Histoire d'un champion

As I recall this movie was panned by the critics and was a box office

bomb when it was released in '88 but I consider it one of the best films in recent years and one of the best sports movies of all time.

Gavin Grey is a '50s LSU football star who has few interests or talents off the field. He's seen as a shallow. but basiclly decent, product of the 1950s south. He's under no illusion about the fleeting nature of his fame, and the movie avoided the usual cliche of protraying him as a bigoted simpleton or a sanctimonious do-gooder. It takes you through his pro career with the Redskins, a humiliating stint with the Denver Broncos when he's way past his prime, and the final heartbreaking episode with his 1955 teammates at LSU Tiger stadium. In the meantime wife Jessica Lange has found unknown talents as a businesswoman, adding to the pathos of Grey's status as a has-been. Dennis Quaid is superb as Grey, especially when showing him as a middle-aged ex-jock.

Everybdy's All American? Everybody connected with this project should be congratulated. I'd like to think that, someday, this film will get the credit it deserves.

First off, this is an OK film, no more, no less. I've never been much of a fan of Dennis Quaid, even though we hail from the same town. His essential cockiness, though, seems made for this part. Jessica Lange was, as always, very beautiful, even though she exhibits a bit of hard-edged brittleness. John Goodman turned in a very good performance. All three seemed a bit too old to pass for college kids, but hey, what're you gonna do when your film spans 25-plus years? The central themes were old, familiar, and a bit tired. In general, it seems that football movies are a lot harder to make than baseball movies, for obvious reasons. The action sequences were mostly done pretty well. Overall, this one is probably worth a Netflix rental, but don't spend any money on it.

My favorite line in the movie is a colloquy towards the end between Cake's (the academic)girlfriend and Gavin. She offhandedly, and almost sarcastically, remarks to Gavin that he can't "let the old team down". With profound seriousness he responds "Honey,I never did". For those of us who have starred on the athletic field, this sentiment often drove us. For me, this movie realistically captured the experience of being an athletic hero. As I tell my young atheletes who I now coach, no matter what tribulations and setbacks may befall you; no one can ever take away from them what they have achieved on the field. I recommend the movie.

Superbly acted film about a rocky relationship between a Sugar Bowl all-american (Quaid) and the Magnolia Queen (Lange). The story takes us through over 25 years of triumph and tragedy with great support from Hutton and an especially good performance from John Goodman. Look for "Seinfeld's" Wayne Knight here.

Even though I do not watch sports anymore, I used to watch them quite a lot and will still watch this movie whenever it's on TV. Definitely one of the best sports films of all time, realistic and superbly acted, this film follows a quarterback hero and his "trophy" wife from college to well beyond retirement. Topics of love, friendship, fidelity, aging and loyalty are all dealt with in profound ways. Dennis Quaid and Jessica Lange give probably their best performances ever and the supporting cast does not disappoint. It is melodramatic, but it comes from a place of integrity instilled in the writing and direction of the film. If you're a guy and in the mood to watch something both you and your girl can enjoy, I would highly recommend renting this. It's too bad that so many below average sports movies get more praise than they deserve and lesser known films like this one fall by the wayside. 9/10