Celtic Pride (1996)

Two over-loyal Celtic fans kidnap their opponent's star player in order to guarantee their team the championship.

Director:

Tom DeCerchio

Writers:

Judd Apatow (story), Colin Quinn (story)

Stars:

Damon Wayans, Daniel Stern, Dan Aykroyd

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Damon Wayans	...	Lewis Scott
Daniel Stern	...	Mike O'Hara
Dan Aykroyd	...	Jimmy Flaherty
Gail O'Grady	...	Carol O'Hara
Christopher McDonald	...	Coach Kimball
Paul Guilfoyle	...	Kevin O'Grady
Adam Hendershott	...	Tommy O'Hara
Scott Lawrence	...	Ted Hennison
Deion Sanders	...	Himself
Bill Walton	...	Himself
Gerard G. Williams	...	Derrick Lake (as Gus Williams)
Ted Rooney	...	Tony Sheppard
Vladimir Cuk	...	Lurch
Keith Gibbs	...	Terry Kirby
Joe Mingle	...	Referee

Storyline

The National Basketball Association play-offs are taking place, and the Boston Celtics are facing the Utah Jazz in a crucial series. This is also the last year that any games will be played in the Boston Garden, which is going to be torn down after the end of the season. Mike and Jimmy, two die-hard sports fans who will risk anything for the Celtics to win, are really getting into the games. The Celtics would be a sure win if it weren't for Lewis Scott, the cocky, loud-mouth star of the Jazz. After Scott himself punishes the Celtics in a bad loss, Mike and Jimmy decide to take things into their own hands by kidnapping Scott and holding him until after the crucial game takes place.

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Plot Keywords:

sports fan | kidnapping | basketball | boston celtics | friend | 

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Taglines:

If you can't beat 'em... steal him!

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Genres:

Comedy | Sport

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for language and an abundance of crude humor

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

19 April 1996 (USA)

Also Known As:

Csont nélkül

Filming Locations:

Boston, Massachusetts, USA

Box Office

Opening Weekend USA:

$3,809,248, 21 April 1996, Wide Release

Gross USA:

$9,255,027

Company Credits

Production Co:

Caravan Pictures, Hollywood Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

91 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

One of two films involving an obsession with a sports megastar or a team released in 1996. The other was The Fan which would be released by Tri-Star Pictures in August starring Wesley Snipes and Robert DeNiro, with DeNiro obsessed with Snipes' star baseball slugger and the San Francisco Giants baseball team.

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Goofs

After badly spraining his right ankle in the one-on-one game with Lewis, Mike goes to see his wife and can barely walk up the stairs. In a subsequent shot while they are all at the dinner table, a long shot shows Mike vividly bouncing his right leg on the ball of his foot showing no signs of the injury, impossible to do without immense pain.

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Quotes

Lewis Scott: What is this, a black thing?
Mike O'Hara: Oh please. If the Orioles were in the pennant race with the Red Sox, we'd tie up Cal Ripken, Jr. And he's as white as they come.

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Crazy Credits

After the credits, the Boston Garden is demolished. (This is a special effect; at the time the movie was released, the real Garden was still standing.)

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Connections

Version of Fußball ist unser Leben (2000)

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Soundtracks

C'mon 'N Ride It (The Train)
Written by C.C. Lemonhead, Jay Ski McGowan, and Barry White
Performed by Quad City DJ's
Courtesy of Big Beat Records/Atlantic Recording Corp.
By arrangement with Warner Special Products
Contains a sample of Theme From "Together Brothers"
Written by Barry White
Performed by Love Unlimited Orchestra
Courtesy of Mercury Records
By arrangement with Polygram Film and TV Licensing

User Reviews

The very funny satire on sports fanaticism becomes unfunny half way through.

Sports fanaticism is rampant everywhere, as we see on TV riots at soccer games world wide as well as antics of fans at all the major sporting events in this country. It was very funny to see the diehard Boston Celtics fans, Daniel Stern and Dan Aykroyd, switch seats to bring some luck to the Celtics, get the other fans to leave their seats and stand in the aisle, kick a friend who came late out of the arena because he brought bad luck, etc. I suspect everyone does things like that, perhaps on a smaller scale, while rooting for a favorite team. I remember a ritual I had while rooting for the New York baseball Giants as a kid and I'm convinced I helped them win the 1954 pennant and World series. So the opening basketball sequence had me rolling in the aisles. But once they "accidentally" kidnap the best Utah Jazz player, Damon Wayans, in an effort to help the Celtics win the championship, the comedy loses its steam. It somehow reminded me of the horrendous scandals involving skater Tanya Harding as well as that of Monica Seles who was actually stabbed by a fan wanting her to lose. Nothing was funny in the second half of the film. It took the wrong direction and hit a dead end.