Invincible (2006)

User Rating:

7.1/10   

Director:

Ericson Core

Writer (WGA):

Brad Gann (written by)

Release Date:

25 August 2006 (USA)

Genre:

Biography | Drama | Sport

Tagline:

Dreams are not lived on the sidelines

Plot:

Based on the story of Vince Papale, a 30-year-old bartender from South Philadelphia who overcame long odds to play for the NFL's Philadelphia Eagles in 1976.

Plot Keywords:

Philadelphia Eagles | Nfl | Bartender | American Football | Sports Team

Awards:

2 nominations

Cast

Mark Wahlberg	...	Vince Papale
Greg Kinnear	...	Dick Vermeil
Elizabeth Banks	...	Janet Cantrell
Kevin Conway	...	Frank Papale
Michael Rispoli	...	Max Cantrell
Kirk Acevedo	...	Tommy
Dov Davidoff	...	Johnny
Michael Kelly	...	Pete
Sal Darigo	...	Mick
Nicoye Banks	...	TJ Banks
Turron Kofi Alleyne	...	Ronnie Sampson
Cosmo DeMatteo	...	Dean German
Stink Fisher	...	Denny Franks
Michael Mulheren	...	AC Craney
Michael Nouri	...	Leonard Tose

Also Known As:

Who's Nuts Invincible (USA) (working title)

MPAA:

Rated PG for sports action and some mild language.

Runtime:

105 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

SDDS | DTS | Dolby Digital

Certification:

Canada:G | USA:PG (certificate #42738) | Australia:PG | Singapore:PG | Argentina:13 | Germany:6 | South Korea:All | UK:PG

Filming Locations:

Franklin Field - 235 S. 33rd Street, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA

Company:

Walt Disney Pictures

Trivia:

Many of the former Eagles gave permission for Disney to use their names for this production.

Goofs:

Factual errors: In the scene where Vince comes into his room at the training center and finds Dennis Franks sitting on the bed, Franks says that Vermeil is trying to shake things up by "putting veterans with rookies and rookies with veterans". But, Vince Papale and Dennis Franks were both rookies in 1976. Franks was undrafted out of the University of Michigan that year.

Quotes:

Carol Vermeil: What was it that you used to say to your kids at Hillsdale High? That character is tested when you're up against it?
Dick Vermeil: Yeah.
[pauses]
Dick Vermeil: And that's not the problem here. He's got plenty of character.
Carol Vermeil: Who said I was talking about him?

Movie Connections:

References "Zorro" (1957)

Soundtrack:

My Rock and Roll

Good Story telling, brings back memories

I just came from and advanced screening tonight and it was an entertaining feel-good movie. The movie is based on a true "local guy makes good" story, and quite entertaining (although after searching online for Papale, it appears that they may have taken a bit of dramatic license with some of the details). The story telling and acting were good. I think Kinnear's presentation of Dick Vermeil (I remember seeing Vermeil on the local T.V. a lot back then) was outstanding. Mark Wahlberg gave a credible performance as a determined underdog here, he seems to be maturing as an actor, and from what I could tell was in good physical condition to play this role. Kirk Acevado and Mark Raspoli put in good supporting performances as (sometime) supportive friends and relatives. The movie is an O.K. family movie if you don't mind a bit of swearing and sports/football violence (tackles, blocks and those sorts of things).

I grew up in eastern Pennsylvania, and can remember the atmosphere in my home town and, to a lesser extent, Philadelphia at that time. The decline of manufacturing, labor disputes and unemployment/hardship on workers and their families was well presented. My recollections of the Eagles were that the team was pretty weak and the fans being very vocal in their disappointment (this is a Philadelphia tradition for all their sports, it isn't just reserved for football). Among my favorite scenes is some neighborhood football that brought back some memories (although our games were a bit less brutal). There are a number of funny scenes in the movie and quick one-liners (which I won't spoil here).