Celtic Pride

i really like this movie. it's funny,and very entertaining. it was trashed by critics,but who cares it's good! i watch it very often,and never really get tired of it. some of the wisecracks wayans' makes at stern,and aykroyd are very funny. it's just a very fun movie! i give celtic pride *** out of ****

1st, everyone keeps dissing the Celtic Pride film. I think the movie was a 3 1/2 out of 5 stars. I am a Boston fan but still look at it as if i weren't. What other team has made a movie? Not one, celtics are legendary for there championships over the years. Anyhow Damon Waynes, a (very good actor) did keep the movie funny with his rude comments, and Dan Akyroid and Daniel Stern(very good actors) did there part to play the role of washed up, lazy, full time sports fans dedicated to the game. The movie however no one wanted to see which makes me ponder would people wanna see it if the movie was about another team. My friend made fun of it, but then accually watched it and said "that movies wasn't bad at all" he laughed so many times. Its a good comedy, give the movie a chance, don't hate... on something great... I give my love to the director, he took a chance, i think he did the best he could for this movie.

This movie is damn funny. I've seen it plenty of times and always laugh my ass off. Akroyd, one of the greatest comedians in film of the 80's and 90's is fantastic. Stern is good as he usually is. Wayns probably steals most of the scenes he's in and you ended up liking him when you don't want to. And on a final note as a sports fan, I hate the Boston Celtics. But I love this movie.

It's game 6 of the NBA playoffs with the Celtics 3-2 up against the Utah Jazz and seemingly about to win the title on their home court in Boston. Lifelong fans Mike O'Hara and Jimmy Flaherty may have personal problems but these are put in perspective opposite the dream of catching the title. However Utah's best player, Lewis Scott, is carrying the team and responsible for most of their points. When he destroys the Celtics in game 6, things look bleak. Bumping into him in a bar later that night, Mike and Jimmy plan to get him so drunk he'll still he weak in several days time when game 7 is played. However when they wake up beside him the next morning they kidnap him and plan to hold him until after game 7 has passed. However things are harder than they imagined.

Being a basketball fan I'll give anything that involves the game a try, whether it is more serious films like Blue Chips and He Got Game or comedies like this or Eddie. This film had potential and, opening with a funny sequence where Mike fails to pass on his passion to his students, it looked like it was going to be good. The plot is filled out by poking fun at the excessive sports fans and also taking a more serious look from the point of view of the players themselves (as represented by Scott). However, where things fall down a little is in the delivery.

Marketed as a `wacky' comedy of sorts, the film wants to be that (hence the presence of Aykroyd and Stern) but this means that the more interesting side of the film is ignored and allowed to fall into disrepair (before finally collapsing in the final `7 months later' shot). As a comedy it is entertaining without ever being very funny – I didn't laugh out loud very often but I found it passable and light hearted. It never really gets any better than that sadly, but I felt that this lack of consistent laughs could have been covered if the darker side of the fan/player relationship had been brought out more.

Unfortunately this side slides for the whole of the film until nothing of interest is really left. There are imaginative touches that suggest a better film, but overall the lack of an effective dramatic streak to the film (no matter how secondary it would have been) is a problem. Without it the plot seems trivial and makes it harder to hold the audience's interest. This isn't helped by the fact that the film feels quite cheap and quickly put together. This is shown throughout the film but is clearest in it's portrayal of the basketball action. I wasn't expecting them to have the feel of a big stadium or have total realism, but the games are such a joke (in terms the play) that it made me realise how little effort was put into some aspects of the film.

The cast is OK but the names suggest that a more `zany' comedy was expected to be the outcome of this film. Aykroyd plays a lesser role but has some good dream sequences, Stern is left to lead the film and he appears to lack the confidence to do it well. Wayans is the real star here which is a worrying thing. His character is the strongest and also has the most to say as he is not just a comedy figure in the way the other two are. He leads well and is actually OK but his basketball scenes are poor. For He Got Game, Ray Allen coached Washington so he'd look the part, it appears no-one saw the need for that approach here.

Overall this is a wacky comedy with few laughs. Because it seems to favour the `zany' knockabout side of it's nature, it neglects the darker more interesting side and suffers as a result. This film never made it to the cinema in the UK and barely made an impact on video – there are reasons for this.

Two die-hard Boston Celtic fans go out of their way to mess up the star player before game 7 of the Finals, and then accidently kidnap him. Not deep, but it doesn't have to be.

A movie that a good sports fan would find as humorous, but a movie fan would only find forgetable. Akroyd, Stern, and Wayans all turn in entertaining performances, but the true star of the movie is....

Christopher McDonald. He made me laugh my head off with the "Uhhhhhhh I hate my life" line. Akroyd doing the "Shakacon" thing was hillarious, as was his dream.

Overall, it was enjoyable, but proceed with caution.

***+(3.5)/*****(5).