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Movie Review: 80 for Brady

Mike Tyrkus

Ostensibly inspired by the true story of four best friends who, in 2017, decided to embark on a trip to Super Bowl LI to see Tom Brady win another ring before retiring, 80 for Brady proves to be a remarkably charming and endearing piece thanks in large part to the ensemble of fine actresses assembled for this road trip.

Lily Tomlin stars as Lou, the centerpiece of a group of friends who have been together watching Tom Brady and the New England Patriots play (and win) football games since he entered his first game as they watched a game together to cheer Lou up after a particularly brutal round of chemotherapy. Being the superstitious lot they are, they have a few rituals that must be performed before the start of every important game that the Patriots play, and this all harkens back to that very first game (and appearance of Brady in such).

When it appears that Brady and the Patriots may be playing in their last Super Bowl as quarterback and team together, Lou suggests to her friends – Trish (Jane Fonda), Betty (Sally Field), and Maura (Rita Moreno) – that they attempt to win tickets to the Big Game offered by a pair of local radio hosts (Rob Corddry and Alex Moffat). This of course leads to a caper of sorts involving multiple parties assisting the women as they try to win the contest. As might be expected, fortune shines on them and they’re off to the Super Bowl. But, just as soon as the light begins to burn bright, it is snuffed out when a series of unfortunate events befall the four friends and their attendance at the game is in peril.

Working from a script penned by Emily Halpern and Sarah Haskins (Booksmart [2019]), director Kyle Marvin makes his feature film debut in a safe and well-mannered fashion. There’s nothing incredibly innovative about 80 for Brady, but there is no denying that it is an entertaining romp that refreshingly gives a group of women the opportunity to helm something that would traditionally be considered male-dominated territory.

Lily Tomlin, Jane Fonda, Sally Field, and Rita Moreno in “80 for Brady.”

As the four friends make their way through the various obstacles between them and the Super Bowl, they encounter an assortment of characters like an ex-player played by Harry Hamlin, a flamboyant and personable choreographer played by Glynn Turman, and a Guy Fieri-type personality played by, well, Guy Fieri. While all of these characters have their own individual moments to steal select scenes, it is the bond between the four main characters that makes the whole enterprise work.

Although 80 for Brady may have a forgone conclusion already in hand from the onset, it is still well worth it for the comradery and performances delivered by the film’s lead actresses. There is also perhaps something refreshing about a film that can make even the most ardent non-Brady fan soften a bit and think perhaps they have been wrong about the guy all along.

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Mike Tyrkus

Editor in Chief at CinemaNerdz.com
An independent filmmaker, co-writer and director of over a dozen short films, the Editor in Chief of CinemaNerdz.com has spent much of the last three decades as a writer and editor specializing in biographical and critical reference sources in literature and the cinema, beginning in February 1991 reviewing films for his college newspaper. He was a member of the Detroit Film Critics Society, as well as the group's webmaster and one-time President for over a decade until the group ceased to exist. His contributions to film criticism can be found in Magill's Cinema Annual, VideoHound's Golden Movie Retriever (of which he was the editor for nearly a decade until it too ceased to exist), the International Dictionary of Films and Filmmakers, and the St. James Film Directors Encyclopedia (on which he collaborated with editor Andrew Sarris). He has also appeared on the television program Critic LEE Speaking alongside Lee Thomas of FOX2 and Adam Graham, of The Detroit News. He currently lives in the Detroit area with his wife and their dogs.

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