Review of "Rudy," DVD version

 Review of

Rudy, DVD version

Five out of five stars

True story of perseverance

Daniel "Rudy" Ruettiger grew up dreaming of playing football at Notre Dame. Unfortunately, he lacked the physical skills to play football at that level and the grades and money to attend Notre Dame. His father and friends work in a steel mill, and they dismiss his ambition as an impossible goal. However, Rudy is not deterred, while working in the steel mill, he saves some money and continues to hold tight to his dream.

 Rudy takes a bus to the campus of Notre Dame and tells a friendly priest that he wants to play football for Notre Dame. All he lacks are physical skills, tuition money and the proper high school grades. The priest gets him into nearby Holy Cross College so that he can bring up his grades. Rudy does everything he can to be around the football team, even volunteering to work on the field for free.

 Perseverance and dedication pay off and Rudy is eventually admitted to Notre Dame, and he immediately joins the team as a walk-on. Even though he is generally outclassed on the field, he never gives up and keeps trying. When the last game is to be played and Rudy is left off the dress list, the scholarship players express their desire to give up their position on the dress list so that Rudy can dress for the final game. The captain is the first to approach the coach and when told, “You are an All-American and a team captain, you need to act like it.” The response is one of the greatest lines to be uttered in a sports movie, “I am acting like a captain.”

 There is a climactic ending that is stirring and can easily bring a tear to your eye. Unlike sports movies that end with a success in the big game at the end, this one simply has a man achieving an incredible dream. Which is better than most of the big game heroics in other movies.

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