Forever Strong
A new film opening next Friday (Sept. 26), "Forever Strong," bills itself as "the 1st American rugby movie." Starring Sean Farris ("Never Back Down"), Penn Badgley ("Gossip Girl") and Sean Aston of "Lord of the Rings" and "Rudy" fame, this film bears a tagline of "The Greatest Victories Are Born in the Heart," and its poster features an image of a tattooed rugby player kneeling with a bowed head, with a team's worth of arms above him upraised with index fingers pointed to the sky. Very dramatic.
The reality, however, is that "Forever Strong" isn't truly the first American rugby movie; several other American films have featured the sport, some more prominently than others:
1.) Puddle Cruiser - The fledgling film by the comedy troupe Broken Lizard (Super Troopers, Club Dread) centered around a college nobody who joins his school's rugby club in an attempt to win a girl's heart. His romantic rival is the star player on that team, and our undersized hero ends up in a near-full-body cast by the end of the movie. There is game footage within the story as well.
2.) Tommy Boy – Chris Farley's central character is first seen at a college party, boozing and bonging with his rugby teammates. He then passes out and falls face-first through a coffee table. Farley's character wears his college rugby jacket through the first portion of the film as well.
3.) Circle of Friends – I never saw this movie, but apparently Chris O'Donnell plays rugby in it. Minnie Driver is his love interest in the film, from what I gather, which I guess is reason enough to watch it.
4.) The Departed – Matt Damon's character plays rugby for some sort of police academy team, against a group of firemen. Game footage is shown, as well as some trash-talking afterward; this part is pretty realistic.
My favorite cinematic rugby scene of all time occurs in a British film, Monty Python's "The Meaning of Life." A student in a sex education class taught by John Cleese is caught daydreaming during a lesson, and as punishment he is forced to play in the school's annual student-faculty rugby match. The action is brutal, the scene is generous in length and by the end, the poor chap is battered and covered in mud. A classic.
This new movie doesn't look so hot, but word is that another film is in the works regarding the Nelson Mandela Rugby World Cup in South Africa, with Morgan Freeman playing Mandela, and also starring Damon and Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson. That one, which is based on a very well-received book, should be good.