American Underdog – Movie Review
112 Minutes, Rated PG
Written by Kurt Warner, Michael Silver, and David Aaron Cohen
Directed by Andrew and Joe Erwin
**NOTE: this post will be updated with audio once we actually have the chance to talk about it. Until then, enjoy this brief look at my thoughts. Stay tuned.**
Synopsis:
The story of NFL MVP and Hall of Fame quarterback, Kurt Warner, who went from stocking shelves at a supermarket to becoming an American Football star.
If you’re a football fan, you know the general story of quarterback Kurt Warner: undrafted out of a tiny college, cut by the Green Bay Packers after somehow managing to get a shot, stocking store shelves, the Arena Football league, and then…
…the Miracle.
American Underdog could easily be dismissed as another “faith-based” movie based on reputation of the directors, the Erwin Brothers, and you’d be partly correctly, but not in the way you might think.
Yes, faith plays a huge role in the life of Kurt Warner: faith in himself, the faith his wife, Brenda, has in him, the faith he has in her as a mother, her faith in her disabled son…
…and her faith in God, which eventually becomes his faith.
But–and here’s the But–that last line doesn’t really play into the film all that much. Aside from a couple of declarative statements about believing in God, most of the “faith” here is of the former type. The filmmakers handled this aspect very well, perhaps realizing that instead of a niche film, American Underdog could and should appeal to a wider audience, and so chose their targets, so to speak.
Like many people, when this film was announced, I thought it might be more overt in depictions of Kurt and Brenda’s spiritual beliefs, and I’ve stated on multiple occasions that I thought–in terms of big Hollywood movies–that Zachary Levi was making a bold career choice here.
Turns out, I still believe that, but now I think it’s because this may be the farthest he’s strayed from his “bread and butter” portrayals, which range from goofball (Chuck) to comedically reluctant hero (Shazam), eventually dipping his toe into more serious fare (The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel), which still carried an undercurrent of that show’s great comedy.
But here, Levi is all-in for drama. This reminded me of some of the choices Tom Hanks made as he started to transition from screwball comedies into the serious fare we now kind of take for granted from him.
And Levi pulls it off. His portrayal of Kurt Warner is earnest, sincere, and moving in ways you might not expect from him.
Anna Paquin is terrific as Brenda, and the two have a believable on-screen chemistry, which the film relies on.
Dennis Quaid really embodies the everyman head coach with his portrayal of perpetual NFL bridesmaid Dick Vermeil.
I mean, honestly, if you didn’t know that this stuff actually happened–college, the draft, stocking shelves, Arena Football, all of it–you’d never believe it. You can’t make this stuff up. It can only happen in real life.
I’ll admit, it did feel like the film rushed through that miracle season, that culmination of everything that went before and which it all led up to. I understand it wasn’t the entire point of the film, but to relegate it to a 2-minute montage–including the Super Bowl–seemed a little too anti-climactic.
This is a film anyone who’s ever had a dream can relate to and is generally suitable for the whole family.
American Underdog hits theaters everywhere on Christmas Day.
American Underdog stars Zachary Levi, Anaa Paquin, Dennis Quaid, Hayden Zeller, Ser’Darius Blain, Chance Kelly, and Bruce McGill.
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