Invincible Man: Garcia vs. Papale

By Os Davis  |   Friday, December 22, 2006  |  Comments( 0 )

Philadelphia Eagles
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In Philadelphia, all are abuzz about the story of a guy thought too old to make an impact, about a guy called upon by his Eagles in a time of crisis, about a guy who helped bring himself and his team to new heights after a period of much frustration.

It's the story of Jeff Garcia and the 2006 Eagles.

It's also the story of Vince Papale, a former WFL'er who actually played on the Eagles special teams for three years after attending an open tryout, in "Invincible." (Just released on DVD!)

In honor of Papale's recently remembered legend and of a playoff run which may yet become legend in Brotherly Love land, a comparison of stories fact and fiction to determine who is Philly's true Invincible Man.

Lead actor. No matter how good you feel about feel-good Invincible, surely we can all agree that Mark Wahlberg is absolutely brutal in this film. Did the former Marky Mark sell his soul for the one-film talent he showed in "Boogie Nights?" Should Wahlberg only take roles as vacuous dudes with mutant Johnsons? (And I don't mean Larry here.) Meanwhile, in Eagles 2006, Garcia completely loses himself in the lead role. He's not just playing a quarterback: He is a quarterback in the finest traditions of De Niro-level method acting. To go along with his amazing nine TDs against one interception, Garcia's QB rating is an excellent 96.3. For comparison's sake, Pro Bowler Tony Romo has a 98.4 rating; both have stoked fading hopes of teams that could now win the NFC. Edge: Garcia.

Best direction. Despite a crummy opening scene (Maybe the 1975 Eagles were so bad because their stadium didn't have any freaking lighting? Come on, wasn't there electricity in the 70s?), "Invincible" director Ericson Core ("Daredevil") does his best with the clichéd shots this hackneyed script calls for: the smoky bar, mud football, the coach's first speech. "Invincible" stays just watchable enough until finally the great football scenes kick in about 80 minutes into the film. Core can't squeeze a decent performance out of Wahlberg but few have since 1999. For the Eagles, Andy Reid in the chair is a comfortable sight for moviegoers that has, for six years, made for a handful of solid seasons but no Oscar trophy. The 60-percent pass game plan is fun but ultimately never quite engaging enough to win it all, and perhaps this franchise has seen one too many similar sequels. Edge: Papale.

Supporting cast. Greg Kinnear is fine enough in the useless role of Dick Vermeil in "Invincible." (Couldn't he have at least cried? C'mon, he showed his skills in "As Good As It Gets.") Unfortunately, this character and his entire undeveloped subplot is merely a bald-faced attempt to pad time with more off-hand explaining that Papale is a sort of symbol for a down-trodden city. Elizabeth Banks plays the love interest in a cakewalk role; c'mon, what guy watching this movie isn't going to love a blonde bartending chick who's a football fan? The rest are mostly ciphers and plot devices. Over in Eagles camp, Donte' Stallworth has shown to be a shrewd acquisition, bolstering Donovan McNabb's options in Act I and II of the season while taking Garcia's game to another level. Brian Westbrook continues to be nothing short of brilliant, with 1,756 total yards, 11 TDs and a ridiculous 5.1 yards per carry. Edge: Garcia.

Costumes. Despite the fact that everyone around him is attired the way '70s movie characters always are, culminating in a huge-lapeled sky-blue, checked ensemble with orange tie worn by a guy who seems to be the team owner, Papale keeps his cool, dressing in basic, working-class, department-store chic. And you gotta love those green-and-white wristbands. Garcia, on the other hand...whoa. Just check his post-game press conferences for a weird brown, pink and lavender number. Or this just plain drab brown gear. Yeesh. If a certain gabby wide receiver's supposition that Garcia is in fact alternatively oriented, Garcia definitely destroys a certain stereotype about sartorial taste. Edge: Papale.

Special effects. Try as they might, making Marky Mark look like a football player large enough to play NFL ball just can't be pulled off by the "Invincible" production team. More CGI might have helped. In the other story, showing the still CFL-style Garcia throwing touchdown strikes of 40, 51 and 60 yards, two on short routes against defenses that knew the pass was coming, is nothing short of movie magic. Edge: Garcia.

Location. All right, both films are set in Philadelphia, but some mention of December's sports epicenter had to be made. In this week alone, you've got the Eagles story in reality, the "Invincible" DVD release and the "Rocky Balboa" cinema release, plus that NBA story which is certainly a massive fraud propagated by a vast sportswriters' conspiracy. C'mon, Allen Iverson on the Denver Nuggets? Edge: Tie.

Script. We haven't seen the final reel of 2006 Philadelphia Eagles yet, but if you want unpredictable, I-laughed-I-cried, edge-of-your-seat movie going, this is it. "Invincible" is a Walt Disney film: Scriptwise, you can connect the dots. Edge: Garcia.

The verdict is inescapable. Jeff Garcia is now to be considered Philadelphia's new Invincible Man. Now comes the speculation as to who'll be playing Garcia once his own story is scripted. Me, I nominate Chris Tucker to play Terrell Owens.

Pass the popcorn.

Watching the drama of the Philadelphia Eagles unfold at RealFootball365.com.
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About Os Davis

Os Davis has taken a twisted route to get to RealFootball365.com in his nearly 17 years in professional writing, working in any number of capacities in the sportswriting, news reporting and film criticism worlds. In print media, Os has served as editor at a few publications, including Albuquerque's...
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