Mike Smith
For years I lived under the illusion that Tom Brady was a cheater. Then he went to my Tampa Bay Buccaneers and brought them a Super Bowl victory so now I see he was just misunderstood. Brady has since retired (again) but his legend lives on in “80 for Brady.”
Every Sunday a group of friends gathers in the home of Lou (Lily Tomlin) to get their game on. Football that is. It’s been a tradition for these women for years, and started when Lou was battling cancer. The other women also have some issues. Trish (Jane Fonda) cannot accept the fact that she is getting old, Maura (Rita Moreno) is recently widowed and Betty (Sally Field) is tired of doing everything for others and nothing for herself. When the Patriots once again advance to the Super Bowl in 2017, Lou gets them all tickets to the game so that they can celebrate in person.
A an almost too-sweet story held together by a group of actresses with (5) Oscars and (12) nominations between them, “80 for Brady” is, in reality, a story about following your drams and never giving up. Football fans may recall that Super Bowl LI featured a game where, at one time, the Patriots were down 28-3 only to score (31) unanswered points to emerge victorious.
Along the way the ladies learn more about themselves then they expected, as they conspire to get as close to the action as possible. Brady, also a producer, shows up a few times on screen and has a natural screen presence, also featured in “Ted 2.” Nice to see he has a sense of humor.
For football fans, the film is a must see thanks to the incredible game footage shown on screen. Angles and highlights not seen on television are amazing to follow when they’re 40 feet high. Besides, now that the NFL season is over, “80 for Brady” is a way to get in a little more football before baseball season rolls along.
