By: Lana K. Wilson-Combs
Now that
Tom Brady has "officially retired" from the NFL "again," it looks as if acting may be his next calling. The former New England Patriot/Tampa Bay Buccaneer quarterback's new movie
"80 For Brady," which he stars in and co-produced, is actually quite funny. It helps too that Brady is surrounded by heavy hitters like Jane Fonda, Lily Tomlin, Sally Field and Rita Moreno, who make "80 For Brady" such a crazy romp.
Directed by
Kyle Marvin (TV's "All Wrong") and written by
Sarah Haskins and Emily Halpern ("Booksmart"), "80 For Brady," is loosely based on a true story about four longtime friends who are fierce New England Patriots fans and have a super-sized crush on the G.O.A.T.
In the movie, Lou (Lily Tomlin, TV's "Grace and Frankie"), Trish (Jane Fonda, TV's "Grace and Frankie"), Maura (Rita Moreno, TV's "Lopez v. Lopez"), and Betty (Sally Field, TV's "Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty") have gathered for years to watch their beloved superhero and team. They have their own little rituals and superstitions before each game that often helps the Patriots come away with a win.
Watching your favorite football team on TV is all well and good, but they wonder what it would be like to see Tom Brady and the Patriots in person.
When they learn that sports radio hosts Pat (Rob Corddry, TV’s “Top Gear America”) and Nat (Alex Moffat, “Clifford The Big Red Dog”), are having a ticket giveaway for Super Bowl LI (51)--Patriots and the Atlanta Falcons--Lou insists they go.They are the biggest fans and deserve it. Their lives have been so mundane.
Maura's husband recently died, and she needs to be around her friends. Trish is a real cougar and successful romance novel writer, who falls in and out of love way too fast. Betty is the ultra- conservative one who is married to a professor (Bob Balaban, TV's "Severance”). She loves him but reading over his work
every night is boring.
Plus, none of the women are getting any younger. Since Lou recently recovered from cancer, who knows if they will ever be able to do something as exciting as attending the Super Bowl. So, they agree to go.
They can barely make it out of their houses and to the airport without a bunch of drama. There's a funny scene when Trish, Lou and Betty attempt to bust out Maura (Morena) from her group home with the help of one of the residents there (a funny Glynn Turman, TV's "Queen Sugar"). Their adventure gets even wilder when they arrive at NRG Stadium in Houston, Texas sporting their blinged out "80 For Brady" custom jerseys.
Betty (Field) loses her "strap-on," a.k.a. a fanny pack. Of course, the tickets are in it. She took it off while at a chicken wing eating contest hosted by Guy Fieri.
When she finds it, and they make their way into the stadium, they are told by an overzealous security guard (Ron Funches, TV's "Trolls Topia") that the tickets are fake. It's panic time now.
It takes plenty of scrambling, even dancing for a halftime show choreographer (Billy Porter, TV's "Pose"), and some serious flirting by Trish (Fonda) with a former, pro football player named Dan (Harry Hamlin, TV's "Mayfair Witches") that she just met to try and get them inside the stadium. Not only does Dan get them in, but he invites them to his suite to watch the big game. Things are looking down for their team until Lou gets to meet Brady. She gives him an emotional pep talk that inspires him to pull off one of the biggest comebacks in Super Bowl History.
"80 For Brady" is pure silliness. Tomlin, Field, Fonda and Morena are absolute showstoppers. There are also some funny cameos by Marshawn Lynch, Danny Amendola, Julian Edelman, and Rob Gronkowski, among others.
You don't even have to be a Patriots or Tom Brady fan for "80 For Brady" to win you over.
Editor's Note: Be sure to catch my N2Entertainment.net movie talk segment on the Kitty O'Neal Show Fridays now at 5:17 p.m. and 6:47 p.m. on radio station KFBK 93.1 FM and 1530 AM.
Look At This Trailer For
"80 FOR BRADY"
Lana K. Wilson-Combs is a member of the Broadcast Film Critics Association (BFCA), The American Film Institute (AFI), and a Nominating Committee Voting Member for the NAACP Image Awards.
