Just watched "Breaking Away", terrific movie. I think I've literally never seen a college movie from the point of view of the townies?
I joked Dennis Quaid was still getting "guy who takes his shirt off" roles decades later in "Labor Day" but that was Josh Brolin. Seriously I cannot tell them apart and I don't know why.
But yeah I'd heard good things but I was like "how good could a cycling movie be", no offense to any cyclists. It's good though.
A tricky thing with sports movies is making the victory feel "earned" both literally (as in, the athlete should win because they're better) and narratively (as in, the athlete should win because of where they are in their character arc).
Since sports isn't in fact a neat three-act morality take and since athletic ability comes from, you know, gifts and long training that don't really fit a movie, this can be difficult, but "Breaking Away" handles it very well.
It's really the same problem I've talked about with superhero and other action movies. The hero should win (logically) because they're stronger, and should win (narratively) because they're right, so a good movie/comic will often find some way to connect these things.
*morality tale.
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