Harvard Beats Yale 29-29 (5.5/10)

In honor of the most meaningless sporting event in North America (and possibly the world), the Pro Bowl, Kevin thought we should review some football movies this weekend. I've had this film on my Netflix instant queue for the past couple of years and thought this would be a perfect opportunity to finally watch it. It is also available to watch in its entirety with limited commercial interruption on IMDB or Hulu.


The game took place in 1968, and marked the first time since 1909 that both Harvard and Yale had entered their rivalry game undefeated. Yale was a huge favorite heading into the game and dominated the game for the first 55 minutes or so. I don't want to spoil the ending for you but since the title already does, Harvard rallies back from 16 down with 3 minutes to play and ties the game up, converting a touchdown and two point conversion with no time left on the clock.


The movie is essentially an extended commentary of the game. It cuts back and forth from game footage and interviews of the different players involved prominently in the game. Tommy Lee Jones was a Harvard tackle at the time and he gets a good amount of face time relative to his role in the game itself. There is a significant amount of political discussion interspersed with the football due to the time period of the game itself, and it was hilarious to realize that Tommy Lee's personal politics were pretty much aligned with his character's from Under Siege.


While there are a lot of interesting moments in the interviews that keep the viewer somewhat engaged, ultimately it is a 100 minute breakdown of a pretty much meaningless college football game from almost 50 years ago.


(5.5/10)