''80 for Brady'' is a 2023 American

sports Sport pertains to any form of competitive physical activity or game that aims to use, maintain, or improve physical ability and skills while providing enjoyment to participants and, in some cases, entertainment to spectators. Sports can, ...

comedy film A comedy film is a category of film which emphasizes humor. These films are designed to make the audience laugh through amusement. Films in this style traditionally have a happy ending (black comedy being an exception). Comedy is one of the ol ...

directed by Kyle Marvin, written by Sarah Haskins and

Emily Halpern Emily Halpern is an American film and television screenwriter and singer/songwriter. She is best known for co-writing the screenplay of ''Booksmart'' and was nominated for Best Original Screenplay at the British Academy of Film and Television Art ...

, and produced by former NFL quarterback

Tom Brady Thomas Edward Patrick Brady Jr. (born August 3, 1977) is an American football quarterback for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers of the National Football League (NFL). He spent his first 20 seasons with the New England Patriots organization, with which ...

. Based on a true story, the film follows four lifelong friends (

Lily Tomlin Mary Jean "Lily" Tomlin (born September 1, 1939) is an American actress, comedian, writer, singer, and producer. She started her career as a stand-up comedian as well as performing off-Broadway during the 1960s. Her breakout role was on the varie ...

, Jane Fonda, Rita Moreno, and Sally Field) who travel to watch Brady and his New England Patriots play in

Super Bowl LI Super Bowl LI was an American football game played at NRG Stadium in Houston, Texas, on February 5, 2017, to determine the champion of the National Football League (NFL) for the 2016 season. The American Football Conference (AFC) champion New ...

in 2017. Billy Porter,

Rob Corddry Robert William Corddry (born February 4, 1971) is an American actor and comedian. He is known for his work as a correspondent on ''The Daily Show with Jon Stewart'' (2002–2006) and for his starring role in the film ''Hot Tub Time Machine''. He ...

, Alex Moffat, and

Guy Fieri Guy Ramsay Fieri (, ; ''né'' Ferry; born January 22, 1968) is an American restaurateur, author, and an Emmy Award winning television presenter. He co-owns three restaurants in California, licenses his name to restaurants in New York City, Las ...

also star. ''80 for Brady'' was released in the United States on February 3, 2023, by Paramount Pictures. It received mixed reviews from critics, and grossed $40 million worldwide against a $28 million budget.

Plot

In 2017, elderly best friends Lou, Trish, Maura, and Betty are massive fans of the New England Patriots, particularly the team's star

quarterback The quarterback (commonly abbreviated "QB"), colloquially known as the "signal caller", is a position in gridiron football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive platoon and mostly line up directly behind the offensive line. In modern Ame ...

, having become fans in 2001 while celebrating Lou's successful completion of

chemotherapy Chemotherapy (often abbreviated to chemo and sometimes CTX or CTx) is a type of cancer treatment that uses one or more anti-cancer drugs ( chemotherapeutic agents or alkylating agents) as part of a standardized chemotherapy regimen. Chemothe ...

. 15 years later, the four women are celebrating the Patriots' victory over the Pittsburgh Steelers in the AFC Championship Game and make plans for the

watch party. The friends enter a competition for free tickets to the Super Bowl in

Houston Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 i ...

by sharing the stories of their Patriots fandom; Lou later announces their win and they prepare for their trip. On the day of their flight, the others break Maura out of her retirement home with help from her fellow resident, Mickey. In Houston, they go to the

NFL Experience The Super Bowl Experience (formerly the NFL Experience) is an annual event which has been held since 1992 at a venue in the host city of the Super Bowl. The event is described as an interactive "theme park", featuring various fan-oriented att ...

, where Betty wins a chicken wing eating contest hosted by

, but loses the tickets. Trish meets former NFL player Dan O'Callahan and mutual attraction forms between them, but Trish is uncertain as she has not had a very successful love life; Dan invites her to a party, and the women decide to go upon learning about the loss of the tickets as Fieri will also be there. At the party, the women are given

cannabis edible A cannabis edible, also known as a cannabis-infused food or simply an edible, is a food product (either homemade or produced commercially) that contains decarboxylated cannabinoids (cannabinoid acids converted to their orally bioactive form) ...

s which severely disorient them. Maura joins in on a game of poker in order to potentially buy new tickets, only to learn that the game is for charity; she gives her winnings to the charity of her top competitor, Gugu. Unable to find Fieri, the foursome return to their hotel. The next day, the women go back to the NFL Experience but find it has closed down. They then go to the tailgate parties around

NRG Stadium NRG Stadium, formerly Reliant Stadium, is a multi-purpose stadium in Houston, Texas, United States. Construction was completed in 2002, at a cost of $352 million and has a seating capacity of 72,220. It was the first NFL facility to have a retrac ...

