 35 here, I recall seeing those cartoons growing up, so I can see there being confusion), but yeah, it’s probably the nationalism.
You’re fortunate to have forgotten the 2007 live action feature starring Peter Dinklage https://images.app.goo.gl/eR7Gu1cJDZbuhvaUA
Yes! So do I, SpecialCharactersNotAllowed!
For those who aren’t familiar, the old Underdog theme song:
LOL. That is so…weird.
Pale brown fur and black ears?
Looks like Danny DeVito male-pattern baldness…
You can’t choke on the flag in a fit of jingoism if you are not clearly told which flag.
Team Canada, Maple Syrup Inspectors? Having trouble moving the metaphor. Any help would be appreciated.
it’s absolutely cinematic SEO and it’s been going on since long before SEO was even a term.
Because it’s American Football, rather than what the rest of the world considers “Football” and we call “Soccer”?
Because he plays a sport that’s only popular in the US?
The original title was “White Christian Underdog” but the PR people thought it was a bad idea.
Nooo. Save the title Underdog for the real thing.
It makes perfect sense to me. This is a Christian-adjacent movie about a clean-cut white boy playing the national sport. It’s already targeted at a very specific kind of audience, and tacking on something that makes it sound patriotic will only help separate these rubes from their money.As an aside, if you stood outside the theater and asked 100 audience members how they liked, 95% of them would say, “This is the kind of good, clean movie Hollywood doesn’t make anymore.”
Canadian Splendor
Team Canada: World Police
Canadian Beauty
Coming to Canada
Anna Paquin takes time out from being a public defender at nocturnal court to come give Lucky 13 a big Christian closed teeth peck for totally non-pagan good luck!
I just did a fast search on this guy, and so he’s “famous” because he loved Jesus and played football, then he loved Jesus and joined the Army, then he loved Jesus and played more football, then he loved Jesus and didn’t play football, then he loved Jesus and played yet more football and his wife looks like she gets her hair styled at Club Meow Mix.
Well, he’s famous because he played pro football at the top level for 10 years, and was the QB for Super Bowl champion St Louis (now Los Angeles) Rams in 2000. I think his Christianity had little to do with his fame.Of course, if pro sports means nothing to you (and there’s nothing wrong with that), then yes, you are right.
I bet that’s not what he’d say.
You’ll have to ask him, but not knowing who Kurt Warner is means you’re really just commenting on the wrong review.
Oh wait, this isn’t the Boba Fett thread.
I mean, it could be.
Raise your hand if you never understood how he couldn’t just jetpack his way out of the Sarlaac?
I don’t think The Canon has specifically addressed that yet, so maybe that’s just what he did.
I present at a Jets game when Warner was playing for the Cardinals against them, the year Brett Favre was the Jets QB. The final was 56-35 Jets. It’s the second-highest scoring game in Jets history. It was effin wild.https://www.statmuse.com/nfl/game/9-28-2008-ari-@-nyj-13388
It’s cool if you’re not into sports, but your take is vastly underrating Warner’s significance to pro football. He’s famous because he was unbelievably good.
And an interesting character for a story not just because he (ended up) being unbelievably good, but because he came out of nowhere to get there. You had never ever heard of this guy, and then all the sudden he’s the best QB in the NFL, everyone’s first overall pick in fantasy for years. And then the backstory about him working in grocery stores and whatever. It was a great and fascinating story at the time, and he wasn’t in any way obnoxious with his Christianity (that I remember), I’m not surprised it got a treacly movie.
IIRC his wife was publicly much more obnoxious with their Christianity.
I don’t know about “unbelievably good” or “first choice fantasy draft pick for years”. The Rams’ greatest show on turf lit up the NFL for 3years and then got punched in the mouth in their second SB appearance by underdogs Brady and Belichick to kickstart their dynasty. Gripe all you want about New England cheating, but that pretty much ended the Rams stint at the top. Warner then wound up on a truly mediocre Cardinals team that managed to make it to another SB and came up slightly short against Pittsburgh. Warner’s first SB season was unbelievable but we’re not talking about a guy that deserves his own wing in Canton.
I said he was “unbelievably good”. You said his first SB season was “unbelievable”. Are you actually in disagreement?The 1998 Rams went 4-12. The next year, they lost their starting quarterback in the preseason. In came this guy who no one had ever heard of, and he led them to a dominant 13-3 record and won the Super Bowl. He was named league MVP in both the regular season and the Super Bowl. He was on the cover of SI.I don’t know how it worked in your fantasy league, but he was our #1 pick following each of the peak Greatest Show on Turf years, which was three or four drafts starting in 2000.He wasn’t the best QB ever to play the game, or even of his era (Brady has the lock on both of those, although Warner was unbelievaby good before Brady was), but he was everything I said.
Warner shone brightly for 3 seasons and then regressed back to the norm. That’s all I’m saying.
I’m not a big Kurt Warner fan, but he brought the Cardinals to the Super Bowl ten years later, which up until then was an historically bad franchise. He didn’t win it, but the Cards got to the divisional round the following season. He retired after that.
I’ll defend that Cardinals team. Larry Fitzgerald was scary good.
Yeah, just being in Canton means he was unbelievably good and one of the best at his position so no full wing needed, just the bust.
Coming from the Arena League no less, to a Super Bowl.
