Movie Review: American Underdog

Well, hello and welcome to the Naked Marriage podcast. We are Dave and Ashley Willis, and on this podcast, we address the truth about sex, intimacy, and lifelong love. And we are coming to you with a bonus episode today. And it's one that we've never done before, but we are doing a movie review for an awesome movie that we just want all of you to go see because it's just amazing.

Yes, it is. You've probably seen commercials for it. It's called American Underdog. It's not even out yet. We got the chance to see a preview of it. This movie is amazing. If you love football, you'll love this movie.

Even if you could care less about.

Football like Ashley, she still has a hard time understanding the concept of a first down, even though she's.

No, I do. I know what a first down.

She's got it now. She's the smartest person that I know. But football, she doesn't want to waste brain cells on figuring out the rules.

Well, you know, it's not her thing. It's just not my thing.

But whether you love it like me or you don't love football like her, you'll love this movie.

You really will.

It's about. It's an amazing football story, but more than that, it's an amazing marriage story. I think it's one of the best movies that show real life relationship that I've seen. It's got humor, it's got heart. And it's true, guys. The true story of Kurt and Brenda Warner. What they've been through, their perseverance, their family. It was absolutely inspiring for me. I was riveted. I mean, it was so good.

Well, and at the end, I can always tell, like when you have just a huge smile on your face and you're kind of tearing up, you know, it's a good movie, right? And it's like you just have a warm, like your heart. Screw a little bit. I love it. And I know that sounds so cheesy, but you all know what I'm talking about. And this movie, let me tell you, even before I watched it, just knowing who is acting in it just made me want to go watch it. And so you have Zachary Levi playing Kurt Warner. And let me just tell you, if you don't know that name, you actually know that face. He used to star in the series called Chuck, which is kind of like a spy series that's also full of comedy. So good. One of my favorites. Definitely binge that more than once. And then he also. One of our family's favorites that he recently was in is the film Shazam, where he plays the superhero Shazam.

Our little one mispronounced it for years and called it Suzanne.

Suzanne.

I'm gonna watch Suzanne.

He called it Suzanne. It was funny. He was in that. But also, I was just telling our staff this because I think it's such a fun fact. Zachary Levi is actually the voice of the love interest in the movie Tangled.

And so Flynn.

Flynn Rider. That's right. You remember that. That's so good. But he is a triple threat, you guys. He can dance, he can sing, he can act, he can do it all. And you guys, he does an excellent job portraying Kurt Warner. And I just. I just love how he does it. I mean, it just really gives you all the feels. And then Anna Paquin, I mean, my goodness, Academy Award winning, Academy Award winning plays. Brenda. She's so good in this role. They have such chemistry together. It's just awesome.

And Dennis Quaid, who.

Oh, of course.

Is it really even a movie if Dennis Quaid's not in it is really the bigger question.

That guy can. His smile can just light up a room.

It's so good. But, guys, this. This is better than any fiction you could write because this is real life. Real life are the best stories. And just a little bit of the story of Kurt Warner. He went on to be an NFL MVP and a Super Bowl MVP his very first season in the league in 1999. But it was after years of heartache and disappointment coming out of college, not getting drafted, living in some pretty extreme poverty. He was bagging groceries, trying to help support the family, you know, living on food stamps. There's some powerful scenes in the movie that just kind of show the struggle and the poverty and the hardship that they endured and how they leaned on each other and didn't lose faith through it was really, really something. One of Brenda's kids, because she had a couple kids when they first got together with severely special needs, he was blind. And just the unique relationship that Kurt forged with her son, it inspired me and how they didn't give up. And really, it shows how the power of kind of love and faith and family made him better. He really wasn't good enough to be an NFL star. He was too distracted by too many other things early on. But it was being grounded by the hardships of life and by his faith, his family, that really gave him the discipline and the perseverance needed and the courage needed to go forward and to do what he did in the league, which is one of the biggest underdog stories ever. And he's largely considered the greatest player in NFL history who was an undrafted player and what a story. What, What a story. I think so. So if you ladies are listening to this and you're like, I don't want to go to some football movie that's not a date night. It has so much heart, so much laughter, so much romance. It's more about marriage, I think, than it is about football. You guys that are like, I don't want to go to some movie because it's like, you know, romantic. Romantic. It's like, hey, a little romance isn't going to be bad for you. But it has a bunch of football action. You're going to love the football scenes. And this movie really does have it all. It has action, it has heart. And it's true. And yeah, I did at the end of the movie, I had his big goofy Dennis Quaid sized grin on my face with a few little misty tears in my eyes.

You did. I love it when you get misty white. It's the sweetest movie I know. It's so good. You know, I just, I love how they show I'm always you guys. I mean, I know there's many ladies out there who, they hear football movie and they are there. Like I, my, my sister in law is like a sports buff. Like she would be there and I, I honestly, even though I'm not a huge sports person, just because I didn't really play sports, I was a dancer, didn't really grow up in a sports family. So I don't have the knowledge necessarily. Sports movies, some, I feel like for me they make me want to be a sports person because they usually do show the highlights of it and the struggle, you know, showing the struggle and then the high moments. I am there. Like I want to see, I love, I love that it's called American Underdog because literally he, you know, was an American underdog. And, and you see the underdog achieve these great heights and it's just so motivating and you're just rooting, you know, you're rooting so much for him and for his family. And that's what you're going to feel when you watch this movie. And it is a movie that is good for a wide variety of ages, which I love because we kind of, you know, it's not always the case with a lot of movies that are made today, even sports movies, but this is one where you're proud to take your kids to it. And there's something Even kids can get out of it.

