One man's impossible dream... became his biggest triumph!
A 2006 American sports docudrama from Walt Disney Pictures directed by Ericson Core. Based on a True Story, Invincible tells the tale of bartender Vince Papale (Mark Wahlberg), who in 1976, walked on at an open tryout for the Philadelphia Eagles of the National Football League and eventually earned his way onto the team.
The movie takes place in 1975-76, as the city of Philadelphia is struggling with blue-collar workers having trouble making ends meet and a threat of a worker's strike looming. The city can't even take heart in its football team, as the Eagles are finishing another abysmal season, eventually firing their head coach and replacing him with Dick Vermeil (Greg Kinnear) from the college ranks of UCLA. As the summer of 1976 rolls on, part-time teacher and bartender Vince Papale is barely hanging onto employment, as are his friends and father, and his wife eventually leaves him when the going gets tough. Vermeil, wanting to rouse excitement in the Eagles fanbase, calls for an open tryout at Veterans Stadium; Papale, the best athlete in the neighborhood games, is egged on by his friends to go, and impresses Vermeil with his speed to earn a spot at camp. As Papale chases the opportunity to become a professional football player, the neighborhood and city rally around their hometown son, bringing hope to a city in need of it.
Part of a series of sports docudramas by Disney in the mid-2000s alongside Miracle, Glory Road, and The Greatest Game Ever Playednote , which aimed at an older audience (as with Miracle, there are no major roles for children).
The movie also stars Elizabeth Banks, Kevin Conway, Michael Rispoli, Kirk Acevedo, Michael Kelly, Michael Mulheren, Michael Nouri, and Paige Turco.
Not to be confused with the epic superhero franchise or the Michael Jackson album.
Tropes for the film:
- The '70s: Takes place during Papale's first NFL season in 1976.
- Adaptational Attractiveness: The real Vince Papale was a rugged, shaggy-haired blue-collar guy. In the movie, he's played by model-handsome Mark Wahlberg with a feathered coif as perfectly tailored as co-star Elizabeth Banks.
- Artistic License – History:
- In real-life, Vince Papale had played for several semi-pro football teams after his collegiate track and field career. It was his performance with the Philadelphia Bell of the World Football League that brought him to the attention of Dick Vermeil.
- Vince wasn't laid off from teaching, but actually quit for the aforementioned semi-pro career.
- Vince's wife did leave him with that cruel note, but it happened five years before he played for the Eagles. He also didn't meet Janet until 1991,15 years after the events in the movie.
- Vince is assigned a roommate in center Dennis Franks as Vermeil wants veterans and rookies to room together towards the end of camp. In real life, Franks was a fellow rookie at the time like Vince Papale.
- Vince Papale did not score in his second game as depicted in the movie; his fumble recovery vs. the Giants, as shown in the real-life footage at the end, was a muffed punt as two Giants collided on the catch, allowing Vince to grab the ball and walk five yards (not the 50 yards in the movie) into the end zone. However, since it was a muffed punt and not a fumblenote , the punting team cannot advance the ball in that situation, so it was spotted where Papale recovered it. The team did score on the ensuing possession, but it was not in a tight game, but rather one that Philadelphia controlled all afternoon, with that touchdown pushing the lead to 20-0, eventually winning 20-7.
- Although the Eagles did win their home opener vs. the Giants, the Eagles still struggled their first two years under Vermeil, going a combined 9-19 in 1976-77 before finally breaking through with a winning 9-7 record in Vince Papale's final season with the team.
- Ascended Fanboy: The film centers around Philadelphia Eagles fan Vince Papale becoming a player for the team.
- A Hero to His Hometown: Vince is cheered on by all of his friends and neighbors in South Philadelphia who have been dealing with workers union troubles in recent years and want to see one of their own succeed. Everyone else remains skeptical of him, since he's a walk on who never even played college football.
- Bait-and-Switch:
- At the end of training camp, Vince is summoned by an assistant coach to Vermeil's office and to "bring your playbook", standard operating procedure for a player about to be cut and hand the playbook back to the team. Vermeil, after a chat, gives the playbook back to Vince and says to "hang onto it for a couple of months", as a way to tell him he's made the team.
- Before the season opener, Vince is nervous gearing up before the game, and the scene cuts to someone vomiting in the bathroom. It's expected to be Vince, but he emerges from a stall while the retching is still going on, and it's revealed to be an equally-nervous Dick Vermeil, who waves it off as bad room service he ate.
- Chekhov's Skill: When rooming with Vince, offensive lineman Dennis Franks roughly shows Vince a trick to see if a lineman will be attacking the line of scrimmage; if there's color in the opposing lineman's knuckles on the ground, that means it's propping his weight and the lineman is readying to rush forward, while no color means the lineman is going to be dropping back into coverage. During the closing moments against the Giants and the Eagles punting, Vince notices the opposing lineman has color in his knuckles and calls for his team to audible into a punt block formation; they're able to stuff the incoming rush while Vince breaks through the line and has a clean shot at the return man for a forced fumble scoop-and-score.
