Movies & Sports

Sports and athletes seem like the perfect vehicle for great movies. The competition. The inherent drama. The real-life superheroes that perform in the athletic arena... There's just one problem. Most athletes can't act - and most actors aren't natural athletes. And faking it is a tough business. I would probably love Teen Wolf a little bit more if I didn't know anything about basketball.

There are some notable actors who are "good enough" in certain skill sports - Kevin Costner (baseball) or Woody Harrelson (basketball). But for every one of those we also get Matt Damon's golf swing in The Legend of Bagger Vance. Spike Lee went the other direction - figuring it would be easier to teach a great basketball player to act, than to try to trick the audience. But usually there are limits to how good these movies can be, throttled by either athletic or acting talent.

Perhaps this is why I love This Sporting Life so much. I admittedly know next to nothing about rugby. If Richard Harris is doing something on the field that could never happen in a real match, I probably wouldn't know. This Sporting Life is a great film, and if you are looking for a great sports movie - this one come highly recommended.