My love of women's sports movies is well-documented,
but after watching Gracie
the other day (the verdict? It was just okay) I thought I'd compile a list of
some of my favorite moments in female sports movies.
Because when the world is stacked against you, and you just can't muster the
energy to finish that term paper/powerpoint presentation/roofing job, there's
nothing better than a rousing, inspiring tale of female empowerment through
athletics! Especially when it's accompanied by a side-dish of snark (see Bring
It On) or major attitude (see anything Michelle Rodriguez is in). And after
you've watched a blind ice skater kick some ass on the ice rink, suddenly your
own obstacles don't seem so insurmountable, now do they?
This list isn't meant to represent all female sports movies, and I'm sure many
of you would choose different moments from the same movies as your favorites.
But this is my list, damnit, and there's plenty of room for you to add your
$.02 in the comments.
So here are my nine favorite moments, in descending order with accompanying clips.
9. Blue Crush (2002) — Jet ski surfing
Eden (Michelle Rodriguez) pulls Anne Marie (Kate Bosworth) far out
to sea on a jet ski so she can prepare for an upcoming surf competition by riding
really big waves, and for a few brief, beautiful moments, it's just two women
against the massive power of the ocean — until a wave
comes along and crushes one of them. Hey, no pain, no gain, right?
8. Cutting Edge (1992) — The pamchenko twist
Prickly figure skater Kate (Moira Kelly) and former hockey player Doug
(D.B. Sweeney) team up to compete as pair skaters and shock the world with their
last-minute execution of a dangerous new move called the pamchenko twist (while
falling in love, of course). Second place goes to the "toe pick!" scene (if you've seen the movie, you'll know what I mean).
7. Girlfight (2000) — Diana
(Michelle Rodriguez) beats her boyfriend in the boxing ring
In this low-budget female Rocky that launched Michelle Rodriguez's
career, disenfranchised teenager Diana (Rodriguez) defies her father's wishes
— and the prevailing belief
that boxing is a man's sport — to
become a boxer. When Diana's boxer boyfriend Adrian (Santiago Douglas) makes
the fatal mistake of questioning her ability to go very far because of her gender,
she tells him, "I love you" — right before beating him in the
boxing ring and wounding his pride forever.
6. Center Stage (2000) - The last dance
Amanda (Jody Sawyer), one of the 12 teenagers admitted to study at
the prestigious American Ballet Academy in New York, is told after months of
working her ass off that she just doesn't have the right body type and training
to make it as a professional ballerina. Meanwhile, she's trying to decide between
her feelings for the ballet company's playboy star and a fellow (male) student.
So what does she do? Shocks the conservative ballet world by starring with the
two men in a risque, modern ballet that earns her a standing ovation, and a
ballerina position. Bonus points for the red outfit in the last dance sequence.
5. Ice Castles (1978) — Skating blind
It's easy to pick the best moment of this classic film about a professional
ice skater who loses her eyesight: it's when the newly blind Alexis (Lynn-Holly
Johnson) steps out on the ice to compete — accompanied
by the now-classic song "Through the Eyes of Love" —
and proceeds to deliver a flawless performance, only to trip over roses
thrown on the ice by fans.
4. Stick It (2006) — The bra strap routine
When a gymnast on her team gets unfairly marked down on a flawless
routine for letting a bra strap accidentally show, reformed bad girl Haley (Missy
Peregrym) shows her team spirit by deliberately pulling both of her bra straps
out of her leotard, and then scratching (her routine, not her arm). Naturally, the rest of the gymnasts
follow suit, because who doesn't love a reformed bad girl?
3. Bend It Like Beckham (2002) — Jess (Parminder
Nagra) scores the winning goal
There are too many good moments to count in this movie — the
scene where Jules (Keira Knightley) first approaches Jess (Parminder Nagra)
in the park, the clubbing
scene, Jules' mom hilarious attempts to find out if her daughter is a lesbian,
and Jess finally standing up to her father and telling him not to hold her back
just because he wasn't allowed to play — but it all culminates in Jess
ducking out of her sister's wedding to make the big play in the finals and win
the game.