to see if they can buy any tickets from scalpers, but cannot afford them. Trish finds the radio hosts they won the tickets from and brings up the situation to them, but they are confused as they gave their tickets to a different group. Betty finds Fieri at the tailgate and recovers the bag with the tickets but when the women attempt to enter the stadium, the security guards reveal that the tickets are fake. Lou confesses that she bought the "tickets" online for an exorbitant price, as she wanted to have one last fun memory with her friends as she fears that her cancer may have returned. The other women console her and agree that even if they could not make it into the game, they are satisfied with all of their other memories. They run into Gugu, who sneaks them in under the guise of being backup dancers for

Lady Gaga Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta ( ; born March 28, 1986), known professionally as Lady Gaga, is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. She is known for her image reinventions and musical versatility. Gaga began performing as a teenag ...

's halftime performance out of gratitude for Maura's actions the previous night. They run into Dan who invites them into his box suite as his guests. Concerned as they watch the Atlanta Falcons build a 28–3 lead over the Patriots, they decide to sneak into the Patriots coordinators' booth. Betty hijacks the defensive coordinator's headset and gives him a playcall which leads to a sack, while Lou talks to Brady and gives him an inspirational message. The quartet return to their box suite and watch as Brady leads the Patriots to a victory. Maura reveals she made back the money Lou spent on the fake tickets by making a bet on the Patriots winning with the owner of the suite. The women are approached by security, and escorted to the Patriots' locker room, and thanked by the players for their dedication. Three years later, Trish, Maura, Betty, and Lou, along with Mickey, and Lou's daughter Sara, prepare to watch Brady's first game with his new team the

Tampa Bay Buccaneers The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are a professional American football team based in Tampa, Florida. The Buccaneers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. The cl ...

, and it is revealed that Lou is in good health. Sometime later, the four women sit on a beach with Brady discussing their retirements.

Cast

Brady's former Patriots teammates

Danny Amendola Daniel James Amendola (born November 2, 1985) is a former American football wide receiver. He played college football at Texas Tech. He was signed by the Dallas Cowboys as an undrafted free agent in 2008. After spending his entire rookie season ...

Julian Edelman Julian Francis Edelman (born May 22, 1986) is a former American football wide receiver who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 12 seasons with the New England Patriots. He played college football at Kent State as a Quarterback and ...

, and

Rob Gronkowski Robert James Gronkowski (born May 14, 1989) is an American former football tight end who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 11 seasons. Nicknamed "Gronk", Gronkowski played nine seasons for the New England Patriots, then played h ...

have cameo appearances as themselves.

Production

It was announced in February 2022 that

, then recently retired for the first time from his football career, would produce and appear in the film, to be directed and cowritten by Kyle Marvin. The film is inspired by a real-life group of Patriots fans known as the "Over 80 for Brady" club; the grandson of one member pitched the idea for a film.

, Jane Fonda, Rita Moreno and Sally Field also joined the cast. In March,

Sara Gilbert Sara Gilbert (born Sara Rebecca Abeles; January 29, 1975) is an American actress best known for her role as Darlene Conner on the ABC sitcom '' Roseanne'' (1988–1997; 2018), for which she received two Primetime Emmy Award nominations, and ...

Glynn Turman Glynn Russell Turman (born January 31, 1947) is an American actor, writer, director, and producer. Turman is known for his roles as Lew Miles on the prime-time soap opera '' Peyton Place'' (1968–1969), high school student Leroy "Preach" Jackson ...

Bob Balaban Robert Elmer Balaban (born August 16, 1945) is an American actor, author, comedian, director and producer. He was one of the producers nominated for the Academy Award for Best Picture for ''Gosford Park'' (2001), in which he also appeared. Balab ...

Ron Funches Ronald Kyle Funches (born March 12, 1983) is an American actor, comedian, and writer. Born in California, Funches spent his early life in Chicago before relocating to Salem, Oregon, as a teenager. He began his comedy career in Portland, Oregon, at ...

, Jimmy O. Yang and

Harry Hamlin Harry Robinson Hamlin (born October 30, 1951) is an American actor, author, and entrepreneur. He is best known for his roles as Perseus in the 1981 fantasy film '' Clash of the Titans'' and as Michael Kuzak in the legal drama series '' L.A. Law' ...

were added to the cast. That same month, Brady reversed his decision to retire from the NFL, although he eventually retired for good in February 2023. Marvin said that the announcement was "certainly news to us, so we had to adapt." Filming began by March 2022, with the production receiving a tax credit to film in

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

. In June, filming wrapped, with Billy Porter and

added to the cast. By July 14, 2022, former Patriots

and

joined the film.

