The Sports Pages

"The Sports Pages" consists of two completely separate mini-movies in tandem. The first is a droll tale with Newhart on a courtroom witness stand explaining to a jury how he justifies killing an old friend and golfing companion (Grammer) by whacking him over the head with a club. Part two is a raucous tale about the "facts" behind the "Heidi Bowl" (look it up). Neither film has much sporting action and both focus on the fans (golf and football respectively). I don't care much for either sport and liked the first bit better. However, fans and nonfans alike should expect little more than a mildly amusing watch from "The Sports Pages". (C-)

How Doc Waddems Finally Broke 100: Doc Waddems (Newhart) had been trying to break his 100 score in golf, and when he's starting to get lucky Howard Greene (Grammer) starts messing with his game, causing him to loose it, and in the end kill him. The whole story is in the courtroom were Doc Waddems (Newhart) is explaining everything that happened.

The Heidi Bowl: The is a true story that takes place in New York about the "Heidi Bowl" football event

When I had watched about 30 min. of this movie I was really impressed; the story + the actors were really good. And when I had finished the first story, the grade 4/5 or even 5/5 came in my head. Then the second story began... The actors (except Eugene Levy) were all terrible, and the story was not good!..

So I give the first story 10/10 and the second 4/10 > final grade: 7/10

It is tricky to write a review of the "Sports Pages" as it consists of two almost independent stories, "How Doc Waddens finally broke 100" and "The Heidi Bowl".

While the Heidi Bowl describes an event that actually happened and that is still in the mind of pretty much every US football fan, the Story of Doc Waddens is entirely fictionuous.

Well, I happened to see the "Sports Pages" twice during my two-week holiday in Varadero. However, the most disappointing issue is that obviously US viewers don't seem to understand it at all.

Part one - Doc Waddens - is full of between-the-lines humor and Bob Newhart plays his role as good as a Brit would do. Ever imagined you have just been pleaded 'not guilty' after killing a Golf enthusiast friend, and now you want to buy the victim's set of clubs from the widow? Weird ideas of that kind by the truckload and a brilliant performance by the staff.

The "Heidi Bowl" sports the well-known football event but wrapped in half a dozen of small or not-so-small stories that all lead to the big final. A well-filmed view on the typical American everyday-craze that make them look so stupid everywhere else in the world. Yet they, themselves, just don't get it.

Go and watch it, it's great!

Barboelsch