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Director David Anspaugh and writer Angelo Pizzo, who previously collaborated on Hoosiers, presents another true story based on Indiana sports. Their subject this time is Daniel E. ‘Rudy’ Ruettiger, a short, unexceptional athlete who nevertheless aspires to play football for the University of Notre Dame. After a friend’s tragic death at a steel mill, Rudy (Sean Astin) takes a bus to Notre Dame and works toward making his childhood dream a reality. It’s a long haul, though. He has to start at a neighboring college to raise his G.P.A. before Notre Dame will accept him, and even after making the football team, the coaches never intend to let him leave the bench. But his story becomes so well-known and loved among the football team and the community, that the coach finally lets Rudy play — for the last thirty seconds of the last game of his senior year. But that’s enough for Rudy. He knew he could never live the dream. He merely wanted to touch it.
I’m of two minds about Rudy. First, here’s my cynical side. How the hell could anyone sacrifice so much time and energy just to play ball one fricking time? This character (and presumably the man he’s based on?) is nuts! He shows up at Notre Dame without being accepted, trespasses into the stadium and sleeps there every night, recites verbatim pep speeches from past coaches, and treats every Notre Dame football prop like it’s a religious artifact. Rudy is fanatical to a degree that one questions whether he might have a mental illness of some kind.
But then there’s my other side, the side willing to sidestep incredulity for the sake of a good movie — albeit one that indulges in unabashed sentimentality. And Rudy is indeed a good movie. Sean Astin (The Goonies, The Lord of the Rings) is warm and infectious in the lead, and the film throws enough obstacles in Rudy’s path that when he finally gets to take the field for those precious seconds, you feel like you’ve just watched someone single-handedly win the Super Bowl. I thought Rudy would be a series of training montages movie with a standard big game finale, but it’s much more intimate and introspective than that.
The supporting cast includes some venerable talent, including Ned Beatty (Network, Deliverance) as Rudy’s doubtful father (who of course is rooting for him in the stands at the end), Jason Miller (The Exorcist) as his first coach, Robert Prosky (The Natural, Thief) as a sympathetic preacher, and Charles S. Dutton (Alien 3, A Time to Kill) as the maintenance man who gives Rudy a job and a place to sleep. The film also benefits tremendously from composer Jerry Goldsmith, whose themes capture the essence of Rudy’s aspirations and endurance.
With Jon Favreau, Lili Taylor, John Beasley (Everwood), and Vince Vaughn.