2010 will undoubtedly go down in history as the year the Academy grew a set and acknowledged the outstanding contribution of a female Director. Thankfully Kathryn Bigelow’s gender proved completely irrelevant as The Hurt Locker was far and away the standout film of 2009 making Hollywood hard hitter’s of all involved.
The above sporting metaphor leads nicely into this week’s Top Five which is in honour of Drew Barrymore’s impressive directorial debut Whip It. When I was tasked with compiling a list of five On-Screen Female Sporting Heroes in tribute to the (almost) all conquering ‘Hurl Scouts’ I was unaware of just how difficult this would prove. I wracked my encyclopaedic brain for relevant movies for the best part of a week and only just managed to scrape together a satisfactory five which you will find documented bellow.
5: Bend it like Beckham
You’d be forgiven for avoiding a film that boasts impassive actors like Jonathan Rhys Myers and Keira Knightley amongst its principle cast. However, to the assumed relief of all involved the films lesser known star, Parminder Nagra, pulled off a highly competent performance as the grossly underestimated Jess.
In the film Jess, a tom-boy Sikh and all round David Beckham obsessive, manages to overcome the stigmas of her gender and religion in order to pursue her unrelenting passion.
Determined not to lay her talent to waste Jess fights prejudices at every turn and eventually wins a place on a professional team on the other side of the Atlantic. However, it’s not just a lucrative contract that Jess gains. As is often the way with sports narratives Jess also gains the acceptance of her orthodox Sikh father who is so enamoured by his daughters hidden talents that he forgives her duplicity and allows her to fly the nest.
4: Wildcats
This 80’s Goldie Hawn vehicle is probably the most typical sports movie of the bunch. It even concludes with the quintessential celebratory air punch freeze frame. Where it does differ from the vast array of American Football movies (see Remember the Titans, Friday Night Lights, We Are Marshall etc) is in Goldie Hawn’s role as Coach McGrath.
Taking on the unwanted job of Football Coach for the notorious Central High, Hawn’s Coach McGrath is forced to confront that particular brand of horrific sexism that used to pass for ‘comedy’ in the olden days. As McGrath’s dogged determination gradually wins the approval of her teenage team members she continues to battle with the male dominated world of contact sports in particular Bruce McGill’s pantomime nemesis Coach Darwell. As McGill grunts and gurns his way through his scenes you can’t help but feel his cartoon chauvinism detracts from a film which even now twenty-four years on is criminally, somewhat still ahead of its time.
3: D2: The Mighty Ducks
Contrary to popular belief D2: The Mighty Ducks is not just a kids movie. It is in fact a cunningly disguised allegory for the egotism of American Foreign Policy and xenophobia of the early nineties. Ok, maybe it isn’t but it’s still a pretty good watch. Following up from the ‘Ducks’ championship success in the first movie D2 sees Emilio Eztevez’s ‘Coach Bombay’ tasked with coaching Team U.S.A. in preparation for the Goodwill Games. As you’d expect from a sequel Team U.S.A comprises almost entirely of the prepubescent cast of the first movie with a few notable additions. Most notable of these additions is a young girl called Julie ‘The Cat’ Gaffney (Colombe Jacobsen).
Although Julie inexplicably spends most of the movie warming the bench, despite being more competent than her male counterpart, her contribution to the team and the movie becomes clear when the final credits role.
As the narrative unfolds the majority of Team U.S.A. begin to lose sight of what’s important. Even Estevez pulls a ‘Charlie Sheen’, taking his eyes off of the prize in pursuit of an Icelandic Blonde. However, throughout all this unsporting behaviour there’s one girl who keeps her head down. Patiently Julie waits for her chance between the sticks and as the final act draws to a close with a traditional nail biting penalty shootout you can’t help but feel Julie’s moment hurtling closer. Finally, just when you think Coach Bombay may have overlooked her prowess, he turns to the sub keeper and sends her in for the final penalty.
Needless to say Julie’s unwavering determination and dedication to the team proves crucial as she saves a seemingly unstoppable penalty shot. The Ducks become the Goodwill Games Champions and whilst you can’t help but think that most of them probably don’t deserve it, you know Julie ‘The Cat’ Gaffney does.
2: Girl Fight
To a certain extent second place was a tie between the very similar Million Dollar Baby (Clint Eastwood) and the lesser known Girl Fight. In the end I opted to include the latter in this poll for a number of reasons. Firstly, it makes me seem smarter, secondly it doesn’t end with a heart breaking assisted suicide and finally Karyn Kusuma’s film doesn’t receive half the recognition it probably should.
The film itself follows the struggles of rage fuelled teenager Diana as she takes up boxing at a Brooklyn gym, unbeknownst to her domineering father. Channelling the rage that has plagued her academic progress Diana quickly becomes the most lauded boxer in the neighbourhood and whilst her coach struggles to find her legitimate fights she makes do with punishing the males who so regrettably underestimate her.
The worst offender is of course Diana’s own father who makes the mistake of trying to dominate Diana the way he dominated and abused her mother. Crucially Diana’s new found physical prowess shifts the balance of her power in her favour and she beats ten shades of shit out of her good for nothing Dad. From there on in our heroine never looks back.
What Girl Fight may lack in Eastwood-esque finesse it makes up for in raw power thanks almost entirely to a firey debut from Michelle Rodriquez seen most recently in Avatar. Although hindsight may testify that Rodriquez’s aggression filled performance may not have been too much of a stretch there is no denying the empowerment that Diana rips from those less deserving than she over the course of the film. It is this feeling that translates into an incredible sense of satisfaction long after the film has finished.
1: A League of Their Own
Approximately forty minutes into Penny Marshall’s 1992 baseball romp I had myself an epiphany. Up until that point I had been attempting to select an individual slugger who would take first place in this pole but all of a sudden it hit me. To select an individual ball player from the team would be to miss the entire point of the movie.
Whilst Geena Davis becomes the poster girl for the AAPGL (All American Pro Girls League) this is actually a film about a team. Individually the likes of Dottie, Mae, Dorris, and Kit of dutiful wives and girlfriends underestimated like the others in this poll, but when they pull together to form the ‘Rockford Peaches’ they become an unstoppable force to be reckoned with. Together with their coach Jimmy Dugan (Tom Hanks) the Peaches overcome institutional sexism, illiteracy, hypocrisy, alcoholism and even a heart breaking bereavement all in the space of one hundred and twenty eight minutes.
What separates A League of Their Own from the other movies in the poll is this team spirit. The camaraderie depicted in the film is a rare occurrence in sports movies as it tends to fly in the face of the underdog narrative however, the film’s historical setting provides a team of real underdogs who very quickly gain the admiration of all who encounter them within the confines of the feature as well as those watching it.
Remember kids, as Maggie Mayhem says, “Be your own hero.”
