5 things about ‘Rudy’ that irk me : I waste much too much time just scrolling through my Twitter feed. Even though I’ve been aware of it for a long time, I continue to behave similarly. However, late the night before yesterday, I saw via a tweet that today was the 28th anniversary of the first showing of “Rudy” in cinemas.
In the fall of the year that I was in the second grade, my parents took me to see it. At the time, Notre Dame was in the middle of a game for the national title, which only helped to feed my growing enthusiasm for the Irish. My enthusiasm for Notre Dame football only increased as a result of seeing the movie, and to this day, if the game is being shown on television, you can be sure that I won’t change the station until it has been completed.
Despite this, there are a few issues that I continue to have with it.
But I have a few of my own that I need to air, and the 28th anniversary (plus one day) of the movie’s theatrical debut is the ideal opportunity for me to do so. Although Joe Montana went over and explained the film’s flaws a long time ago, I have a few of my own that I need to air.
Scheduling Issues
Am I being too particular about this issue? There is no question about that, but I wouldn’t be who I am if I weren’t. While showing a montage of Rudy’s time spent on the practice squad, the movie suddenly changes to a sight of the scoreboard during Notre Dame’s game against Penn State. The snow is falling heavily at this point.
This took place on Senior Day in 1992 in the legendary “Snow Bowl,” which the Irish won thanks to late heroics from Rick Mirer, Jerome Bettis, and Reggie Brooks, as any fan of Notre Dame football with even a hazy memory will remember.
In the movie, the team’s last game of Rudy’s senior year was against Georgia Tech, but in reality, it was only their previous home game; to conclude their 8-3 season, they traveled to Pitt and Miami. Rudy’s team finished with a winning record. When Rudy was a student at Notre Dame, the Fighting Irish never faced off against Penn State.
Work vs. Relationships
There is no question that the teachings of “Rudy” are profound and essential. If you are willing to put in the effort necessary, you can make any of your goals come true.
However, what isn’t depicted in the movie nearly as effectively as in “Rudy Ruettiger: The Walk On” is how the young man realized the value of creating connections from the moment he set foot on Notre Dame’s campus. This is presented very well in “Rudy Ruettiger: The Walk On.”
It is undoubtedly shown by Rudy pushing his way into Parseghian’s office and a handful of other ways; yet, after seeing “The Walk On,” I acquired an incredible appreciation for his ability to form and develop connections that helped his goal become a reality, which wasn’t nearly as visible in the movie. This is because these relationships made his dream become a reality.
Dan Devine’s Portrayal
According to the legend, for Ruettiger to convince someone to turn his narrative into a movie, Dan Devine had to portray himself as more of a villain than he already did. Devine gave his OK to have the character presented as a complete evildoer in the movie, which he did.
If you just saw the movie, you would have no clue that Devine planned to have Ruettiger dress for the last home game; nevertheless, if you only watched the movie, you would know that.
Final Practice Sequence
If you haven’t seen the movie “Rudy” by now, despite its release 28 years ago, you have a problem.
Rudy walks out of the gym and announces his resignation after discovering that he was not included on the dress list for the championship game. This happens even though many teammates beg him not to leave the team. The teenager is persuaded to “go on back” and sign up for the squad when his boss, Fortune, finds him staring idly at the field rather than participating in practice.
At that time, Rudy’s teammates applaud him, and the assistant coaches immediately welcome him back into the fold after his absence. It looks to be a few days before Notre Dame plays Georgia Tech, and as a consequence, it leads to players giving their jerseys so that Rudy may dress, even though we now know this to be a fabrication.
This one blends my ire at how Devine is shown with my objections to the concept that the team would miss practice to welcome Rudy back and that everyone else genuinely admired the guy. In other words, it combines my ire at how Devine is portrayed with my concerns, except for Devine, who is so focused on his work that he is utterly oblivious to what is happening around him.
This statement is coming from someone who, at the time, in the second grade, thought that the actor who played Pete had gone away in real life during the early part of the film. Even at that age, this part sounded unlikely.
Rudy’s brother is a grade-a jerk
After the devastating death of his best friend, Pete, Rudy decides to go and pursue his ambition of making it come true. Although he returns for the holidays to show his father his report card, he does this despite his family and fiancée disapproving of his choice.
Rudy meets his older brother Johnny there, who is with Rudy’s ex-girlfriend.
Rudy leaves quickly and returns to Notre Dame; the topic is never repeated.
No disputes between brothers? We never heard anything more about it, and Rudy never brought it up again.
However, the rest of the movie never brought up the subject again, despite the whole sequence seeming like a bomb was going off. According to what I’ve discovered, the events that occurred due to that occurrence may easily have deserved a sequel; nevertheless, they have never seen what happened between Rudy and his ex-girlfriend. Why did Rudy’s family and fiancée disapprove of his choice? Why was Johnny a bully to his friends? Mentioned again, and fans appear to behave as if they don’t remember them ever occurring.
I still find it annoying that Johnny was such a bully to his pals. Hey, guy, that’s your brother right there!