'Invincible' offers hope to grid-player wannabes

Heart magnifies talent in this feel-good film.
By ROBERT W. BUTLER
KANSAS CITY STAR
"Invincible" is basically "The Rookie," only with rib-crunching body blocks instead of 99 mph fast balls.
Ericson Core's real-life sports drama centers on the unlikely success story of Vince Papale (Pah-PALL-ee), who without ever having played college football was hired by the Philadelphia Eagles and went on to play for three seasons.
Papale (Mark Wahlberg) is a South Philly working class kid who in 1976 at age 30 finds himself at a premature dead end. His wife has left him; his part-time job as a substitute teacher has dried up; his meager income comes from tending a bar owned by a boyhood pal. His only joy is playing crazy-man sandlot football with the guys he grew up with.
Papale is so depressed he initially declines to get involved when the new coach of his beloved but floundering Eagles -- Dick Vermeil (Greg Kinnear) -- announces he will hold open tryouts for anyone.
But at the urging of his friends, a reluctant Papale shows up. Out of hundreds of overweight, butter-fingered wannabes, he is the only one chosen by Vermeil to accompany the Eagles to training camp.
"Invincible" (the title is a graceless pun on Papale's first name) follows our hero to camp and through his first two games as an Eagle.
It is, as Mr. Dickens said, the best of times and the worst of times.
Heart over talent
Papale is convinced that the ax could fall at any moment, that he'll be asked to visit the coach's office and bring along his playbook. As an outsider who got to camp thanks to an elaborate publicity stunt, he has to put up with the abuse -- social, verbal and physical -- of established players who resent his presence.
But like great sports heroes everywhere, he's got heart that magnifies his talent. He takes hits, slowly gets back up and takes some more. He keeps his mouth shut, watches and learns.
At the same time, he's become a beacon of hope to South Philly, where times are bad for blue-collar folk and Papale's success provides bragging rights for a citizenry who desperately need some.
By the same token, Vermeil identifies with Papele as a fellow outsider; they're both trying to prove themselves in a hostile environment. (There's a funny moment when, before his first game, Papale goes to the bathroom to throw up and finds the coach is already there throwing up.)
And then there's the pretty fellow bartender (Elizabeth Banks) who gives Papale something to dream about in his lonely dorm room. Even if she is a hard-core New York Giants fan.
Other details
"Invincible" never achieves the inspirational level of "Rudy" or the acute social observations of "Friday Night Lights," and in its final minutes lays on the uplift with a trowel. But it's a generally satisfying (and atypically cuss-free) come-from-behind sports story, with Core delivering workmanlike direction (this is his first directing gig after a career as a cinematographer) and some rousing action.
Wahlberg has the necessary physical prowess for the role, and his slow, I'm-not-comfortable-talking demeanor works nicely for the very quiet Papale. Kinnear doesn't do a precise impression of the young Vermeil, but you'll recognize the coach's alternating moods of stoicism and emotion. The actors who play Papale's running buddies have their South Philly accents down pat and exude working-class ethos.
Not a great football movie, but it'll do until one comes along.