BY JASON LYNCH
CRITIC'S CHOICE
DRAMA
With nothing left to lose—his wife and teaching job are already gone—Vince Papale (Wahlberg) attends open tryouts for his beloved, basement-dwelling Philadelphia Eagles. His grit impresses new coach Dick Vermeil (Kinnear) and reinvigorates both the team and its downtrodden fans.
It could be just another artificial, manipulative feel-good film, but Invincible, based on a true story, honestly earns its grins, tears and goose bumps. In a confident debut, director Ericson Core smartly goes easy on the schmaltz. Ditto Wahlberg, who keeps Papale grounded, as if he expects his improbable dream to end at any moment. (PG)
André Benjamin, Antwan A. Patton, Terrence Howard
MUSICAL
Synchronized, dancing cuckoo clocks. Narration "scratched" like a rap song. Thirties-era dancers jitterbugging to hip-hop. There's something wondrous and refreshingly innovative everywhere you look in Idlewild, a rollicking tale of a shy piano player and a speakeasy manager (potent OutKast duo Benjamin and Patton, a.k.a. André 3000 and Big Boi). First-time writer-director Bryan Barber re-creates the infectious energy from his OutKast videos, fumbling only when the music takes a breather. (R)
Luke Benward, Tom Cavanagh
FAMILY
Host Joe Rogan is nowhere to be found, but 11-year-old Billy (Benward, Because of Winn-Dixie) is trapped in his own version of Fear Factor. Struggling to fit in at his new school, he bets the class bully that he can devour 10 worms in one day. The weak-stomached Billy reluctantly digs in, sampling crawlers that are deep-fried, boiled, pureed and nuked (c'mon, no à la mode?). Writer-director Bob Dolman (The Banger Sisters) ably captures the light-hearted spirit of Thomas Rockwell's cherished 1973 kids' novel with chuckle-worthy moments like one boy's confident declaration that "puke has a mind of its own." A scrumptious treat for kids. (PG)
Samuel L. Jackson, Julianna Margulies
THRILLER
Can any film possibly live up to such a delectably campy title? Snakes does, but only for the first few giddy moments when hundreds of slithering stowaways (smuggled on board to bump off a Mob witness) rain down Old Testament-style on the terrorized passengers. The audience's euphoria quickly fades, however, with the sobering realization that director David R. Ellis (Final Destination 2) is content to restage the same scenario over and over. Snakes hiss and strike; people scream and drop dead.
Jackson, cruising on cool as an FBI agent, inexplicably remains coiled for far too long. When he finally uncorks his long-anticipated line, venting about blankety-blank snakes on the blankety-blank plane, he does so with a forked-tongue-in-cheek ebullience that Snakes otherwise lacks. (R)
Remember when Kinnear, 43, was simply the smarmy host of E!'s Talk Soup? We barely can—now that he's blossomed into an amazingly nuanced actor. Invincible, Little Miss Sunshine and last winter's The Matador are his best works yet. Next: He's a burger exec in Fast Food Nation (Nov. 17).
He plays the understanding dad in How to Eat Fried Worms. So what's the wildest thing the former Ed star has ever eaten? "I'm one of those skinny little guys who defies science in terms of my eating capacity," says Cavanagh, 37. "I once ate a 37-oz. steak—they call it The Slab at this restaurant—and told my friend, 'Dude, I could eat two.' So on a bet, I ordered a second one, and I'm happy to report I finished it. Wait, I don't know if I'm happy to report; my immediate family would be disgusted. The kitchen staff made a semicircle around the table watching this insane guy eat. There are witnesses. I think I won $72. And then at 4:30 in the morning, I was hungry again."
Cloris Leachman
Pounding them at 80, Leachman teaches a ragtag team of drinkers to chug like champs in the comedy Beerfest.
ARE YOU REALLY A BEER GUZZLER? Oh, no. I got drunk once in my life, and I'd never do it again.
BUT YOU PLAY AN EXPERT. WHAT'S THE SECRET TO CHUGGING? It's a little bit tricky. You've got to relax the muscles of the throat.
HOW'D YOU LEARN A GERMAN ACCENT? I'd never done it before Young Frankenstein, but [director] Mel [Brooks]'s mother was on the set and helped. It's great fun.
ARE YOU READY FOR THE EMMYS? I haven't got a dress yet. This is the seventh time I've been nominated for two in the same year. Imagine.
AND IF YOU WIN BOTH? Oh gosh! I'll probably go have a beer somewhere!
Saved by the Bell Reunion
The hookups, the meltdowns, the memoires
The case reveals what was really going on what they think of each other now!
