Everybody's All-American | Jessica Lange, Dennis Quaid | Showcase for the often-underrated Dennis...

Everybody's All-American | Jessica Lange, Dennis Quaid | "I am the luckiest man that has ever lived"

DVDs:

Everybody's All-Am...

	Everybody's All-American Jessica Lange, Dennis Quaid Warner Home Video, 2004 average customer review:based on 13 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

A louisiana football legend struggles to deal with lifes complexities after his college career is over. Studio: Warner Home Video Release Date: 02/08/2005 Starring: Dennis Quaid Timothy Hutton Run time: 127 minutes Rating: R Director: Taylor Hackford

Showcase for the often-underrated Dennis Quaid

This is an overlooked film from 1988, and perhaps the best performance in Quaid's career. Director Taylor Hackford has had an uneven career, but this stands as one of his best movies so far. Quaid is the a star college football player who marries the homecoming queen (Jessica Lange) and SLOWLY comes to realize that the fame and glory of his college days won't carry him in the real world of professional football and the years after. Lange gets top billing (contractually), but it is Quaid's movie. This should have been his Oscar-nominated performance.
Hackford (or careful editing) pulls back before certain moments fall into sappy sentimentality. But the period detail is meticulous and perfect, and certain pressings of this video come with the dialog-only (no music) trailer for 1989's "Batman", one of the unintentionally best movie trailers ever.

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"I am the luckiest man that has ever lived"

...That's the words that Dennis Quaid says in this 80's classic, to his wife Babs (Jessica Lange). This is a great story, not only of the life of an athelete, but of life itself. It encompasess an era between the 50s and the 80s, where this couple faces many life changing events. From the finaly game in college, getting drafted into the NFL, bankrupcy caused by thier college friend, to a change of bread-winners after the retirement of th "Gray Ghost". After all they go through, they manage to stick together because they were truly in love.

Definitely not for romantic lovers of nostalga

This movie's message is, simply put, don't go living in the past or the present may very well run over you like a very large lineman. Initially, it would appear that the movie glamourizes those bright college days, full of football heroism & social ascendancy on campus, but it becomes apparent soon enough that the film's main characters are real losers in the larger game of life. Jessica Lange in particular plays a southern belle who, as her life progresses, realizes that life really isn't a Homecoming dance, and that the culture that once put her on a pedastel has, in the long run, really screwed her over by limiting her options. Ahh, the life of the trophy wife. Meanwhile, Dennis Quaid (whose smart-alecky persona normally drives me crazy) comes across as a total loser in the bigger picture, as he remains mired in the increasingly long-ago glory days of his youth, unable to cope with his present-day, beer-gut-ridden life of mediocrity. Ahh, the life of a has-been athlete.

Meanwhile, the characters that remained on the fringes in the good old days focused on what they might do in the future rather than dwelling in the past, and had much more meaningful lives as a result. This is all very gratifying for people who weren't high school football heroes or prom queens. While not a great film, this is a pretty good film, and a worthy antidote for excessive exposure to rampant nostalgia.

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EVERYBODY'S ALL WORKED UP OVER TOUCHDOWNS AND FOREPLAY

"Everybody's All American" is the story of Gavin Grey(Dennis Quaid)a guy who goes from stud-muffin to couch potato faster than you can say touchdown. In this endevor he's aided by Jessica Lange - the no-good-for-him love of his life. Taylor Hackford directs with slick style and lots of heart this story better suited for reruns of "General Hospital" than a big screen romance. Nevertheless, and happily so, the film works on all levels.
TRANSFER: Very respectable effort from Warner Brothers with rich, vibrant colors, deep blacks and some nicely balanced colors and contrast levels. On the down side, some scenes appear to have a slightly hazy look to them and there is considerable film grain in a few scenes and age related artifacts to contend with. Overall, however, an adequate remastering effort.
EXTRAS: The director gives us his personal insight into the making of this film which isn't really as insightful as one might imagine. There's also a trailer.
BOTTOM LINE: If you like schmaltz with your beer then this one has it all. If the only thing that excites you is touchdowns then Monday Night Football is a better fit.

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Trying to get things right

Dennis Quaid plays a college football hero stuck in that role and incapable of doing anything else. Jessica Lange is the college queen who marries him, has lots of babies, and gets neglected by Quaid. Quaid goes on to the pros, passing by business opportunities along the way, and stays on too long (it's all he knows). When they are about to go bankrupt, Lange takes charge, getting a job and holding them together. More important, she grows as a person, taking on responsibilities and doing things she never thought she could do. Meanwhile, Quaid continues to live in the past. Then the best 20 minutes of the movie occurs: Quaid and Lange confront their dilemma and work it out. Whether their (and the movie's) solution is believable is questionable, but the acting here is very sharp.

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reviews: page 1, 2, 3

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