Review

Review Date: 28-August-06
Spoiler Rating: Medium
Juju Judgment: Just OK

Invincible (2006)

Like "Snakes on a Plane," last week's big opener, "Invincible" is exactly what you'd expect. It's based on the story of Vince Papale, a 30-year-old, out-of-work teacher from Philadelphia who surprised the city, the country, and himself by making the Eagles football team and witnessing its resurrection. Set in the now nostalgic 1970s, the movie is appropriately corny and sports-obsessed, but to my non-football-loving mind it could have been more inspirational.

Mark Wahlberg stars as Papale, and while he looks like an earnest city boy he lacks the energy to drive a simple story home. Fortunately for the movie's larger goal, he's backed by a supporting cast who rounds out the picture of a city in economic turmoil. The blue collar guys who make up Vince's tight-knit set unwind down at Max's bar (Michael Rispoli does the honors as Max), where they drink beer, watch TV, and commiserate on their universally declining fortunes. As Vince grapples with the bitter end of his marriage, one pal struggles with a brother home from Vietnam, another faces a strike by his union, and everyone feels a financial crunch. Their primary solace is football, including following their beloved-but-fallen Eagles and waging their own empty-lot battles with the bar down the road. When the Eagles' new head coach (Greg Kinnear) institutes a PR gimmick in the form of open tryouts, all of the men take Vince's stab at glory to heart. If one of their number can defeat the bad luck which has overrun their families, their hometown, and their social class, life might still be worth living.

The communal aspect of Vince's story is what got to me the most — the idea of one man's dream galvanizing the hope and pride of many — but it occasionally drags the movie down. Taken individually, the guys at Max's are nothing more than symbolic shells, much like Vince's grizzled and gruffly sentimental father (Kevin Conway). For sheer personality, the first pick in the lineup would have to be Vince's love interest, who's granted a degree of character development and played with gusto by Elizabeth Banks. She's the requisite pretty face in a sea of men, but she comes off as relatively interesting and doesn't cloy like the paragon of stand-by-your-manism who's married to Kinnear's overworked coach. If all the players in "Invincible," including Papale, were possessed of her individual flair, the movie might deliver its message about underdog victory with a resonant emotional quality. As is, it relates a pleasant but modest chapter in the history of sports, Philadelphia, and the average Joe.

Copyright © 2006 The Jujube (M. I. Kim). All rights reserved.