Dennis Quaid in an action or athletic film always seems to work. It may never blow you away, but it just seems natural. Perhaps it is why that we feel he gets overlooked a little too much in “Any Given Sunday”, but maybe that was the point. As “Cap” Rooney, Quaid is struggling to keep his starting Quarterback job, against the younger and flashier, “Steamin” Willie Beamen (Jamie Foxx). Rooney is not just fighting for his job, but he his fighting for his will to keep playing a sport that is punishing him physically. Of course, after seeing his barracuda of a wife (Lauren Holly) we may have understood what he was most afraid of!

Still, Quaid showed more depth in this role than he got credit for (and more than he usually does), and we suspect that he may be put on the backburner for our Hall in place of…..”Steamin” Willie Beamen.

Maybe this film didn’t go all the way. Everybody’s All American showcased Dennis Quaid as Gavin Grey as a superstar Running Back at LSU who had life by the balls and was the proverbial “Big Man on Campus”. He would go on to have a decent pro career, though we would slowly watch him go from college superstar, to solid pro, to a has-been longing for the past. The football scenes in the film were decent, so there is no issue here with that, but as much as we love Quaid in films about athletes, we equally detest him when he tries to put on an accent of any kind. The book in which the film is based on has the lead character commit suicide over the depression over losing who he was. With the current climate of football, perhaps this is where the film should have gone, and take it to the conclusion it was probably meant to go. A sad ending is better than the non-committed one it had.

If you look at the overall career of Dennis Quaid, your first thought might be…”Holy Shit, this guy has been in way more films than I realized” or “does this guy ever age?” We have stated this in other entries about Quaid roles; in that he is at his best when cast in basic likable characters; much like the case here with the Country and Western singing tough-man fighter, Art Long. Overall, the film was average, and trying to capitalize on the tough-man (basically sloppy boxing) craze, though it failed to capture an audience in its “Rocky meets Cowboy” approach. Still, as this is Dennis Quaid, we can’t help but put him on the ballot and see what happens.



The Bullet Points:
Movie Appeared:
Tough Enough (1983)

Actor:
Dennis Quaid

Why you should vote for him:
This is Quaid; one of our icons for this Hall.

Why you should not vote for him:
This might be his most obscure athletic based role.



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