Top 5: Sports Comedies
Sports comedies are great medicine. They don’t just make us laugh; they fill our sails full of inspiration with their underdog triumphs and tales of persevering no matter the odds. While they frequently suffer from their formulaic designs, the best ones focus on their characters and find compelling ways to latch us to them, making their road to success all the more rewarding. Today, join us as we take a look at what we consider to be the top-tier athletes of the sports comedy genre.
5: Caddyshack (1980)
If you’re in the mood for a thoroughly carefree sports comedy, Caddyshack is where it’s at. Featuring a hilariously kooky Bill Murray, a side-splitting Rodney Dangerfield, a charmingly mischievous Chevy Chase, and loads and loads of silliness and gags, Harold Ramis’ iconic feature film directorial debut is memorably nutty. Although this gem often gets placed higher on these kinds of lists (if not at the very summit), it’s missing something that we feel the following films have more of: heart. Don’t get us wrong, Caddyshack more than gets by on its rebellious nature and improvised style. It’s definitely one of the best films about golf (along with Happy Gilmore, which narrowly missed the cut), and we find it extremely refreshing that the whole “sport” part doesn’t really contribute directly to the plot, but when it’s all said and done, it’s really more of a series of amusing hijinks that don’t amount to anything greater. Still, as far as absurdity and madness go, Caddyshack has that in spades.
4: The Sandlot (1993)
The Sandlot is a genuinely charming, cutesy, and comical coming-of-age story about how America’s favorite pastime shaped one of the most unforgettable summers of its young protagonists’ lives. Framed as one wildly adventurous flashback, The Sandlot finds Scott Smalls looking over his past’s shoulder, examining how this one summer impacted him. The film is interestingly nostalgic, and it gains an added layer of nostalgia now that many of us who grew up with us are all now adults; whenever we revisit the film, much like Smalls, we are reminded how it played a hand in our growing up. The interplay between the film’s baseball-playing misfits is fun to watch, as are their misadventures, and the way the film hyperbolizes their perspective is one of the best narrative inventions of any sports comedy. There’s warmth and heart to the boys’ camaraderie, and several unforgettable scenes (I mean, who amongst us can make a s’more with out thinking about Ham’s monologue). In our mind, The Sandlot deserves to be amongst the top of the bunch FOR-EVER.
3: Slap Shot (1977)
George Roy Hill’s delightfully vulgar and violent sports comedy is a veritable romp, and it easily earns a place with Roy Hill classics like The Sting, Butch Cassidy & the Sundance Kid, and The World According to Garp. It should probably be noted that a majority of our favorite sports comedies almost exclusively feature outcasts, weirdos, and pariahs — Slap Shot being no exception. It notably champions hockey as a freak-show sport with unabashed pride, and it’s full of the freakiest of the freaks. The best among them are the Hanson brothers (who were based on real-life hockey players, the Carlson brothers), who are responsible for several of the film’s most memorably moments. For all its raunchiness (of which there is plenty), it will also totally surprise you with its moments of warmth and heart. It’s slow to start and rough around the edges, but Paul Newman is absolutely fantastic, and there are many laugh-out-loud bits and several scenes that are perfectly captured. Aside from being funny as heck, Slap Shot is also notable for its ending, which affectionately celebrates the weird.
2: White Men Can’t Jump (1992)
Ron Shelton masterfully weaves drama and comedy with his racially charged buddy comedy, White Men Can’t Jump. Hilariously ribbing the Caucasian folks’ stereotypical lack of “ups”with its title, the film follows a pick-up game hustler, Billy Hoyle (Woody Harrelson), as he scams streetballers out of their cash, until he hustles the wrong guy, Sidney Deane (Wesley Snipes). A real rollercoaster ride of ups and downs, triumphs and bittersweet failings, White Men Can’t Jump is much more than a sports comedy; it’s a great basketball movie, a great buddy comedy about race relations, AND a fantastic hustle/con movie. It also functions as a character study about a guy who’s incapable of getting his shit together. If you looking for a strong central character arc, you won’t really find it here (an aspect we feel makes it refreshing), but the interplay between Harrelson and Snipes, as well as their lively and comical performances should more than fill you up. Plus, there’s the JEOPARDY-obsessed Rosie-f***ing-Perez at perhaps her most adorable.
1: The Bad News Bears (1976)
In our opinion, no other sports comedy juggles hard edges with heart quite like The Bad News Bears. The film features the always great Walter Matthau in one of his most iconic and memorable roles as the alcoholic ex-baseball pitcher who agrees to coach a hapless little league team in exchange for money. What starts as a shameless cash-grab for Matthau’s Coach Buttermaker (which hilariously sounds like his preferred drink of choice, the boilermaker) quickly morphs into something else entirely. When the rag-tag group of misfits get totally slaughtered on opening day, Matthau inspires them to keep at it, even though their parents and the rest of the league want to save them the embarrassment. The team is comprised of an eclectic array of outcasts and league undesirables (which include Tatum O'Neal and Jack Earle Haley in early-career roles), and part of the joy of watching the film is seeing them evolve from uncoordinated and unskilled players into real contenders that give their rival team, the Yankees, a real run for the pennant. It’s the classic underdog story with a twist, and one of its refreshing qualities is its dynamic between kids (who just really want to have fun) and the parents/adults who take things far too seriously. It all culminates in phenomenal third act that boasts one of the greatest endings of all time, which is why it’s our favorite sports comedy ever made.
What do you think? Did your favorite sports comedy make the cut?! We want to know. Share your thoughts and feelings in the comments section below, and as always, remember to viddy well!