Review: 80 For Brady

‘Make new friends, but keep the old.’  And when all your friends are Octogenarian Women who love New England Patriots Quarterback Tom Brady; get matching jerseys that say ’80 For Brady’ and go to the Super Bowl!

Jane Fonda, Sally Field, Lilly Tomlin, and 91 year old Rita Moreno all look healthy and surprisingly amourous for women of their age.  Unfortunately, the fun ultimately falls flat and completely predictable in this ‘based on a true story’ recreation of Super Bowl LI.

The Plot – 80 For Brady

Lou’s been sick for a while, and the only way she’s gotten this far is with the help of her friends.  Trish, Maura, and Betty all help raise Lou’s spirits through their mutual love of the ever handsome, ever winning, Tom Brady.

Lou, played by Lily Tomlin, eventually recovers; and our foursome of Octogenarians become Patriots Superfans.  Trish, played by Jane Fonda; Maura, played by Rita Moreno; and Betty, played by Sally Field; all lead full lives in their retirements.  And everyone in their lives knows to leave them room for their Patriots.

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Come 2017, their Patriots once again seem like a team of destiny, still led by the ageless Tom Brady.  As the Pats win the AFC Championship Game and head to yet another Super Bowl; our friends decide they want, must, absolutely need to go to the Super Bowl.  All they need now are the tickets.

Just by happenstance, Pat and Nat, two popular Pats radio hosts are giving away four Super Bowl tickets.  All you have to do is prove you’re the biggest Patriots fan, and tickets are yours!

Against all odds, our foursome wins the Super Bowl tickets!  NOW, let the REAL fun begin!

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The Good – 80 For Brady

Cast STILL Has ‘It’

Let’s be honest.  It’s good to see that our four leading ladies are STILL healthy enough to star in a movie, and STILL entertaining enough to be in a movie!

Each of our stars of yesteryear looks good, and gets their own storyline to pursue in 80 For Brady.

Lily Tomlin gets to play the center of our group.  She gets to be the dramatic glue that brings our old gals together for their trip to the Super Bowl.

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Jane Fonda gets to relive her va va va voom days as the sexiest woman in the room.  Trish has more wigs than a 19th Century political party…  ZING!  And, she’s not afraid to show she has the libido of a woman 40 years younger.

Sally Field gets to play the brainiac of the group.  Betty gets to be the responsible one who lets her hair down, and enjoy all the Tom Brady Super Bowl fun life has to offer.

And, Rita Moreno, now 91 years old in real life; gets to play the widower seeking love again.  Maura gets less screen time than the others, but she puts the ‘feisty’ in ‘feisty old gal’.

The Bad – 80 For Brady

Nothing Stands Out

OK.  I don’t want to dunk on ’80 For Brady’.  This movie isn’t designed to be an Oscar Winner.  This movie doesn’t try to change the world, or make a big political statement.

It’s not even trying to surprise you with the ending, as we know Tom Brady and the Patriots won Super Bowl 51 in real life, and we have all kinds of actual video from the game itself.

**Ahem**  HOWEVER, 80 For Brady may be ‘fun’, but there’s not much else there to bite your teeth into.

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The Comedy is about what you’d expect from the trailers — it’s safe and predictable.  It’s fine, seriously it’s FINE.  But, it doesn’t stand out in a way that gets anything more than a light chuckle or an ‘aww’.

But, there’s nothing really there for people NOT in the target demographic.  This film is clearly targeting the 70+ female crowd, and that’s GREAT for people in that group that want a film playing specifically to the generalized interests of the group.

BUT, anyone inside the demographic who doesn’t like being placated with what filmmakers THINK they want, or anyone else not in the target demo don’t get much screen-worthy content that justifies the time and expense of going to the theater.

Tom Brady

Between the screening of ’80 For Brady’ last night, and BEFORE I could post this review in the morning; Tom Brady retired…  AGAIN.

Yes, the GOAT’s real life retirement shouldn’t have anything to do with a movie review about his performance in this movie.  And, truly it doesn’t, except where it does.

While it’s great to see Tom Brady in his Patriots uniform again, he doesn’t really add much to this movie.  It FEELS like he flew in for a few days in the offseason, and shot as many scenes as possible in a tight time frame.

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This may actually be the case, but considering his name is in the title of the actual movie; one would hope for more of an appearance than say, LeBron James had in ‘Train Wreck’.  A cameo is one thing, but when the entire film is built around ‘Tom Brady’ the character and presence; I want more.

Tom Brady’s SECOND retirement happening right before opening weekend for ’80 For Brady’ feels about as selfish and half-measure as his performance in this film.  He steals the attention, without giving much in return.

He shows up, and that’s about it.  It’s slightly selfish, but feels low priority.  And to be fair, it probably is — to him.  If anyone has earned the right to rest on his laurels, it’s Tom Brady.  But, does that mean ’80 For Brady’ is worth YOUR time and money??!!  I say ‘No’.

The Review – 80 For Brady

Tom Brady’s FINAL Super Bowl with the New England Patriots gets a final victory lap for the actual weekend Tom Brady retires in real life.

Four big screen legends prove they STILL have it, even at their age.  And, Jane Fonda, Sally Field, Lily Tomlin, and Rita Moreno give everything to their roles in this film that you could honestly ask for.

If you are a 70+ year old woman who wants to see a film marketed squarely at you, and/or a HUGE New England Patriots fan; 80 For Brady is the film for you!

If you’re pretty much ANYONE else??!!  80 For Brady is ‘Fine’ at best.

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This is a film that’s won’t bore you if its on TV or Streaming; but isn’t worth the time or money to watch in theaters.  It’s fun, and provides a few chuckles here and there; but that’s about it.

Director Kyle Marvin and Writers Emily Halpern and Sarah Haskins give a good faith effort to produce an entertaining movie. They give distinct storylines to each of our main characters.  And, it legitimately looks like this film was a ton of fun to shoot. But, 80 For Brady ultimately falls flat.

The Cinematography matches perfectly with actual footage from Super Bowl 51, and the film works its plot points in well with the actual game.  But, seamless integration isn’t enough to recommend going to this movie.

80 For Brady is pretty much the film you see in the trailers.  So, if you’re excited to see it based off the trailers, you probably won’t be disappointed.  Other than that, SKIP IT, until streaming.

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