Rudy was the big one. I’m really glad I finally got around to seeing it. More than any other movie, telling someone I never saw Rudy elicited the “You never saw it?!?” response.
Despite automatically having a rooting interest in Notre Dame football growing up because of my Irish background, the premise of Rudy never really appealed to me. It seemed so schmaltzy. This tiny guy really wants to play for Notre Dame, and as the DVD cover points out before you even watch the movie, he does.
After Lord of the Rings, my desire to watch Rudy dipped even further. Why would I want to watch that whiny Samwise Gamgee with his “Mr. Frodo this” and “Mr. Frodo that” try to play football for Notre Dame?
At times my interest in watching Rudy would spike. People would tell me I really need to see it. Or I’d watch a good sports movie and remember that I’d never seen Rudy. It’s been sitting near the top of my Netflix queue for years, often passed over for the latest DVD release.
Watching Rudy, I was amazed how many familiar faces were in it. The youngest and thinnest Vince Vaughn I’ve ever seen plays the Notre Dame quarterback who sparks the drive for the final score that will allow Rudy into to the game. An equally young, but huge Jon Favreau plays Rudy’s best friend at school. It’s amazing how over the years Vince Vaughn has gotten physically bigger and Jon Favreau has gotten smaller. They’ve almost reached the point where they’ll meet in the middle.
Now that I’ve seen Rudy, I found myself twice shocked this weekend when friends told me they never saw Rudy. I couldn’t help it. I’m on the side of the converted now. Rudy really is a great movie. It lives up to all the hype and I’m looking forward to watching it again.