North Dallas Forty (1979)

  The poster is a complete lie.  This isn't a comedy.  Content warning:  party scene that skirts very closely to sexual assault but generally falls under the umbrella of "rape culture"

Phil Elliott (Nick Nolte) is a professional football player but at 39, he is growing more and more concerned with the physical and emotional toll being taken from him with each game.  He is at odds with number-focused management, boorish other players, and his own sense of ennui and disillusionment.

This wants to be Easy Rider so bad but cannot make Elliott likable or sympathetic.  

As opposed to Pigskin Parade, where football was more or less just a backdrop, North Dallas Forty does require a passing knowledge of the game itself.  

**Editor's note:  This was as far as I had gotten when I got a phone call telling me my father had died.  Sorry for the truncated review but I had to make an emergency trip down to Alabama for the funeral and this blog post was not a priority.  I will make it up to you (internet) next weekend.**

**P.S.  TL;DR: This movie sucked.  Watch something else, up to and including actual football instead.**