2. Love and Basketball (2000) — Playing for love
This terrific film about a male and female basketball player trying
to balance their love for each other with their love for the game has more good
scenes than I can count, but my favorite is the end of the movie where (spoiler
warning!) we see Monica (Sanaa Lathan) playing in the WNBA while her
former-NBA-hotshot husband Quincy (Omar Epps) waves from the sidelines holding
their baby girl. Since there's no clip of that scene available, I thought I'd
show my next favorite — the scene set to out singer
Meshell Ndegeocello's beautiful song "Fool of Me" in which Monica
and Quincy play a late-night game of one-on-one with escalating stakes. It might
seem a little cheesy on its own, but in the context of the movie, it really
works.
1. Bring It On (2000) — Missy (Eliza Dushku) tries out
for the cheerleading team
Eliza Dushku flips off the snobby cheerleaders — literally
and figuratively — while wearing a chain wallet and
an armband tattoo (a fake one, but who cares?), and forever cements her status
as a lesbian favorite.
Agree? Disagree? Bring it!
Bring It On
Spirit fingers, spirit fingers...
My favorite dance move. Nice list.
Kaki
!!
i have nothing to say but . . .
ROFLMAO!
i don't know how many times i've seen that movie, but those damned spirit fingers get me every time.
------------------------------
you can dance
you can jive
having the time of your life
"Follow me or perish, sweater monkeys!"
I'm with you
Nice list!
I totally agree with your number one. Besides being faith on buffy, Eliza as missy in this scene made me fall in love with her all over again!
I think I may have fallen in love with you.
Not well known?
Love & Basketball is in the top 3 movie list of every female basketball player I've ever met. Most guys too...
ED
Super
I hate this website...
The nerve of you people, to have me up until 5am watching clips of Stick It and Bring It On... what is wrong with you?? ;)
Nice Sarah!
Sarah, I think you are a big softy. Those are some of my favorites too, so I guess we are both softies. Being an athlete (well... former) I often would use those movies as inspiration. Well, not Bring It On so much... ok, it inspired me in other ways. The "soccer" in Bend It Like Beckham is kind of lame though, its pretty well choreographed, but a good movie anyways. Keira is a hottie, even if she is a stick. She has " F*ck Me" eyes. And the actress in The Cutting Edge was a definite hottie... oh wait, she still is on One Tree Hill. Is it bad that I'm 21 crushing on someone who could be my mom? Wow... I need therapy. I think I'll go watch it now. Well done, Sarah! You've kept me up for another night.
" But soft! What light through yonder window breaks? It is the East and Juliet is the sun! Arise fair sun and kill the envious moon." - Sometimes I feel like Romeo.
Yeah, feel the Romanian vibe :P
I can NOT believe that Romania actually got mentioned in a Hollywoog movie that doesn't involve Dracula. But yeah, we had, have and will continue to have some good gymnasts
::does happy dance::
Center Stage was a really good movie. Wish I would have kept up ballet.
It's funny that you posted
It's funny that you posted this because it's 6:15 as I write this and I have an 8-10 page paper due at 12:30 and I literally don't even know what my topic is going to be. So gracias for the inspiration.
Also, can I just say how adorable the fabulous Ms. Warn's well documented crush on Sanna Lathan is?
So
I've only seen 3 movies from there. But I love the number one movie. Eliza was just hot in it. And gay.
I wonder, though, are there any good movies about horseback riding out there worth mentioning?
good stuff bend it like beckham
Quarterback Princess
I loved that movie back in the day.
ROCK ON
All good movies ! great list. :o)
personal fav is stick it i think my fav line from the movie could be "its not called GymNICEstics. hahahaha.
peace and love- Jay
Pretty good list
Oh yeah, I remember Helen Hunt as the Quarterback Princess. I love that movie too. :)
Ice Castles! I've seen it with my Mom when I was a kid. I have to admit the clip still moved me just like when I first saw it. Now the song is playing in my head. I better listen to some rock music or else I might start singing it at work tomorrow.
If I may add one of my favorites, it has to be A League Of Their Own. The entire movie is one huge moment of great women in sports and it was actually based on real-life female baseball players. Not to mention the comic chemistry between Madonna and Rosie O'Donnell. And the superb acting of Geena Davis and Lori Petty (where is she now?) as the competing sisters.