It's so true. So, guys, if you're looking for something to do this Christmas, which is only a few days away, this would be a great one to take the whole family to. If you're looking for a date night after Christmas, this would be a great, great date night as well. On a different note, we do wish you guys an incredibly merry Christmas. We didn't even start off with that. We were so excited about the movie. We did start off with the fact that we're just a couple days away. And we hope you've done your shopping, because if you haven't, Amazon prime is going to have a hard time getting it there right now. So you might have to actually go to a store, which, I mean, do.

We really want to do that? No, we don't.

But sometimes you have to, because that's what love does. Love goes to Walmart for the sake of those you love. But before we wrap up this episode, this special bonus about American Underdog, which is a movie again, we were just honored to be able to preview and, and excited to share with you guys. We just love telling folks about stuff that we love so that you can love it, too. If it's something that's encouraged us, we just like to share the. Share the good news about it. And this is one of those movies. So the studio has actually given us a clip that we can play right here. So you guys are going to get a little exclusive sneak preview of this movie as well. If you're listening, it's going to be audio only, of course, but if you're watching this on YouTube or you want to go over to YouTube, you'll be able to actually watch this clip in its entirety. And then we'll come up afterwards, say a few more words, and then wrap it up. But let's enjoy this clip together.

When I was a kid, everybody knew the Kurt Warner story, and he was working at a supermarket, plays arena football, gets in the NFL and wins the Super Bowl.

He's come from nothing. He's tried, he's failed. He's picked himself back up again. And eventually he actually does succeed at getting his dream.

I've had so many people tell me your story is made for Hollywood. It's made for the big screen.

But everyone knows Kurt's story. I'm here to be Brenda's voice and to tell her story.

I was out of the Marine Corps. I was on food stamps, living in Section 8 housing. At times, just trying to stand on my own two feet. So it Wasn't easy. When I met Kurt, there was no denying that we were supposed to be together. So when we danced, it was perfect. We're still dancing from that night. He changed my world the moment he stepped on that dance floor.

I mean, Zach, what an inspirational character that is a complete underdog in life, and yet he's really this catalyst that ignites this beautiful relationship that Brenda and Kurt have.

He fell in love with Zachary the moment he met him. That was the first time that I didn't have to tell somebody that Zachary had special needs. They fell in love from that first moment.

You play?

Yeah.

I'd really like to, bud, but they didn't pick me.

I thank you.

She was his number one supporter and enabled him to continue to feel the hope.

Will you go out there and you show the world what I've known all.

Along.

To college, all the way back to arena football. It was always us. To me, that's one of the coolest parts of our journey. And our story is that it wasn't just my journey, it was our journey.

To me, this movie isn't a sports movie. It's about relationship. It's about real life. He is a champion, but he was the same person before all this happened.

We did this.

We did this together. The whole thing is just. Is laced with gravity, laced with things that are poignant, that mean something, that resonate with people.

It gives people hope.

It's the ultimate underdog story.

The movie is just needed to make people feel better, and I hope it does.

Everybody has their challenges, their struggles, as they're trying to chase their dream. And my story, I think, encourages people that you can actually get there.

Destiny, it belongs to the underdogs.

So good.

So good. You know, you could be a movie star.

No, but I like going to movies. And this one, you guys, I know you're like, okay, we get it. It's good. We'll go see it. But really, it is like, we're not going to come on here and tell you to go watch something if it's not legit. Good. Okay. And I want to say this, too. We didn't even mention this before, but if you saw the movie, I can only imagine. And you were like, man, that was a well done movie about. I can't remember the guy's name, but the guy who's the lead singer for Mercy Me and his life story.

Bart.

Bart. That's right. Bart. I can't remember his last name. Do you remember his last name? Oh, gosh, it's Bart. But we know It's Bart.

Mercy.

Mercy Me. Right from Mercy Me. And one of our. That's one of my favorite Christian bands. And you guys, that movie, if you haven't seen that movie, go see that one, too. But this is by the same studio. And so if you're familiar with that.

Irwin Brothers directed that. Directed this.

Yes, Irwin Brothers.

Dennis Quaid, of course, is in both. Because he's in every.

Because why not, right? And it is so good. Like, this is just as good, if not better than that movie. And so if you liked. I can only imagine you will love this movie. And again, both go see both. If you haven't seen either one, like, go to both. It's just amazing. And they have really done a good job. This is a movie full of faith, full of family, and I know you will leave misty eyed and with a big heart, just like Dave and I felt.

So true. All right, guys. Well, Merry Christmas once again. We hope that this whole Christmas season is a beautiful one for you and your family. And thanks for letting us be part of your journey. You know, we're thankful for you guys this Christmas. We really, really are. And it's going to be a great 2022. We're excited. We hope you are, too. So God bless. Merry Christmas. Enjoy the movie. We'll see you next time.

Sam.