On R List of Movie Reviews
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Rudy (1993)
Rate:
9
Viewed:
10/03, 9/06, 12/22
9/06:
Rudy is a feel-good picture that's abysmally corny.
So, what is Rudy Ruettiger doing at Notre Dame University besides football? Does he have any other hobbies? Friends? What's
his major? Please don't tell me he's studying Notre Dame University football history.
Yeah, the ending is an all-time great only that it never happened. Rudy's "famous play" is just a half-sack through pressure
or perhaps a finishing tackle after his teammate made the primary sack. You can check out the play on YouTube to see if I'm
wrong. His number is 45.
The jersey-throwing scene is fake as well. There was no older brother named Frank (Rudy was the oldest of fourteen children
in the family), and there was most certainly no black greenskeeper. What's not known is Rudy served in the Navy which
meant his tuition was covered by the G.I. Bill.
The famous speech by Knute Rockne? That was just for show in the newsreels. The 1975 Notre Dame-Georgia Tech game? It
wasn't the last one as there were still two games left in the season. Fans chanting Rudy's name to entice the coach to let
him play? Nah, it happened after he made the game-ending "sack," and the chant was mostly confined to a small
section of the crowd.
All in all, Rudy Ruettiger might be the worst person to get drunk with because all he'll do is speak about the boring,
glory days of Notre Dame football.
12/22:
As extremely corny as Rudy is, it's a fine movie with all the elements of classic filmmaking.
Let's not kid ourselves: the story is mostly fake. A lot of the events as shown in the film never happened.
A quiet, modest man by nature, Joe Montana went so far to debunk many myths which surprised me. He played for
Notre Dame from 1975 to 1978 although he missed the '76 season due to shoulder separation and he couldn't dress for the
'75 season, when Rudy was a senior, because freshmen weren't allowed to play.
There was no such person named Fortune. Nobody gave up his jersey to let Rudy in the final game. When I say it, I mean
the final home game of the season as there were still two more away games left. It wouldn't have mattered anyway because Coach
Dan Devine had allowed him to play. He also said, "Anybody who knows me knows that if any kid came in and put his jersey on
my desk, he'd never see it again." There were no fans chanting for him for the final play or two, either. Rudy did get a sack,
although it looked questionable, and got carried by some players off the field, but it was more of a joke.
The movie also left out a pertinent fact: Rudy served time in the Navy which meant the G.I. Bill
covered his tuition afterwards at both schools: Holy Cross and Notre Dame. Subsequently, it meant he had plenty of
free time to focus on his studies as well as football and—surprise—boxing. Rudy was the oldest in the family of
fourteen children; hence, there's no brother named Frank. His real father did support Rudy's ambitions right
from the start.
Back to Joe Montana, he went further by saying, "That guy was a joke. The movie was NOTHING like what really went on at that
time. I was the quarterback then, and I wouldn't let them use my name for that movie." It's indeed strong words because you'll
never hear him talk that way. Even Sean Astin had to concede. By using his story and reputation to sell a fraudulent sports
drink bearing his name, Daniel "Rudy" Ruettiger eventually became a pump-and-dump scammer. He got charged by the SEC and
was forced to pay a huge fine. Some sport "hero" he is.
All in all, despite the heavy liberties taken with the truth, Rudy is a fine, inspiring movie.