Movie vs. Reality: Rudy
By Felix Quinonez Jr.
July 11, 2012
BoxOfficeProphets.com
In each entry of this column I’m going to be looking at a different movie “based on a true story” or whatever phrasing is attached to it and compare it to the actual story. Hopefully I’ll be able to separate fact from Hollywood. But I’m also going to be talking about what those changes mean and why they were made. Do the changes have some artistic merit or are they just attempts to make the story fit into a neat Hollywood package?
I think it’s safe to say that most people love a good underdog story. There’s something about seeing the little guy go against all odds to achieve his dreams that strikes a chord with audiences. In this entry I’m going to be looking at a childhood favorite of mine; Rudy. (1993) The movie, starring Sean Astin, tells the story of Daniel "Rudy" Ruettiger, who overcame seemingly insurmountable obstacles to achieve his dream of playing football at the University of Notre Dame.
The movie, directed by David Anspaugh, is very formulaic but thanks to a great story and a very strong performance from Astin, it is very enjoyable. In fact, seeing Rudy being carried off the field on the shoulders of his teammates as the whole stadium chants his name has to be one of the most moving climaxes in movie history. But let’s move on before I get all teary eyed again.
What the Movie Got Right
Before Notre Dame
The third of 14 children Daniel "Rudy" Ruettiger grew up in Joliet, Illinois and even as a child he had to deal with many people telling him what he couldn’t do. From a very young age, he dreamt of playing college football at the University of Notre Dame. As he got older, this dream didn’t fade and in high school he played for the football team. Although he achieved a small level of success it didn’t open up any doors for him to get into Notre Dame.
After being rejected by Notre Dame, Rudy takes a job at a local steel mill like his dad. Rudy seems to accept the fact that he won’t be able to achieve his dream of playing for Notre Dame and begins to settle down. But after an accident at the mill results in his best friend’s death, Rudy’s dream is awakened.
After regaining his determination to play for Notre Dame, Rudy heads to campus but does not get in. His next plan is to go to Holy Cross, a nearby junior college. He wants to get good enough grades to be able to transfer to Notre Dame. Rudy achieves this with the help of a local priest who thought Rudy wanted to become a priest. While at Holy Cross, he gets a part-time job on Notre Dame’s groundskeeping staff.
At Notre Dame
While at Holy Cross, Rudy learns that he has dyslexia but he continues to work hard and keeps trying to get accepted into Notre Dame. After two years at Holy Cross, Rudy was accepted as a student at Notre Dame on his fourth try, in the fall of 1974. Although he was extremely small (at 5’6”) to be a football player, Rudy lucked out because the coach encouraged walk-on players.
As a walk-on, Rudy worked as hard as he could and he earned a place on the Notre Dame Scout team, which is a practice team that helps the varsity players practice for games. Although he did not play in the actual games, Rudy was finally a part of the team. But his dream was to play in a real game.
Over the next two years, Rudy kept working hard and eventually earned the respect of not only his teammates but also the coaches. And on November 8, 1975, his dream finally came true. Rudy was allowed to suit up during the final home game of his college career. Towards the end of the game Rudy was brought on the field. During this play, he sacked the opposing team’s quarterback. After the game ended, Rudy was carried off the field on the shoulders of his teammates.
What the Movie Got Wrong
Before Notre Dame
Throughout the movie, we see various people try to make Rudy realize that his dream to play for Notre Dame is ridiculous. One of these people is his older brother Frank. From a very early age Frank was discouraging Rudy, telling him that he is too small to play football. But the fact is that Rudy didn’t have an older brother. Rudy was the oldest boy.
Towards the beginning of the movie we see Rudy sitting in a classroom at Joliet Catholic Academy. In the movie he has both male and female classmates, but Joliet was an all-boys school up until 1990, so there were no girls there when Rudy attended.
In the movie Rudy was a foundry worker for four years before he went to Notre Dame. But the fact is that Rudy spent some time in the Navy after high school.
At Notre Dame
While Rudy is trying to transfer to Notre Dame - and even after - he works part-time as a member at the Notre Dame groundskeeping staff. In the movie he becomes friends with one of his older co-workers, Fortune (played by Charles Dutton). Fortune not only got Rudy the job but he later becomes a sort of father figure for Rudy. Unfortunately he was a made up character. The real Rudy described Fortune as a composite character made up of all of the people who encouraged him to follow his dreams.
But the biggest change the movie made was how they portrayed Coach Devine. One of the main reasons Rudy gained a spot on the scout team was because the previous coach believed in Rudy. But that coach steps down and his successor is not as supportive of Rudy. In fact he was set against letting Rudy play in the last home game. The only reason Rudy gets to finally suit up s because the whole team decides to turn in their jerseys offering Rudy a spot in the game. In reality, Coach Devine was just as supportive of Rudy and it was actually his idea to let Rudy play.
Miscellaneous Errors
I’ve always been somewhat amazed by the fact that sports fans seem to be obsessed with stats and minute details. When I was doing research on the movie’s accuracy, I found a lot of inaccuracies that don’t actually have anything to do with the plot but they are kind of interesting.
When Rudy finally arrives at Notre Dame, he is shown walking across the main quad and the Golden Dome is behind him. This is the first time he sees the stadium, the only problem is there is no stadium at the south end of the main quad.
After Rudy is accepted into Notre Dame, he goes to the games and cheers for the team. In one of the games, the scoreboard clearly lists the opponent as Penn State. But apparently Notre Dame didn’t play Penn State while Rudy was a student there. This happened because the scene was shot at an actual Notre Dame home game versus Penn State in 1993.
Another mistake the movie makes is that it shows that the team jerseys have the players’ names printed on them. This wasn’t the case at the time that Rudy attended the school.
The Verdict
As you can see, there aren’t too many inaccuracies in Rudy. Keeping a reasonable running time seems to be the main motivator of the alterations. This is especially evident with the case of the Fortune character. Instead of having to introduce several characters that act as motivators for Rudy, they combined them to make Charles. But in the case of Rudy’s made up brother and the way it portrays Coach Devine, the movie seems to be pandering to the audience. It seems like they don’t have enough faith in the story and manufacture unnecessary “villains.”
The movie might be Rudy’s story but, more importantly, it is also about the universal the need to follow your dreams. Because of this, even the most blatant attempts to ramp up the melodrama don’t stop Rudy from being an entertaining and genuinely moving film.
Next Time: The Soloist