There's this movie I've been wanting to see and even the writers of Sports Illustrated raved about it. It's Personal Best starring Mariel Hemingway as a marathoner and SI named it as one of the best sports movies ever. High praise so I really want to see it.
Helen Hunt...
The Mighty Ducks and Little Giants
Oh man, how about in D2: The Mighty Ducks, when they finally decide to let Julie "The Cat" in last minute as goalie during the final shootout of the game, all while the announcers comment that it's a bad move. And then Gunner Stahl (Iceland's best player) takes his ridiculous hard shot and she moves...and it's dead silence and you don't know if she made the save or not and you wait, and all of a sudden she pops that puck out of her glove. Maybe it's just me, because I played hockey all my life, but that was the ultimate moment. And how can I forget Little Giants, which has its idiotic moments, like the fact that the girl "Icebox" who's a total tomboy and football player completely falls apart when she meets Devon Sawa's character, and instantly she quits football and joins cheerleading. But then midway through the game, while she's cheerleading and her team is getting spanked, her crush gets pummelled by the opposite's team meathead, and she instantly turns into princess charming, puts her football uniform on (but leaves her cheerleading skirt - obnoxious) and kicks some serious ass. It's nice seeing the girl coming to the boy's rescue. I hope I'm not the only one who's seen and loved these flicks.
BEND IT # 1
I absolutely looove this movie.. every time I watch it it makes me.. I don't know! I just love it!!
Keira's haircut is so hot.. well, Keira herself is a hottie.... The soccer outfit looks veery good on her
Top moments: when that other Indian family confuses Jules for an English boy!! haha..
And when Jules' mom sees her being all "friendly" with Jess at that last game and she's like "ohh nooo!! my daughter's a lesbian!!".. hilarious!
When Jules confronts her mom.. "The fact that i wear shorts and play soccer doesn't make me a lesbian!!!" lol
Besides, don't you think Jonathan Rhys Meyers -or however you spell it- (the coach) is kind of a lesbianish guy? He's so pretty haha..
When I first saw "Bring it On"
I was convinced Eliza was gay. The vibe was just overwhelming.
She's not though.
Imagine my dissapointment.
sigh...
Imagine mine! :_(
(I was just thrilled to see Eliza challenging her brother for Kristen Dunst!!!)
Gotta make a plug...
Rent this DVD!
Heart of the Game is awesome. In fact, when I came out of the theater after the movie, two straight guys (I assume, since they had female dates) were raving about it. One of them said, "That was better than Hoosiers." High praise.
So, since I haven't seen Cutting Edge and the "toe pick" comment made me think of the toe pick scene in L-Word, I'm campaigning for Heart to take Edge's place on the list.
Oh now I remember...
Cutting Edge and Ice Castles...Oh my!
These are two of my all time favorite films, yet they revolve around a sport I know nothing about! I think I'll always have a little crush on Moira Kelly....TOE PICK!
Sometimes I feel like the only person that knows about these two films...great job, Sarah :)
Phew
I'm glad I'm not alone in my love of Bring It On. I no longer have to live with shame!
It's kind of surprising that Penny Marshall's baseball-flavored sappyfest A League of Their Own didn't make the cut. Rosie O'Donnell, Madonna, an exceedingly tomboyish Lori Petty, Geena frickin' Davis! That movie is corny as hell but I love it.
A League of Their Own
I was gonna say the same thing. Reading the comments, I wondered why nobody brought this great movie up. But then you did, Final Girl. One of my favorite scenes in that is the dance scene: Rosie and Madonna, very cool.
I love American sports movies as a genre, and I need them to be corny and/or heroic. They're a guilty pleasure of mine. I really liked Bring It On, too. And although Bend It is a British production, I enjoyed it very much. (I'm not saying, I don't like British movies. Not at all. It's just that for sports movies I look for American ones. They're perfect for a rainy/lazy Sunday afternoon.)
Stick It and Bring It On
Like, totally!
Why has everyone forgotten
Awesome list.
I'm glad you included The Cutting Edge, and I would have been hard pressed to choose anything over the "toe pick" scene (though I also love when Kate slapshots a puck at Doug's head, just 'cause Moira Kelly plays that scene SO well).
