Eddie (1996)

Whoopi Goldberg plays a loudmouthed, obsessive fan of the New York Knicks who wins a contest to coach the team. She soon finds that handling players is tough, fans are tough, owners are tough, and so on, but she's big enough to conquer them all with determination, smarts, and personality. The first half of the film is pretty cute as Goldberg's character makes the jump from opinionated spectator to the gal in the hot seat. But everything derails in the second half, which is mostly an op-ed piece about keeping pro-ball teams from moving out of their cities. --Tom Keogh Amazon.com

EDDIE

i HAVEN'T WATCHED THIS DVD YET, BUT IT CAME IN ECXCELLANT CONDITION AND IT WAS SHIPPED WHEN IT WAS SUPPOSEDYoung Shirley TempleTO SHIP. April 9, 2008

campy and predictable

not bad though. Good fun only as Whoopi seems to be able to pull off. And any age can watch it. February 8, 2007

Childhood fave, still awesome

Eddie (Goldberg) is limo-driver by day, but a die-hard Knicks fan by night (and all the time). She knows everything about the team, from the players and their abilities...to how awful the head coach is. So imagine her surprise when her limo client one day turns out to be the new owner of the Knicks and through a series of semi-"stacked deck" events, he makes her the new head coach. Unbelievable! Of course, now she's got to deal with players who don't speak English, who spend practice dealing with their divorce lawyers or shooting magazine covers, or who know how good they are and ball-hog every time they're on the court. And let's not forget the showman owner, who rides a real horse on the court, wants to "give the folks a good show", and sees a better money-making opportunity once Eddie turns the team around.

Ok, so the chances of a fan actually becoming the coach in a boom! poof! Fairy Godmother-esque move are pretty darn close to nil. However, at least the owner is honest about it (later): "I picked you for fun, Eddie." It's a comedy about basketball, and Whoopi is good in it. She pulls off Eddie with that style that's all her own. For the basketball fans, there are some real-life players that make cameos, my favorite of which is Mugsy. :) This is a light movie that only barely touches on the heavy serious, but it's not a laugh-a-minute movie, either. Good for an evening at home with friends and popcorn (and those friends can talk during the movie, too, it's ok, as the dialogue isn't overly-intensive or wordy). Check it out and prepare to laugh. Or at least chortle. June 25, 2006

She Got Game!

It seems that after her screen successes in THE COLOR PURPLE and GHOST, Whoopi Goldberg suddenly could do no right in Hollywood. Leastwise when she had a starring role. Well, give her SISTER ACT, but that was followed by a string of critical and commercial duds--silly comedies mostly, but also schmaltzy dramas. She did acquit herself well in cameo roles for prestige directors like Altman, but overall, she struggled. Like Bette Midler before her, she was finding that her larger-than-life persona somehow had trouble translating to the big screen.

Which may say more about the state of the movies than about either Midler or Goldberg.

So when I finally got around to viewing EDDIE recently, I did not have high hopes for the film. Recuperating from surgery and suffering through a too long, too hot summer, I just wanted some lighter fare. In that sense, EDDIE proved to be a pleasant surprise. Sure it was kind of predictable, and as many have observed, it pretty much derails by the midway point. But Whoopi Goldberg as the Knicks fan-turned-coach gives a spirited, touching performance. Her initial awkward moments with team members ring true enough. The ways that attempts to reach out to team members range from the plausible (providing ad hoc marriage counseling to one) to the highly unlikely (learning enough Russian to begin to bridge the cultural and linguistic gap of a Russian born player).

The contrived, feel-good ending (sort of a MS. DEEDS STAYS IN NEW YORK) brings the film down several notches on the origniality scale. But Whoopi Goldberg gives it all she's got--as does the rest of the cast. They wind up giving the movie pretty much all the appeal that it's got.

Maybe that's part of the problem. Hollywood may figure that if it gives us enough star power, we won't notice the stultifying lack of originality. But Goldberg's post-GHOST career pretty much proves them wrong. Star wattage only gets you so far. EDDIE could have been a much better vehicle for Goldberg. She's game. Too bad the moviemakers were not.

August 15, 2005

WHEN YOU WISH UPON A STAR...

This is a very enjoyable comedy, starring the irrepressible Whoopi Goldberg in the role of Edwina "Eddie" Franklin, the widow of a New York City police officer. Following in her late husband's footsteps, she coaches basketball for inner city kids. She is also the number one fan for the New York Knicks, a team that, despite the talent on it, can't seem to win a game. Eddie loves the team, no matter what, and can be seen high up in the rafters of every Knicks game, rabidly and raucously cheering them on.

When "Eddie" wins the honorary coach for the day contest at one of the Knicks' games, she manages to get thrown off the court by the head coach (Dennis Farina), when she protests a ref's call. This causes the fans to go wild, chanting her name as she leaves the court. When the head coach for the Knicks gets fired by the team's owner, Wild Bill Burgess (Frank Langella in a ten gallon hat), he hires "Eddie" as an interim head coach, as it seems that fans of the Knicks love "Eddie" and respond to her very positively. After all, she was one of them. Burgess, however, has no expectations of "Eddie's" ability to coach the team. "Eddie", however, aims to do everything she can to bring the Knicks out of their slump. For her, this is a dream come true.

This is a feel good sort of movie. Whoopi is very funny , as she goes about setting right what has gone wrong with the team. Frank Langella is terrific as the deal making team owner whose folksy manner belies the fact that he has his eye on the bottom line. Dennis Farina is credible as the head coach with a mouth as big as his monumental ego. While the film is fairly predictable, it is quite enjoyable. The viewer is also treated to a few fun cameos by Donald Trump, sports announcer Marv Alpert, and former NBA star, Walt Frazier. If you are not a big fan of basketball, however, deduct one star from my rating. April 8, 2003

More reviews at Amazon.com ...