Rarely does a film come along that becomes such a cult hit for sports fans, this is not just about football, but about one young man’s dream to have his chance at playing for the University of Notre Dame. Ultimately, this is a testament to the human spirit and one person’s determination to succeed never giving up no-matter how high the stakes are. The screenplay was written by Angelo Pizzo. This was directed by David Anspaugh who previously had success with Hoosiers (1986) which was another sports film starring Gene Hackman, Barbara Hershey, and the late great Dennis Hopper.
Aside from his performance as Sam in The Lord of the Rings franchise films, this film is certainly one of Sean Astin’s finest performances to date, as the real life Daniel E. ‘Rudy’ Ruettiger. You might or might not recognize Jon Favreau as D-Bob in this film, who befriends Rudy at the school. He has lost a considerable amount of weight since this was released and he is now known more for his directing efforts including Iron Man 2 (2010). His real life friend Vince Vaughn plays Jamie O’Hara in the film Rudy, and has appeared together with him in a number of other films including Swingers (1996) which Favreau also wrote the screenplay for.
The music score by the extraordinarily talented Jerry Goldsmith adds much dimension and depth to this true story. Without it, I doubt it would have received as much attention by critics and sports fans. I still think it would have been good, but it helped a lot aside from the stellar acting efforts by the cast, I put it into my top 5 all time sports films. It truly is a wonderful film to watch, I highly recommend everyone see this one.
Another reason to watch this is the fine performance by veteran Hollywood icon Ned Beatty who portrays Rudy’s father Daniel Ruettiger. His brother Frank Ruettiger is played by Scott Benjaminson. There are more appearances in this such as the talented Charles S. Dutton who plays a man known as Fortune a greens keeper at the stadium. Greta Lind plays Mary; Mary Ann Thebus plays Betty, Christopher Reed plays Pete. Also, keep your eyes open for Lili Taylor who plays Sherry.
This true story originates in a factory type town where a young man has his dream and sights set high to succeed at all costs and do what he really loves. He had many things against him including his academic level, athletic ability and not being physically big enough through most people’s eyes. This didn’t stop him from trying his absolute very best and by the ending of the film; you will see how far these efforts take him. Enjoy this classic true-life tale with friends and family.
This film is one of my favorites from the 1980’s series of post high-school days. I think that this one is a standout among others. This is one of John Cusack’s best performances as Lloyd Dobler an underdog type guy who tries to slip by with his wits and kickboxing skills – until he discovers Diane Court played by the lovely Ione Skye. She bedazzles him with her charm and intellect which leads to the basis of the story.
These two characters represent to many people who grew up in the 1980’s a certain era of time, and how things happened throughout school and thereafter. John Cusack’s character is best friends with several young women played by Lili Taylor, Pamela Adlon, and Amy Brooks. I thought all of them complimented one another as friends, and Cusack worked well with them.
If you let yourself drift into this movie, you feel apart of their little world and that is a very cool thing. It’s another one of those type films – you forget you are watching a movie and peering into the lives of these characters. John Cusack’s sister Joan is also in this playing guess what? That’s right, his sister. You can’t get more authentic than that. She however was uncredited in this particular role as Constance Dobler. Notably John Mahoney plays Diane Court’s father James. You will also see briefly Jeremy Piven, Eric Stoltz, Bebe Neuwirth (Lilith from the television series Cheers) Kim Walker and Lisanne Falk are also in this who both appeared in the movie Heathers (1988) together. Dan Castellaneta appears as Diane’s teacher and Lois Chiles as her mother both of them were uncredited. The actor Philip Baker Hall is in this and actress Katie Layman is the Saleswoman at the store.
This movie has an iconic scene in it with John Cusack’s character Lloyd Dobler holding up a stereo above his head with the song done by Peter Gabriel titled “In Your Eyes” that becomes a theme for this film in many regards. A fabled line is muttered while he is inside a phone booth talking with rain pouring down outside. He says: “I gave her my heart and she gave me a pen”. This is absolutely a brilliant film. Do yourself a favor and get this one if you have never seen it before. This movie is a must watch.
I just finished this movie with my wife, she never watched it until now.
I was able to catch this one on a dvd rental years ago.
The acting was great by Russo and Gibson.
If you know those surnames, then you should know of these two fine actors.
They of course starred together in movies like Lethal Weapon 3 (1992) and Lethal Weapon 4 (1998).
Actor Gary Sinise from films like Forest Gump (1994) and Reindeer Games (2000) plays Detective Jimmy Shaker, while Mel Gibson and Rene Russo are husband and wife as the “The Mullen Family”.
Their son played by actor Brawley Nolte was kidnapped by some twisted minded individuals, who string along the story in an interesting way, enough to keep things moving nicely. I’d like to see more movies like this one from director Ron Howard. He continues to amass all different types of movies together, padding his resume with different genres.
There are more actors in this movie you might know such as Delroy Lindo who does a fine job as Agent Lonnie Hawkins. Actor Liev Schreiber is in this one, as well actress Lili Taylor playing Maris Conner. Yep, that’s a New Kid On The Block Donnie Wahlberg brother to Mark Wahlberg who stars as one of the Barnes brothers. (Liev Schreiber is the older brother to Donnie Wahlberg)
You might know actor Evan Handler (Miles Roberts) from either of these tv series: Sex in the City or It’s Like, You Know. The plot changes several times, and it leaves you guessing to what might happen next. But the way the film was done keeps each scene ideal to the story. I give it a thumbs up.