I also wonder why A League of Their Own isn't mentioned. Yeah, it's pretty sappy overall, but the try out scene towards the beginning is really awesome.
Does it count if the woman's not playing the sport? 'Cause I think Wildcats deserves a nod in that case, particularly given how hard it is for a woman to get into any job coaching or managing a male team, even 20 years later. The scene where Goldie Hawn outruns her entire football team is sports movie gold.
I know its horrible cheesy
A League of Million Dollar Babies
Boys..what boys?
I'll always love Million Dollar Baby and Stick It, just because the main charters didn't end up in boring, stupid relationships with boys, which is how every other girl-sport movie ends. But I've got to put Girlfight at the top of my list just because that's the movie that made me go "Hello! Gay now!".
Also Save the Last Dance anyone? Julia Stiles doing ballet in cargo pants is just so much fun.
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http://noclafsaerie.blogspot.com/
Toepick...
Love that list
I'm also glad that others brought up A League of their own. Sarah, I can't beleive you've forgot this one!
Again, very cool list.
movies :)
I still haven't seen love and basketball, I guess I have to rectify that oversight soon.
A League of Their Own is most definitely on my favorites list. I can't hear This Used to Be My Playground without getting teary eyed. Okay, sometimes just outright balling. :) Between the sister relationship and the team mate relationships it hits very close to home.
I love the scene in Bend It when she tells her mom she's not a lesbian but that if she were it wouldn't be that big of a deal and then all of her sudden her mom is back in the progressive "of course not" camp. That was so my mom. Only a few years after lying my ass off to give her that moment of relief, I eventually had to fess up to the truth.
American Anthem would have to be on my list. I think only about 3 other people in the world have even heard of it, but the character Becky was so a lesbian.
Eliza licking her finger in that scene... *gah* Why, oh, why didn't Nurses get picked up? I really hope she has something released soon. Be it movie or television. I need some new Eliza material. I will forever be thankful I got to see Dog Sees God.
Good Horse back riding movie
Great List! But my "aha!"
Great List! But my "aha!" movie: Personal Best. I'll add one more, but only because of the star. Flashdance? That's a sport, sort of. Hey, she was cute back then, and I watched it about 100 times. Very "inspirational". I think it came out around the same time as Rocky. Not that that means anything, I'm just saying. I loved Rocky too.
In A League of Its Own
The one word that best describes A League of Their Own...
Quintessential
I appreciate all that AE does for us (especially Ms. Warn) but this list is achingly incomplete without this film. I know lists are generally arbitrary but this omission is nearly criminal!
It's a favorites list
SW: Agree? Disagree? Bring
SW: Agree? Disagree? Bring it!
And now....
Now we need a list of DANCE MOVIES!
Okay...so I love dance movies! And I am unashamed to admit this. Unashamed I say. hmph.
Agree
That song...
Hahaha, I just love Eliza,
Good List
Great list Sarah! I agree with every movie you put up (except Ice Castles because I haven't seen it). I would rearrange the order a bit, but over all very nice compilation.
I am with most of the ladies on here with saying that A League of Their Own should definetly be added to the list. Do you really feel it should not be in your top 9? I'm just wondering. How did it not make the list? Was it just an oversight? *sigh* Every now and then I get that dang song they sing stuck in my head " Batter up, hear that call, the time has come, for one and all, to plaaay ball" *sigh* my younger years. Ok now I am never going to be able to study! Thanks Sarah for giving me something else to be distracted by, lol.
I'm going to go watch Love and Basketball now (can't study now, too distracted), and then maybe A League of their Own, if I'm not passed out after that, maybe a little Blue Crush. (Yes I actually own all of the movies on the list, except Ice Castles). My fav scence in Love and Basketball is where Monica is having a hard time at USC and she has to practice extra hard to prove herself. The montage is done to the song "Our Destiny by Hinda Hicks. Hearing it always gives me a warm fuzzy feeling. :o) BTW: no matter what you say there is NO WAY you have seen Love and Basktball more than I have. It's just not possible ;o)
my 0.02
Am with you on this one Sarah - having (luckily) seen all these flicks based on recommendations from you. Let the Smaltz Rule with this genre - and thanks for the years of your .best.
Good list...