DVD Guy’s Top 10 Sports Comedies

As the self appointed DVD Guy at Mr. Big Shop and well known sports nut, I decided to take a look at the top 10 sports comedies and dramas of all time. Feel free to argue, but I’m telling you right now, Rudy is going to be #1 in the dramas list and that won’t change…

1. Major League (1989)
A cast of lovable losers is brought together by the new owner of the Cleveland Indians in an attempt to create a team that is so bad, it would finish in last place, thus allowing her to move the team to Florida. However, Chief Wahoo wouldn’t let his beloved Tribe off of the Cuyahoga County reservation. Bob Uecker turns in quite possibly one of the most underrated performances in cinema history as drunken play-by-play announcer Harry Doyle. There are so many memorable characters in this film it’s hard not to find yourself rooting for them like you would your favorite team. Your cast includes: a young Wesley Snipes as Willie Mays Hayes, Corbin Bersen as the washed-up (and in denial) Roger Dorn, Charlie Sheen as the former California penile league pitcher Rick “Wild Thing” Vaughn, and even Dennis Haysbert as voodoo man Pedro Cerano. Together, they become a motley crew of athletic misfits – making this movie a sports comedy classic.

It spurred two sequels – Major League II and Major League 3: Back to the Minors. Major League II was entertaining even though Willie Mays Hayes morphed from Wesley Snipes to Omar Epps, but I like to think Major 3 didn’t happen. Scott Bakula played the lead role in the third installment and it is one movie I wish I could quantum leap back in time to keep it from being made.

2. Slapshot (1977)
Paul Newman is a player-coach for the Charlestown Chiefs in this gutsy sports comedy about minor league hockey. You don’t need to like hockey at all to enjoy this 1970’s classic, because the script itself will have you laughing for all three periods. Newman and the Hanson Brothers lead the Chiefs in their final season full of just as much comedy as brutality. This movie is filled with violence, profanity, and hilariousness – watch it.

Like Major League, Slapshot had a few sequels, but let’s just pretend they don’t exist and considering how few people saw them, it shouldn’t be too hard to pull of.

3. Caddyshack (1980)
Anything with Chevy Chase is generally a sure bet to be hilarious (other than the Chevy Chase Show) but when you throw Bill Murray and Rodney Dangerfield into the mix, you have pure comedic genius. Murray is the groundskeeper at an exclusive country club who battles a rouge gopher that terrorizes the links, while Dangerfield is the crass new club member whom the uptight current members simply despise. I don’t know why I’m still typing – with Bill Murray, Chevy Chase, and Rodney Dangerfield all in the same cast, the movie needs no more preliminary hype.

4. King Pin (1996)
The opening sequence of this movie is worth the purchase alone. Woody Harrelson walks into a bowling alley, snatches a slice of pizza from the tray of an innocent onlooker, tosses his ball down the lane, getting it to stop half way down the lane and pause until he completes the split. It’s ridiculous, hilarious, and a microcosm for the entire film. Watching Randy Quaid transform from a devout Amish citizen to a tattoo wielding, beer drinking stripper also makes King Pin one of the funniest sports comedies of all times. The Farrelly brothers rarely disappoint and this is one of their better films.

5. Happy Gilmore (1996)
Fresh off his smash hit Billy Madison, Adam Sandler played the role of Happy Gilmore – a hockey player with a heart of gold who joins the PGA Tour to save his tax-evading grandmother’s house from being taken away from her. Christopher McDonald’s character of “Shooter McGavin” is one of the best onscreen sports villains of all time. You can’t stand his character, yet you can’t get enough of him at the same time. If only professional golf featured beer helmets, tailgating, and all the other outrageous antics Mr. Gilmore introduced to the sport, then I might actually watch it.

 

6. Longest Yard (1974)
Forget about the 2005 PG-13 remake with Adam Sandler. The original R-rated version of the Longest Yard starring Burt Reynolds needed no improvements. The 1974 release was grittier and didn’t attempt to be overtly funny. Sure, there were parts in the remake that were funny, but instead of trying to be off-the-wall “zany” the original classic just worried about crafting an entertaining sports film..

