(Limeys vs. Guidos. Go GUIDOS!!!!)
CAST: Gerard Butler, Wes Bentley, Jay Rodan, Costas Mandylor, Louis Mandylor, Zachery Bryan, Gavin Rossdale, Patrick Stewart, John Rhys-Davies.
DIRECTOR: David Anspaugh
WARNING: Some SPOILERS and lots of Anglo/Italo football conflict… straight ahead.
Our last two reviews, BEND IT LIKE BECKHAM and GOAL!: THE DREAM BEGINS, revolved around the on-the-field and in-the-locker-room conflict of British teams. Our latest review, however, focuses squarely on the true story of a rowdy bunch of Italian-Americans from St. Louis who, in 1950, went on to join the U.S. Team - and subsequently kicked the asses of the British Team at that year’s World Cup in Brazil.
As anyone who follows football and the World Cup knows, the U.S. ultimately got spanked by Chile and never made it to the finals that year, despite their victory against the British. But that’s not the point. The point is the U.S. Team was the underdog-of-underdogs during that time, with scarcely anyone but the relatives of the players having any faith that they’d even make a dent in the action. And because football had been an institution in the British isles for centuries, everyone fully expected the British Team to wallop the Yanks. As we know by now, the reverse happened: the rag-tag ream of Italian-Americans and others went on to beat the Brits, 0-1.
Not much of a victory, you say? Well, consider this: although soccer (football) had been in the American colonies since around 1863, and despite the establishment of the American Football Association in 1884, by 1950 the sport was still barely-embraced in the U.S. Meanwhile, the UK is said to be the birthplace of the modern football, with early forms of the sport reportedly being played as far back as the 3rd Century. So having the Americans beat the Brits at the 1950 World Cup was kind of like Daniel-San beating the shit out of Mr. Miyagi after only one lesson.
Our story begins in 1950 in St. Louis, which is one of the few places in the U.S. that had fully embraced soccer (AKA football) at that time. This is said to be because of the high number of Italian immigrants who flooded the La Montagna (the hill) neighborhood of that city. They brought their love of football with them from the Old Country, and passed it on to their sons who grew up to be just as passionate about the sport as their fathers. It is from the La Montagna that the key players of the 1950 U.S. Team would be culled.
They are: (1) Frank Borghi (Gerard Butler), a keeper who can block practically anything trying to enter the net; (2) Charlie “Gloves” Columbo (Costas Mandylor), named such because he, uh, wears gloves and is an enforcer on the field (3) Gino Pariani (Louis Mandylor) scorer and passer extraordinaire who looks like a smaller version of Gloves; (4) Francis “Pee Wee” Wallace (Jay Rodan), lethal and intense attacker who must be part Italian because someone calls him a “dago” at one point in the film; and (5) Harry Keogh (Zachery Bryan), clever and crafty mid-fielder who is always in the right place at the right time.
These five dudes’ quiet existence is given a jolt of adrenalin when they learn that try-outs for the U.S. Team for the 1950 World Cup will be taking place right in St. Louis. This is kind of like the football version of an amateur singer learning that the “American Idol” crew is swinging through town. But much more exciting. And less painful to the ears.
During the tryouts, our five Italian-Americans (well, four, because unless Harry’s one of ‘em blond-blue-eyed Italians, he doesn’t count) meet their Eastern counterparts led by Walter Bahr (Wes Bentley), a precise and methodical player who aims to teach the rowdy guys from La Montagna the discipline necessary to be able to compete against the foreign teams that have eat, breath, live, and shit football 365 days a year.
Will our Italian-American heroes learn to work with their, uh, non-Italian-American counterparts as teammates? Will they end up beating the shit out of each other on the field? Or will they form a cohesive team? How will they fare against the British team led by the brilliant Stanley Mortensen (Gavin Rossdale)? Who will get spanked on the ass and called “Silly Susan?”
Well, anyone who follows World Cup history (or already seen this movie) should know. Suffice it to say, those Brits better like the taste of humble pie…
BUT, SERIOUSLY: Why soccer took so long to lay roots in the United States is a mystery to me. As I wrote before, I love it for its combination of electricity, grace, adrenalin, and - yes - poetry. There’s a certain beauty to pictures of soccer players frozen in the air as they try to block the ball - or score a goal by slamming their bodies into it. As I once said to someone that I think of soccer as a rough form of ballet, and all you have to do is look at pictures of soccer games to see that.
THE GAME OF OUR LIVES tells the story of a time in American history when soccer was almost considered a non-event in the U.S. This makes the real-life efforts of these five Italian-Americans and their new teammates to go the distance at the 1950 World Cup all the more poignant and remarkable.
The act of triumphing over the British Team can be likened to David battling Goliath - and winning. And it really happened. Add to that the fact that there hadn’t been a World Cup since 1938 when Italy won, and you can understand how precious the U.S. win against the British was at the 1950 World Cup.
The cast is uniformly good. Gerard Butler makes Frank Borghi into a stoic and selfless role model for the rest of the team. Wes Bentley as the sort of co-leader Walter Bahr is a good match for Butler, as the coolly-measured Bahr is for the more mellow Borghi. Costas and Louis Mandylor, brothers in real life, do well as Gloves and Gino. Louis Mandylor, in particular, has a nice vulnerability that tempers his roughness on the field. Jay Rodan and Zachery Bryan also fare well as the hot-tempered Pee Wee and the earnest Harry. The rest of the team and the actors playing them are all equally solid.
If THE GAME OF OUR LIVES has a flaw, it’s in the script. Some of the dialogue is a little too “on-the-nose” and spells everything out neatly. Also, the musical score tends to be a little too intrusive. While it is a lovely composition, it is used a little too much. Having the characters communicate through subtext more, and toning down the use of the score just a tad would’ve resulted in a much more powerful film. However, the film's most glaring flaw is its over-reliance on the narration by one character recalling the events. This device is even more intrusive than the music, and weakens the dramatic narrative in some parts. Why not just let us discover things on our own?
Fortunately, these flaws do not significantly damage the film because the story at its heart is such a remarkable one. THE GAME OF OUR LIVES tells a remarkable true tale. A tale about a sport during a time when few believed in it - and the courageous and passionate few that fought to bring it - and their country - recognition.
Now, let’s set the countdown for the next World Cup….
