Certificate: 12A (moderate sex references, drug references, infrequent strong language). Running Time: 98 mins. UK Distributor: Paramount Pictures
WHO’S IN IT?
Lily Tomlin, Jane Fonda, Rita Moreno, Sally Field, Tom Brady, Billy Porter, Rob Corddry, Alex Moffat, Harry Hamlin, Bob Balaban, Glynn Turman, Sara Gilbert, Jimmy O. Yang, Ron Funches, Sally Kirkland, Alex Bentley, Patton Oswalt, Guy Fieri
WHO’S BEHIND THE CAMERA?
Kyle Marvin (director), Emily Halpern and Sarah Haskins (writers), Tom Brady and Donna Gigliotti (producers), John Debney (composer), John Toll (cinematographer), Colin Patton (editor)
WHAT’S IT ABOUT?
A group of American football-obsessed friends (Tomlin, Fonda, Moreno and Field) head on a trip to the Super Bowl…
WHAT ARE MY THOUGHTS ON 80 FOR BRADY?
It’s been a good while since we’ve had ourselves a good old-fashioned “hero worship” movie like 80 for Brady. Don’t know what that is? Why, it’s where a movie is conceived with little other purpose than for the filmmakers to vent about how much they adore a particular figure: unlike vanity projects like Blackbird or Battlefield Earth, which were made by people that set out to make themselves look good, hero worship movies are dedicated to convincing the world that somebody else is worthy of living god status. Perhaps the most infamous example is the 1948 sports biopic The Babe Ruth Story, a bizarre piece of hero worship that not only presented the baseball legend as an infallible figure who could do no wrong – far from the adulterous and hard-partying individual in real life – but also had the ability to cure a child’s cancer by scoring a historical home run, and also compel a different child to suddenly overcome his paralysis by simply waving at him (I’m not crazy, by the way; all of that actually happens in the movie).
Although 80 for Brady isn’t quite as ridiculous as The Babe Ruth Story – which is saying something, because this is intended as a straightforward comedy – the level of adoration and worship that it has for now-retired NFL quarterback Tom Brady – who, funnily enough, is also a producer on the film – still borders on propaganda, to where you’re almost expecting the sports star to suddenly sprout wings and join the other Greek gods in the clouds. It’s a hero worship movie in nearly every sense, but against all odds the movie is at least aware enough of itself to have a bit of fun with its own outlandishness, which makes it an unexpectedly, delightfully silly piece of self-aggrandising fluff.
Taking place in 2017, as Brady (playing himself, because of course he does) and the New England Patriots are preparing to face off against the Atlanta Falcons at the Super Bowl in Houston, Texas, four elderly friends – Lou (Lily Tomlin), Trish (Jane Fonda), Maura (Rita Moreno) and Betty (Sally Field) – are die-hard fans of the Patriots, and especially of Brady whom they idolise. When they come across a competition to win tickets to the Super Bowl, Lou manages to score them and soon sets off with her aging gal pals to attend the anticipated showdown, where they all find themselves in a number of wacky situations including entering a hot-wing eating contest, doing edibles at a mansion party, and even assisting Brady during his team’s momentous performance during this particular match.
To simply brand 80 for Brady as “silly” would be to greatly undermine its silliness, because it really is the kind of film that simply runs with its barmy premise (which is based on an actual group of octogenarian Brady fans) without even attempting to dip its toes into any sort of real-world logic. It’s absolutely contrived, with scenarios and jokes you would expect to see in your run-of-the-mill sitcom, and even the occasional implausible celebrity cameo such as restauranteur Guy Fieri who actually has a full-on supporting role after popping up during the aforementioned hot-wings contest. Furthermore, much like Book Club and Last Vegas before it, 80 for Brady is also the kind of film that casts a selection of high-profile, award-winning actors that now happen to be in their later years, and just has them doing a whole bunch of ridiculous stuff and being involved in all sorts of wild shenanigans that, at first glance, should be well beneath their A-list status. And, of course, it’s the kind of film that will stop dead in its tracks just to ogle at the awesome might of its titular sports star, without any hint of irony or even a gag to offset the blatant hero worship that we are seeing unfold in real time.
The film is, by all accounts, an utterly preposterous ride – and yet, it was one that I was having no problem being on. Like I said earlier, this is not the kind of film that has any of its toes in reality, but it is at least, to a degree, aware of that. Some of the heightened gags are played out with a knowing wink, as though they also know that this is a very silly time that’s being had (case in point: throughout the film, Brady “appears” to Tomlin as an imagined source of encouragement, including as a bobblehead, while one sequence sees Rita Moreno, high on edibles, hallucinate a poker table where everyone, including herself, has the face of Guy Fieri). That also applies to the central quartet of screen legends, who appear to be extremely game when it comes to engaging in some ludicrous set-pieces such as a prison break from a nursing home, and even performing an impromptu dance number to impress a security guard. None of them are sleepwalking through this, and they each bring an admirable sense of energy that makes their thinly-defined characters easy to like and root for all the same.
Most of all, though, it’s fun: unpretentious, light-hearted, and unapologetically silly fun. You can absolutely dismiss it as corporate pandering to NFL fanatics, as well as a self-indulgent ego boost for producer and co-star Tom Brady, but it at least knows how to have a good time with itself while still being those things. It isn’t a laugh-out-loud comedy, with many of the sitcom-esque jokes landing more groans than actual laughs, but they’re still being delivered with an undeniable energy that’s difficult to resist. The moments of drama are hackneyed, sometimes laughably so, but because these are great actors they can sell them well enough to fit the ludicrous tone surrounding it. The point being, it’s got a strong entertainment quality to it that’s just concerned with giving the audience as good a time as they can, without worrying too much about appearing to be in any way sophisticated or even smart.
Much like The Babe Ruth Story, it’s a goofy, implausible, and completely ridiculous hero worship movie – but you’ll at least have a good time whilst watching it, even if it’s not always for the right reasons.
SO, TO SUM UP…
80 for Brady is a delightfully silly NFL-themed comedy that features groan-worthy sitcom humour, and is undoubtedly an overly sentimental piece of hero worship for now-retired quarterback Tom Brady, but its lively energy and easily likeable main cast make it entertaining enough to comfortably look past much of its ridiculousness.