 

 

 

7. Baseketball (1998)
The creators of South Park poked fun at the current state of professional sports with this flick. Clever team names such as the Dallas Felons, Miami Informants, and San Francisco Ferries make up the contenders in this homemade sport called “Baseketball”. Jenny McCarthy and Yasmine Bleeth provide the on-screen eye candy, while Matt Stone and Trey Parker lead the Milwaukee Beers on a quest for the Denslow Cup. There are parts of this movie that are blatantly offensive and downright tasteless. Oh, how I love it.

 

8. White Men Can’t Jump (1992)
This is the second Woody Harrelson and second Wesley Snipes movie in the top 10, which give you an idea for the comedic talents of these two guys. Harrelson and Snipes form an unlikely duo with Snipes playing the trash talking, high flying Sidney Deane and Harrelson as the stereotypical white, sharp-shooting Billy Hoyle. Even the annoying Rosie Perez is tolerable as Harrelson’s girlfriend who has dreams of Jeopardy stardom.

 

 

9. Sandlot (1993)
In this youthful PG-rated film, a group of grade school kids gather together throughout the summer to play baseball in an empty sandlot behind the house of a former ball player with a killer dog, “The Beast.” Smalls, Benny, Tommy, Timmy, Squints, Ham Porter, and the rest of the crew have the kind of summer every kid dreams of – filled with baseball, amusement rides, trips to the pool, and battles against “The Beast” to retrieve an autographed Babe Ruth baseball.

 

10. Mighty Ducks (1992)
“The Flying V”. “The Triple Deek”. “Quack, Quack, Quack”. That is all you need to know.

 

 

 

 

Honorable Mentions

Tin Cup (1996) For whatever reason, Costner just does a stellar job at playing the washed-up ex-athlete. Maybe it’s the 5 o’ clock shadow. Anyway, Costner teams up with Rene Russo and the unlikely pair of Don Johnson and Cheech Marin to create a popular golf comedy about a driving range Pro who learns the value of self-respect and earns himself a lifelong love – all while taking a shot at golf’s most prestigious title.

Cool Runnings (1993) Cool Runnings (originally titled Peaceful Journey) is about four hopeless Jamaican Olympic Bobsledding wanna-bees who decide to go for the gold in a sport their country doesn’t even understand. The characters are predictable and you can see the plot coming from a mile away, but it still manages to be charming, comical, and genuinely satisfying. The film combines the “Rocky” underdog-style plot development with the slapstick humor of “The Gods Must Be Crazy.”

A League of Their Own (1992) If only every comedy had this kind of blockbuster all-star comedic cast. Tom Hanks leads a pack of big names including Jon Lovitz, Geena Davis, Madonna, Bill Pullman, Garry Marshall, Rosie O’Donnell and Lori Petty in this classic tale of laughter, history, drama. Friendship and a professional women’s baseball league.

Bull Durham (1988) Kevin Costner, Tim Robbins and Susan Sarandon star in this film about America’s pastime – sex. Well, actually baseball – but there are enough scenes about love and lust to keep you and your significant other blushing and cackling. As with many sports comedies, someone plays the washed up athlete and Kevin Costner does it well. Tim Robbins, who plays the up and coming cocky young fireballer Costner has to mentor, makes every scene memorable.

The Bad News Bears (1976) Morris Buttermaker, played by the late Walter Mathau is a grumpy, washed-up drunk who agrees to coach a team of little league misfits, and in the process of becoming a winner, Buttermaker realizes he’s also become a father figure to Amanda, an angry child (and ace pitcher) who can’t cope with her parents recent divorce.

The Karate Kid (1984) Of course, it wasn’t intended to be a comedy. But now that it’s been 22 years since the Karate Kid was in theaters, go back and you’ll see it in a very different light. A funny one. Everything that once kept you on the edge of your seat with anticipation, will now have you falling off your chair with laughter. “Daniel-son”, Mr. Miyagi’s protégé, can no longer deal with the incessant bullying at his new school – and the only way out is to have a ridiculously unrealistic Karate tournament.

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