I don't know a red-blooded American male that doesn't weep at the power of RUDY. Between Jerry Goldsmith's music, Sean Astin's perfect performance as a blue collar dreamer and the power of its roots in a true story, this is the sports film that makes every grown man choke up.
Yep. Me too.
The film immerses us in Rudy's family life in a small steel town. He's been told his entire life he's too small to play football, he's not smart enough to attend Notre Dame.
Ned Beatty is terrific as his Father Daniel, whose own dreams never looked beyond the mill. His speech to Rudy at the Greyhound bus station is sad and believable.
After a tragedy, Rudy leaves everything and heads to Notre Dame, determined to play football for The Irish and prove every naysayer wrong.
There's so much that this film gets right.
The casting is amazing.
Sean Astin (The Lord of the Rings, The Goonies) IS Rudy. He never has a non-genuine moment in the entire film.
Jason Miller (The Exorcist) is excellent as Coach Ara Parseghian.
A very young Jon Favreau is hilarious as D-Bob, a TA at Holy Cross who quickly bonds with Rudy.
Charles S. Dutton (Alien3) is Notre Dame groundskeeper Fortune, Rudy's ticket onto the field long before he attends the university. Dutton is fantastic.
I've never been a huge Notre Dame fan, but watching Dutton's face as Rudy repeats his favorite Knute Rockne speech in an empty locker room, I think I get it. Tradition and history are a powerful combo and there's no better medium than film to truly stir those emotions.
This is one of Jerry Goldsmith's finest scores, SOARING at all the right moments. He also knows exactly when to let the game sounds be all the accompaniment the film needs. But WOW, when Rudy opens that letter alone on the bench and one of Goldsmith's most famous themes rises from a full orchestra....whew. It should be in a museum of how great film music can elevate a scene. And the track "The Final Game" is a piece of legendary film music. Used for numerous trailers and even Presidential campaigns, it tears through you and lifts you up.
If this wasn't a true story, you'd never believe it.
The friendships are real, the brotherhood is powerful.
This is one of only two films in history that were allowed to be shot at Notre Dame, "Knute Rockne All American" in 1940 was the other.
The film wouldn't work if Sean Astin wasn't so perfectly earnest in the role. He's never delusional, just committed. He carves out a truly inspirational character and I can't think of anyone we've ever rooted for on this level.
Every supporting character is carefully crafted, adding to the power of the story. This was Vince Vaughn's film debut and his first of many films with Favreau.
The last twenty minutes of the film, the final game of his senior year, is flawless moviemaking, offering the perfect ending to a film that defines "crowd-pleaser."
RUDY is an emotional powerhouse. It ALWAYS gets to me (and every football fan I know) no matter how many times I see it.
By never patronizing to its audience and respecting the true heart that makes sports great, RUDY climbs to the top of my favorite sports films, earning an A+.
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