HOOSIERS (1986) watch along
Added 2025-04-02 15:00:10 +0000 UTCOMGEEE!! I love me a Sports movie! I loved watching the leads in this KICK ASS!!
xx
enjoy!!!
ames
Comments
Yay!!!
Amalia Wolf
2025-04-03 05:19:02 +0000 UTCLoved the reaction Ames! I grew up in Lexington, Kentucky where college basketball is life. This is one of my top 5 sports movies and prob my favorite gene Hackman movie. As always you captured the same feelings as me which is cool. I was a little easier on Barbara Hershey at first cause she just was a little weary of an outsider until he proved himself and I actually thought they were great for each other in the end. I loved the scene where she grabbed the megaphone and said “good question” when asked if norm was gonna be back next year. Anyways good work! Keep it up and can’t wait for more reactions.
Jason Parker
2025-04-03 04:43:16 +0000 UTCGreat stuff! Unlike you and Ames, I’m not quite as annoyed with the connection he made with Barbara Hershey’s character. I felt it was the only part of the movie that showed his quiet side and it gave him depth beyond the fish out of water coach. It was also necessary to deliver his backstory on what happened in Ithaca. But I admit that a part of it is I like Barbara Hershey. Beaches, Hannah and her Sisters, Last Temptation of Christ, The Natural (my favorite sports movie), and her work in horror films like the Insidious franchise, The Entity, Strange Darlings. She’s 77, still acting, and still quite beautiful. I saw her at a horror conference a few years ago, she’s got a great rep because of The Entity. Lovely person.
Catchermag
2025-04-03 03:29:58 +0000 UTCMinor movie detail: Before the game where the assistant coach has a heart attack, we see him in the background behind Coach Dale, looking tired and unwell. Another minor movie detail: We didn't see a single Black person in the movie until the state championship game. That's because of segregation in general in the 1950s, particularly in rural areas. It was only in the big urban areas (e.g., Indianapolis) where you would see significant numbers of Black people. Trivia: Almost all of the actors the played basketball players had played basketball on their high school teams. One exception: The actor who played Jimmy had failed to make his high school's team. Trivia: Five of the actors were actually players in the NCAA (college basketball). They were suspended for 3 games and ordered to return their pay because the NCAA had rules that said that their players couldn't make money off of playing basketball. As you noted in your outro, the movie was inspired by (but not based on) a true story. These days, high school basketball teams play in different "classes" based on school size, but back in the 1950s in Indiana, that was not the case: The smallest schools would have to compete against schools many times their size. It could make for a great Cinderella story, yes, but usually it just meant that the smaller schools were eliminated early. Like you, I've always been annoyed by the romance between Coach Dale and Barbara Hershey's character. It feels contrived and unneeded. I suspect some Hollywood movie executive said that every sports movie needs to have a romance in order to attract women. You might have missed it, but when that one player with the wound on his shoulder is re-injured, Coach Dale decides to leave the player in the game despite the fact that the stitches were pulled. Before play resumes, however, his conscience gets to him and he calls timeout to replace him, demonstrating that concern for his players is more important to him than winning at all costs. One other bit you missed: Coach Dale had told one player, "I mean, think of him as chewing gum. By the end of the game, I want to know what flavor he is." When the player eventually fouls out of the game, he says, "It was Dentyne." (Dentyne was a popular brand of chewing gum.) I love the fact that you react to gems like this movie rather than yet another superhero movie or Star Wars spinoff. Thank you for being unique!
Wally Hartshorn
2025-04-03 03:11:19 +0000 UTC