Music

The film's score was composed by

John Debney John Cardon Debney (born August 18, 1956) is an American composer and conductor of film, television, and video game scores. His work encompasses a variety of mediums and genres including comedy, horror, thriller, and action-adventure. He is a l ...

in November 2022. The soundtrack single "Gonna Be You" was released January 20, 2023. The song was written by Diane Warren, and performed by

Dolly Parton Dolly Rebecca Parton (born January 19, 1946) is an American singer-songwriter, actress, philanthropist, and businesswoman, known primarily for her work in country music. After achieving success as a songwriter for others, Parton made her album d ...

Belinda Carlisle Belinda Jo Carlisle ( ; born August 17, 1958) is an American singer. She gained fame as the lead vocalist of the Go-Go's, the most successful all-female rock band of all time, and went on to have a prolific career as a solo artist. Raised in ...

Cyndi Lauper Cynthia Ann Stephanie Lauper Thornton (born June 22, 1953) is an American singer, songwriter, actress, and activist. Her career has spanned over 40 years. Her album ''She's So Unusual'' (1983) was the first debut album by a female artist to achi ...

, and Gloria Estefan. The official music video shows Parton, Carlisle, Lauper, and Estefan performing while wearing football jerseys similar to the ones worn by the women in the film, interspersed with clips from the film. The official Debney's score album for the film was released on February 9, 2023, by

Paramount Music Paramount Music is an American record label. It serves as the in-house label for film and television music across all divisions of Paramount Pictures. Soundtracks See also * List of record labels * Paramount Records (1969) * Famous Music Fa ...

. Tracks on the soundtrack include "Get Down on It" by

Kool and the Gang Kool & the Gang is an American R&B/soul/funk band formed in Jersey City, New Jersey, in 1964 by brothers Robert "Kool" Bell and Ronald Bell, with Dennis "Dee Tee" Thomas, Robert "Spike" Mickens, Charles Smith, George Brown, and Ricky West. T ...

, "Too Tight" by

Con Funk Shun Con Funk Shun (formerly known as Project Soul) is an American R&B and funk band whose popularity began in the mid-1970s and ran through the 1980s. They were influenced by funk legend James Brown and Sly and the Family Stone. Signed to Mercury ...

, "Bra" by Cymande, "Come On and Get It" by The Steppers, "Frogtown Funk" by Bijan OIia, Aleksi Glick, and Jeffrey Koch, and "It's My House" by Diana Ross.

Release

''80 for Brady'' was released in theaters on February 3, 2023, by Paramount Pictures. Two days before the film's release, Brady announced his retirement from the NFL after 23 seasons.

Home media

''80 for Brady'' was released for VOD on March 7, 2023, followed with a

Blu-ray The Blu-ray Disc (BD), often known simply as Blu-ray, is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 2005 and released on June 20, 2006 worldwide. It is designed to supersede the DVD format, and capable of st ...

and

DVD The DVD (common abbreviation for Digital Video Disc or Digital Versatile Disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any kind ...

release by

Paramount Home Entertainment Paramount Home Entertainment (formerly Paramount Home Media Distribution, and originally Paramount Home Video) is the home video distribution arm of Paramount Pictures, a division of Paramount Global. The division oversees PPC's home entertainme ...

on May 2, 2023.

Reception

Box office

In the United States and Canada, ''80 for Brady'' was released alongside '' Knock at the Cabin'', and was projected to gross around $10 million from 3,912 theaters in its opening weekend. The film made $4.7 million on its first day, which includes $1.3 million from previews on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday leading up to its release. It went on to debut to $12.5 million, finishing second behind ''Knock at the Cabin'', though it actually sold more tickets, 1.3 million to 1.1 million. Of the opening weekend audience, 47% were over the age of 55 and 69% were women, with much of the sales coming from matinee showtimes. The film made $6 million in its second weekend (a drop of 53%), finishing fourth.

Critical response

Audiences surveyed by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "A–" on an A+ to F scale, while those polled by

PostTrak PostTrak is a U.S.-based service that surveys film audiences for film studios. History The service conducts surveys in the top 20 markets in the U.S. and Canada with the use of polling cards and electronic kiosks. A PostTrak report for a film ...

gave it an 85% positive score, with 68% saying they would definitely recommend it.

Notes

References

External links

* * {{New England Patriots, state=collapsed 2023 comedy films 2023 films 2023 directorial debut films 2020s American films 2020s buddy comedy films 2020s comedy road movies 2020s English-language films 2020s female buddy films 2020s sports comedy films American buddy comedy films American comedy road movies American female buddy films American films based on actual events American football films American sports comedy films Comedy films based on actual events Films about fandom Films about old age Films scored by John Debney Films set in 2017 Films set in Houston Films shot in California Films shot in Houston New England Patriots Paramount Pictures films Sports films based on actual events Super Bowl in fiction Tom Brady