He also had a Hall of Fame career in a relatively short (for a modern QB) career. He had an absolute cannon of an arm. Kurt Warner was a great quarterback.
I did a fast search on this Muhammad Ali guy, and so he’s “famous” because he loved God and boxed, then he loved God and wouldn’t join the army, then he loved God and couldn’t box, then he loved God and boxed yet again, and his daughters boxed too and did bad reality tv stunts.
If you had to look him up, then your opinion is probably not real accurate.
I’m right there with you in not caring about football or Kurt Warner, bro.
Football and jebus I now have 2 excuses to miss a Zach Levi movie. I loved him in chuck and he is not that pushy religious or right wing on his social media. As for Chuck stars being right wing there is always Adam Baldwin.
😐👈
This headline is just a blatant lie. The best thing I could ask from a Christian football movie is that it features a scene with Jesus scoring a touchdown and then celebrating with his team, which is composed of ethnically diverse children and a white one in a wheelchair.
EVERY pass is a “Hail Mary”!
He prefers to call it a “Hail Mom.”
excellent.
Pregame in the locker room looks something like this…
You sayin’ Jesus Christ can’t hit a curve ball?!
Possibly my all-time favorite movie line. Funny as hell in the moment while also summing up how ridiculous it is to believe that God would care about the outcome of a sports competition.
One of my movies where if I happened to go by it, I’d stop and sit with it again.
“Up yours, Jobu!”
BLASPHEMY!!!!
THAT is fucking awesome.
Hey bartender, Jo-bu needs a re-fill!
That sounds like a Family Guy bit.
Dropkick Me Jesus Through the Goalposts of Life should really be in the soundtrack.
Fast forward to 0:21. That’s what I hear when people say shit like “work hard and you’ll achieve it”
My biggest laugh in a movie theater this year was seeing this poster. I figured it would be on the inoffensive side but hoo boy!
I assume I’m like the dozenth person to post this, but here you gohttps://www.theonion.com/kurt-warner-cheered-on-by-wire-haired-man-goblin-1819587103
I mean, yes may he without sin cast the first stone and whatnot, but they really did Mrs Warner a favor by casting Anna Paquin
I didn’t realize Dennis Quaid was in this, so as I was reading through the review I was thinking, “It sounds like it’s set up as a football version of The Rookie with Dennis Quaid” (since the dude Quaid played in that is also a very religious guy, if I recall). I guess he’s taking up the mantle of “the actor that’s in every sports movie” that Chelcie Ross used to have.
Well, it has to be, since xtians are the absolute worst snowflakes out there, needing to be coddled and catered to at every turn, or else they lose their shit, turning into raging Karens and Kens.
My question, if this particular one isn’t offensive, is whether the company involved is involved in those other productions. Because sure Paquin and Levi can grab a paycheck for this crap and say this particular film isn’t funding pray-away-the-gay, but is the company making money off it doing that?
Why is there a literal 50 year old man on a college football team
Katie Rife has serious issues with movies that aren’t about oppression. I’ll bet she’s a real barrel of laughs
The discussion in these comments reminds me of something I’ve long debated internally:Is Wings of Desire — one of my 5 favorite movies of all time — a Christian movie?
Disclaimer: I am not Wim Wenders.No. Lots of religions have angels (or angelic beings under different names) and I don’t recall any direct references to Jesus in the movie. I think in any kind of (small o) orthodox Christianity an angel choosing its own path is a Very Bad Thing. And according to one interpretation of Genesis, mating with humans is to be *strongly* discouraged.
Thank you very much, Person Who Claims to Not Be Wim (wink wink)!
An angel gives up his wings to spend time on Earth with Solveig Dommartin–not a very Christian story there. (I would absolutely make that deal.)If anything (and it’s been awhile since I watched it so I may be garbling something) I’ve always seen of it at something of a parable for the loss of faith that followed the unspeakable death and destruction of WWII, and the importance of finding something spiritual in the everyday.
We won’t spoil the outcome of that game, as it’s the climax of the film (and easily Googled, if you simply must know). But come on. Do you really think, given the type of movie this is, that Kurt is going to fumble?Yes, please don’t spoil the outcome of a Superbowl from two decades ago. I’m sure tons of people actually willing to pay money to see this have no idea what it’s about.
Leave it to these sites to make remotely something out of Christianity being IN the movie and it not having offensive crap in it as being a topic.
All of this just so you can manipulate sheep into talking about Christianity, badly, just because. It was the late 90s/early 2000s and Fake Woke wasn’t the preferred religion yet.
We can still get movies without lots of sex, shoveling LGBT in for a quota, racism, lots of cursing, and murder and it still be good. Some of us would like to be ABLE to watch a film with our kids without it being a cartoon, hell, and even those….
Deleted by poster for misinformation…
I still find it humorous that someone named “Zachary Levi” is Christian. I mean names don’t get much more Jewish than that.
I remember Edgerrin James played out of his mind during the Cardinals’ run through the NFC. They got help from the Eagles beating the 1 seed Giants, saving Warner from having to play in Jersey in the winter.
So he’s like Tim Tebow but with actual NFL talent. Someone had to say it.
Yikes, how quickly a career in holwood can hit the rocks. Levi not to long ago starred in one of the few successful dc movies.