80 for Brady is a Love Letter to Boston

Shortly after Tom Brady's first retirement a year ago, it was announced that he would appearing in a film with Jane Fonda, Rita Moreno, Lily Tomlin and Sally Field.

I knew I had to see it. How often does one have a movie which simultaneously appeals to baby boomer women and young male football fans? While all four actresses are still active, appearing in a film with Tom Brady would give them a good chance to top the box office again and they came close during its opening weekend. With the Super Bowl taking place tomorrow it could hit number one this weekend.

Although 80 for Brady is based on a true story, the movie bears little resemblance to it. The real 80 for Brady gang never went to Super Bowl LI, have never met Brady nor have any of its members written erotic fan fiction about Rob Gronkowski. Nor for that matter did Lily Tomlin light a fire under Brady to help lead the Patriots back from a 25-point deficit in the 3rd quarter against the Atlanta Falcons. Yet it is kind of sweet to see Brady and Tomlin have a moment in the locker room following the comeback. It's not an image which immediately comes to mind yet 80 for Brady co-writers Emily Halpern and Sarah Haskins conjured it up and it works wonders. 

Above all else 80 for Brady is a love letter to Boston (and for that matter New England). Aside from exterior shots of Boston, the film shows Brady replacing an injured Drew Bledsoe in Week 2 of the 2001 season against the New York Jets and leading the Pats to their first of six Super Bowl titles culminating in the Pats' improbable comeback against the Falcons. I was here for nearly all of it. Needless to say, I don't think 80 for Brady will find much of an audience in Atlanta. As I can tell you from firsthand experience this is still a fresh wound in Georgia. 

Yet it makes me all the gladder that I am back up here in Boston (plus Cambridge and Somerville). I remember watching Fever Pitch on TV while I was in New York during the pandemic and seeing all those exterior shots of Back Bay and the North End reminded me of how much I missed it. Even though I would find employment in Atlanta, I would have taken less money to come back up here. When I watched a shot of the Mass Ave Bridge in 80 for Brady instead of having a sense of longing it gave me a sense of comfort that I can now walk across it anytime I like. Perhaps even tomorrow.