Great sports movies exist. When we watch our favourite sports movie, we all come together because of the rivalry, love of our favourite sport, and overarching theme of teamwork and unity. The only way to improve those films further is to add a dash of romance and love to the story. Athletes do have personal lives, after all!
Check out some of these films to satisfy your athletic requirements and give you a little bit of nostalgic fulfilment in between games since it’s starting to be that time of the year when all the major sporting events start to appear.
Bend It Like Beckham (2002)
The conservative and traditional Indian family of Jess (Parminder Nagra) forbids her from participating in soccer, despite the fact that it is her favourite sport. Jules (Kiera Knightley), who discovers her, persuades her to join the semi-pro team and play. Jess concurs and makes great efforts to conceal it from her parents. Jess and her coach, Joe (Jonathan Rhys Meyers), begin to fall in love while she is on the squad. Bend It Like Beckham, which is available on Amazon Prime and Disney+ for streaming, earned the Best Comedy Film prize at the British Comedy Awards.
Bull Durham (1988)
Bull Durham provides us with the fascinating opportunity to watch a love triangle play out on TV. Veteran Minor League baseball player Crash Davis (Kevin Costner) is assigned to a team that consistently loses in order to assist pitcher Ebby (Tim Robbins) in improving the team’s record. As a sort of team groupie, Annie (Susan Sarandon) picks one player each season to be her arm candy. She finds it difficult to choose between Crash and Ebby this season. This movie received an Academy Award nomination for Best Writing. You can watch Bull Durham on Tubi and Paramount+.
Fever Pitch (2005)
Fever Pitch, a charming baseball film starring Jimmy Fallon and Drew Barrymore, is all about compromise, exchanging memories, and opposites drawing. Despite having little in common, Ben (Fallon) and Lindsey (Barrymore), an odd couple, fall in love. Everything is OK until the baseball season starts and Lindsey discovers Ben’s obsession with the Red Sox. Their relationship begins to be threatened by this addiction, but can they understand one another enough to make it through? At the Teen Choice Awards, Fever Pitch received nominations for Choice Date Movie, as well as Choice Movie Actor and Actress. Amazon Prime has this movie available for streaming.
Just Wright (2010)
Physical therapist Leslie Wright (Queen Latifah) has the chance of a lifetime to work with basketball player Scott McKnight (Common). Up until Leslie starts to develop feelings for Scott, everything is amusing. However, Scott ignores her in favour of Leslie’s trophy- and fame-seeking buddy Morgan, played by Paula Patton. Is Leslie destined to dwell in the friend zone, which is like the Bermuda Triangle? The movie Just Wright, which is currently streaming on Tubi, earned the Image Award for Outstanding Writing in a Motion Picture.
Rocky (1976)
Sylvester Stallone plays Rocky, a working-class amateur boxer who is chosen at random to compete against Apollo Creed, the current world champion, in this timeless film (Carl Weathers). Of course, an underdog is nothing without a sympathetic ally by his side. Adrian (Talia Shire), whom Rocky meets and falls in love with, frequently watches Rocky fight. Adrian, you are awesome. John G. Avildsen earned Oscars for Best Director, Best Picture, and Best Film Editing for his work on Rocky. This film is available to stream on Paramount+ and Netflix.
Jerry Maguire (1996)
Tom Cruise plays sports agent Jerry Maguire, who ultimately decides he wants to do better for the athletes he represents and is fired from the large company he works for. Going it alone is challenging, but his assistant Dorothy (Reneé Zellweger) and Rod Tidwell (Cuba Gooding Jr.) support him as he builds his own company. Following the breakup of his engagement with Kelly Preston, Maguire and Dorothy become much closer and fall in love. They clicked right away. Gooding Jr.’s performance in Jerry Maguire earned him the Academy Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role. Netflix and Hulu both offer streaming for this film.
Love & Basketball (2000)
Quincy (Omar Epps) and Monica (Sanaa Lathan) have been friends their entire lives and have a mutual passion of basketball. The narrative of Monica and Quincy’s development as basketball players, adults, and as a couple is told in Love & Basketball. Basketball ultimately forces the two of them to take divergent routes, which poses a threat to their relationship. Can they remain together no matter what thanks to their bond? At the BET Awards, Sanaa Lathan’s performance led to her winning Best Actress. Amazon Prime has a streaming version of Love & Basketball.
She’s The Man (2006)
In the movie She’s The Man, Viola (Amanda Bynes) finds herself in a sticky situation. She can no longer play soccer at her school because the girl’s squad was eliminated. The obvious solution is to attend the boy’s tea at Illyria Boy’s School while pretending to be her brother, Sebastian. Having done so, she begins to develop feelings for her roommate Duke (Channing Tatum), who is unaware that she is truly Viola and not Sebastian. At the Teen Choice Awards, She’s The Man took up the Choice Comedy trophy. Amazon Prime is now streaming this movie.
The Cutting Edge (1992)
In a sports mash-up, Moira Kelly and D.B. Sweeney play an unusual couple who make the ideal team in The Cutting Edge. Kate (Kelly) is determined to win gold in figure skating in the Olympics, but due to an injury and her attitude, which drives away potential partners, she is forced to skate with a former Olympic hockey player named Doug (Sweeney). The two get off to a difficult start, but soon we get that timeless tale of how opposites attract that enchants us all. Amazon Prime and Tubi both offer streaming of The Cutting Edge.
Wimbledon (2004)
Paul Bettany’s character, Peter Colt, decides to stop playing tennis because he is past his prime. That is, until he is given an opportunity to compete at Wimbledon as a wild card and meets Lizzie (Kirsten Dunst), who reignites his inspiration. She alters his view and gives him the strength he needs, and he determines that he can play again and win again. Amazon Prime currently has a streaming version of Wimbledon, who was nominated for Best British Actor at the Empire Awards.
