Everybody's All-American (1988)

A Louisiana football legend struggles to deal with life's complexities after his college career is over.

Director:

Taylor Hackford

Writers:

Frank Deford (novel), Thomas Rickman (screenplay) (as Tom Rickman)

Stars:

Jessica Lange, Dennis Quaid, Timothy Hutton

1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Jessica Lange	...	Babs
Dennis Quaid	...	Gavin Grey
Timothy Hutton	...	Donnie 'Cake'
John Goodman	...	Lawrence
Carl Lumbly	...	Narvel Blue
Ray Baker	...	Bolling Kiely
Savannah Smith Boucher	...	Darlene Kiely (as Savannah Smith Bouchér)
Patricia Clarkson	...	Leslie Stone
Joseph Meyer	...	Pep Leader
J. Kevin Brune	...	Roommate
Wayne Knight	...	Fraternity Pisser
Roy B. Stewart Sr.	...	Junie
Pat Pierre Perkins	...	Willy Mae
Aaron Neville	...	Man with Gun
Shawn Burks	...	Georgia Center

Storyline

Louisiana football star Gavin Grey had it all. He was an All-American champion who married his high-school sweetheart, homecoming queen Babs Rogers, and who was a hero to his hometown. Yet after a failed professional career, Gavin realizes that fame and success have passed him by and that he no longer is the hero everyone keeps reminding him he should still be. His dissatisfaction with his life leads to strains in his marriage, and Gavin begins to wonder who he is, if he's not a hero anymore.

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Plot Keywords:

reference to robert f. kennedy | football | louisiana | college | homecoming queen | 

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Taglines:

Their life story is a love story

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Genres:

Drama | Romance | Sport

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Certificate:

R

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

4 November 1988 (USA)

Also Known As:

When I Fall in Love

Filming Locations:

Baton Rouge, Louisiana, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$22,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$3,425,796, 6 November 1988

Gross USA:

$12,638,294

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$12,638,294

Company Credits

Production Co:

New Visions, Warner Bros.

Technical Specs

Runtime:

127 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Some of the filming of the football scenes took place during halftime of the 1987 LSU-Alabama game. The producers wanted to continue shooting some scenes following the game, so they requested that the LSU fans remain after the game so that they could finish the scenes. However, Alabama won in an upset, and ten minutes after the game, the only fans still in the bleachers were wearing crimson, forcing the producers to finish shooting the following week.

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Goofs

In the final play of the Sugar Bowl, when Lawrence laterals the ball to Gavin, it is actually an illegal forward pass. Lawrence throws the ball at his own 48 yard line and Gavin catches it right at the 50 yard line. The touchdown that he scores would have been called back due to the penalty.

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Quotes

Babs Grey: [watching Gavin's first pro game] It's so rough!
Player's Wife #1: Yep, pro's a different game, honey. Not much rah-rah up here. Not like when you were homecoming queen back in... where was it?
Babs Grey: Louisiana. I was Magnolia Queen.
Player's Wife #2: Most of us were the queen of something. Now? We're just players' wives.

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Connections

Features Long-Haired Hare (1949)

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Soundtracks

Untill Forever
Written by Glen Ballard (uncredited), James Newton Howard (uncredited) and Narada Michael Walden (uncredited)
Performed by D'Atra Hicks (as Deitra Hicks) and Evan Rogers

User Reviews

You have to fall down in order to get back up.

A very watchable impression of Frank DeFord's novel. The bigger they come the harder they fall. This story follows most of the life of Louisiana football legend Gavin Grey(Dennis Quaid). The "Grey Ghost" lived big with a life sustained by adoring football fans for his exploits on and off the football field. He married his number one fan and cheerleader Babs(Jessica Lange)who shared his glory, heartaches and tragedies. His brother Donnie(Timothy Hutton)and best friend Lawrence(John Goodman)tried to keep Grey grounded and at the same time kept him high on admiration. Carl Lumbly plays Narvel Blue who's competitive nature like Grey's built a strong friendship. As years passed, so did the glory wane...the football hero just had trouble realizing it. Like Elvis Presley once said "The image is one thing and the man is another. It's often hard for the man to live up to the image."

I've always liked Dennis Quaid and thought his cockiness made the role of a self-centered football player come easy. Impressing is the fact he did some of his own stunts and separated a collar bone taking a solid hit on the field. He looked like a natural. For the stunning Lange, she seemed flawless as the cheerleader with only one thing on her mind...her idol the "Grey Ghost". Marriage matured her, but at fault lived sharing the glory surrounding a Louisiana favorite son. Goodman deserves more credit than he usually gets. How can you not like his bosom buddy character? Retired pro, semi-pro and top college athletes provided the realism on the playing field. You don't have to be a football fan to enjoy EVERYBODY'S ALL-American.