- Color Wash: To emphasize the downtrodden times of Philadelphia, the neighborhood scenes are shot in a sepia tone while the football scenes are shown in normal color.
- Contrived Coincidence: Vince's wife leaves him just as his bar-owning buddy has his cousin coming into town to stay, a beautiful blonde-haired football-loving, recently-divorced ladette who looks like, well, Elizabeth Banks.
- The Friend No One Likes: Johnny is the one guy among the bar crew who is a Jerkass to everyone and poo-poo's Vince's attempt to make the Eagles. His friends are understanding, however, since the economic downturn is hitting everyone hard and bar owner Max lets Vince knows that Johnny is simply worried Vince will leave them behind if he becomes a pro football player.
- Heroic Self-Deprecation: Unlike a character like Rudy, Vince believes in his chances of being a football player less than everyone else around him. His life struggles have dampened down his self-worth; as he's recently lost his job and his wife, Vince mainly expects his NFL attempt to end in failure as well and it's not until the third act when he sees what his journey has inspired in his neighborhood that he fully believes in himself that he belongs.
- Hidden Disdain Reveal: When Vince visits his father to inform him that Sharon left him, Mr. Papale reveals that he never liked her and wishes he had spoken up before it happened.
- Historical Domain Character:
- Vince Papale, American Football Wide receiver for Philadelphia Eagles.
- Dick Vermeil, Coach for Philadelphia Eagles.
- Hope Bringer: The dual arc of Vince and the Eagles being this to Philadelphia. Before their second regular-season game, Dick Vermeil gives a speech that the Eagles are what the town turns to when it needs hope, and Vince's friends equally impress upon him that him making the Eagles would be the first good thing in their lives in a long time. Even Vince's father, who initially told Vince not to get his hopes up as "a man can only take so much failure", invokes this trope as well.Frank Papale: You know how I used to tell you about Van Buren scoring a touchdown back in '48? [chuckles] I know, I know. [serious] That touchdown got me through 30 years at that factory. Got me through all those times of your mother being sick. When I told you not to get your hopes up...didn't mean that I wasn't.
- Lightning Bruiser: Despite Vince's inexperience at organized football, he brings two elements that help him stand out and carve a place for him on the roster; he's incredibly fast and can lay out (or take) a hit.
- Period Piece: Takes place from 1975 to 1976.
- Obsessive Sports Fan: Vince and his friends are all die-hard Eagles fans and a few of them have season tickets in the infamous 700 level of Veterans Stadium.
- One-Word Title: Invincible.
- Opposites Attract: Vince's Love Interest Janet is a fan of the Eagles' hated rivals the New York Giants.
- Real-Person Epilogue: The movie ends with text, clips, and images of the real Vince Papale, including both events covered in the film and his later career.
- Save Our Team: The Philadelphia Eagles had seen little on field success since winning the NFL Championship in 1960. Dick Vermeil is brought on from UCLA in the hopes of ending their 16 year drought.
- Shed Armor, Gain Speed: When Vince first starts training camp, he's unaccustomed to wearing football pads and they weigh heavily on him enough to negate his main asset of speed. He switches to lighter pads meant for quarterbacks, who take fewer hits and allows them to keep their mobility; the equipment manager warns he'll be more susceptible to punishment on the field, but they're light enough for Vince to get his edge back in speed and keep up with his teammates.
- Surprisingly Realistic Outcome:
- Despite taking early reps in camp at wide receiver and being the only position he has an inkling of know-how, there's no path for Vince to crack the receiving corps of veteran players and is shunted to special teams (kick-related formations). Even then, he's not sent in as a return man, but as a "gunner" (a player tasked with getting the opposing team's kick returner).
- The team not only doesn't rally around their underdog newcomer, they barely acknowledge his presence beyond a couple of jeering teammates and his eventual roommate, lineman Dennis Franks. The last man on the team means very little to them when they have their own play to worry about.
- The Unpronounceable: Only people who know Vince know how to say "Papale" (pa-PAHL-e). The TV sportscaster gamely goes with "Pa-pale", and the equipment manager gets the pronounciation correct but not the spelling, with Vince's locker tape saying "Pepolli."
- Unskilled, but Strong: Despite no post-high school experience with organized football, Vince acclimates himself in the professional ranks through sheer athleticism.
- What the Hell, Hero?: On the first play of the season, Vince has a bead on the Cowboys' kick returner but freezes in place, allowing himself to get blocked out of the play and let the return man gain a few extra yards. Dick Vermeil, who has been pretty cordial with Vince throughout camp, is not pleased and lets him have it when Vince gets back to the sideline.Vince: I'm sorry, Coach—Vermeil: You're sorry?! [grabs Vince's face mask] I stuck my neck out for you! You better start playing football or you're gone!