Eddie (1996)

User Rating:

4.7/10   

Director:

Steve Rash

Writers:

Steve Zacharias (story) &
Jeff Buhai (story) ...

Release Date:

31 May 1996 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Sport

Tagline:

The Newest Coach In The NBA Has Got The Knicks Right Where She Wants Them.

Plot:

Eddie is a New York limo driver and a fanatical follower of the New York Knicks professional basketball team...

Plot Keywords:

New York Knicks | Basketball | Sports Team | Character Name In Title

Awards:

2 nominations

Cast

Whoopi Goldberg	...	Edwina 'Eddie' Franklin
Frank Langella	...	Wild Bill Burgess
Dennis Farina	...	Coach John Bailey
Richard Jenkins	...	Carl Zimmer
Lisa Ann Walter	...	Claudine
John Benjamin Hickey	...	Joe Nader
Troy Beyer	...	Beth Hastings
John Salley	...	Nate Wilson
Rick Fox	...	Terry Hastings
Malik Sealy	...	Stacy Patton
Mark Jackson	...	Darren 'Preacher' Taylor
Dwayne Schintzius	...	Ivan Radovadovitch
Greg Ostertag	...	Joe Sparks
Vernel Singleton	...	Jamal Duncan
Marv Albert	...	Himself

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for some language and brief sexuality.

Runtime:

100 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | Russian

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

USA:PG-13 (certificate #34498) | Iceland:L | South Korea:15 | Australia:M | Portugal:M/12 | Spain:T | UK:12 | Singapore:PG

Filming Locations:

Charlotte Coliseum - 100 Paul Buck Boulevard, Charlotte, North Carolina, USA

Company:

Hollywood Pictures

Trivia:

Home games for the New York Knicks were actually filmed at the Charlotte Coliseum, home of the Charlotte Hornets. The Hornets fans who filled the stadium for filming were told to cheer against the Hornets for the filming of the final game in the film.

Goofs:

Errors in geography: The home games for the New York Knicks were actually filmed in the Charlotte Coliseum, home of the Charlotte Hornets. See also the trivia entry.

Quotes:

Edwina "Eddie" Franklin: Excuse me! Lawyers, agents, models, pseudo-models, rappers, people with bad rugs -- if you're not wearing a jersey that says New York Knicks, get up and get out right now.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Saturday Night Live: The Best of Chris Rock (1999) (TV)

Soundtrack:

SKILLS

Enjoyable from start to finish

This is a comedy-fantasy, people -- not a documentary. The pacing is bouncy and rollicking. The performances are precisely what they should be -- neither "villain" is one-dimensional or over-the-top, but just menacing enough in the right amounts, and the ways in which Eddie triumphs over each of them are quite clever.

Mayor Koch's cameo is hysterical, as is the bit with Stacey's Mom. Ostertag shows good comic timing. The background of Eddie is just touching enough without being maudlin. The transition of the Knicks from selfish losers to re-motivated winners is handled just right for a comedy-fantasy. This is at least in a class with Angels In The Outfield as an enjoyable comedy-fantasy.