It's 1976 after another horrible season, the Philadelphia Eagles hires couch Dick Vermeil (Greg Kinnear). To shake things up, he announces an open tryout. Vince Papale (Mark Wahlberg) is a struggling 30 year old part time teacher. He gets fired with the latest cutback and his wife leaves him. He reluctantly goes to the tryout.

This is simply by the book underdog story. It's no Rudy, but it works on it's own level. Mark Wahlberg delivers a solid if somewhat uninspired performance. Greg Kinnear is also solid with a little more color. Elizabeth Banks is lovely as the love interest. The movie is solid and full of clichés. Cinematographer Ericson Core takes the director's chair for the first time and proves himself very capable. In a way, he's the Vince Papale behind the scenes.

This is an interesting sports movie set in the past. Its nothing to do with racial integration! 1976 was a good year for Philadelphia not only does the fictional and over the hill rookie call Rocky Balboa get to fight for the heavyweight championship of the world but here in this supposedly true life tale, part time bartender Vince Papale at the age of 30 goes for tryouts and makes the cut for the Philly football team.

Papale lost his job as a teacher, his wife leaves him and his dad helps him out for rent money. He plays football with his friends and the whole city is in an economic malaise with strikes and lay offs. This one shot given by the new coach could be his way out of the slums.

I understand that the film really stretches the truth, however the way Wahlberg plays him even sexing up the story cannot ascend him from anything but a shy if dull everyman who is in a team that dislikes him especially the black players for some reason.

The film is actually pedestrian, even though he has no interesting personality he gets a hot girlfriend, moments of crisis which is only alleviated when he spends time playing football with his boys in the hood and a climax when he can actually block players running with the ball.

I suppose this could had been a better and more melodramatic television film. As a movie its OK but someone other than Wahlberg needed to play Papale.

A fine offering from Disney Films that doesn't rely on violence, sex or vulgarity to tell it's story. Not being a major football fan, I tuned in for the inspirational story of a professional sports team walk-on that made it to the big time. Mark Wahlberg did a fine job of portraying said player, Vince Papale, a down but not yet out part time teacher and bartender. Casting wise, it was quite ironic to see him as a beefy, muscular player on the neighborhood football team, only to wind up being the smallest guy on the Eagles. The film takes you through Papale's ordeal in training camp, the first six pre-season games of 1976, and the first two games of that year.

What I found lacking in the story seemed to be the absence of any real thrill or intensity in Papale's accomplishment, as it was all played quite low key by Wahlberg. There also was a lack of any camaraderie between Papale and any of the Eagles in the movie, no mentor to serve as a buffer between the upstart 'old' rookie and the veteran players. Papale's relationship with Coach Vermeil (Greg Kinnear) was also portrayed in a low key manner, so much so that when Papale blew his very first play, it was a shock to see Vermeil's outburst.

There's a great scene though, featuring Papale and Vermeil as each was about to experience their very first NFL game; you can get nervous at all levels of professional sports.

I'm not sure if this one will hold up with some of the other underdog true sports stories on film like "Rudy" or "Hoosiers", but it's a decent enough feel good story to catch at least one time. I'm sure if you were there in the mid 1970's and a rabid Philadelphia Eagles fan, you'll have a greater appreciation for the story. For someone who manages to catch just the Super Bowl once a year, this was a good tune up.