When you start missing the Olympics, turn on these 10 sports movies
Olympics hangover is a real phenomenon.
As the Paris games wind to an end, it's natural to miss global competition, your new favorite athletes, and the compelling backstories which accompany them. Thankfully, a number of films capture the very sports we see in the summer games. And while they don't all take place at the Olympics, they offer a similar marriage of contest and character.
Here are just 10 of the movies that can keep your Olympics fever going.
Basketball: "He Got Game"
Spike Lee's 1998 masterpiece is practically symphonic, weaving themes of family fracture, desperation and fame's perils into a basketball story about an incarcerated father (Denzel Washington) and his phenom son (now-retired NBA star Ray Allen). "He Got Game" is frustrating and beautiful and features perhaps the great one-on-one scene in movie history. Currently streaming: Amazon Prime, Apple TV, Disney+
Boxing: "Creed"
Star Michael B. Jordan and director Ryan Coogler reinvigorated the Rocky Balboa universe with this 2015 film which not only went the distance, but went on to inspire two sequels. Currently streaming: Amazon Prime, Apple TV, MGM+
Cycling: "Tour de Pharmacy"
The most farcical — and perhaps the crudest — entry on this list features Andy Samberg, John Cena, Orlando Bloom and more in a Tour de France mockumentary from 2017. Doping in sports has never been more hilarious or graphic. Currently streaming: Max
Gymnastics: "The Gabby Douglas Story"
This 2014 drama indeed portrays an Olympic great, telling the story of the golden gymnast. Regina King leads the cast, alongside Sydney Mikala and Imani Hakim, who play Douglas at various ages. The real Douglas makes a cameo. Currently streaming: Amazon Prime, Apple TV, Hulu, Lifetime
Rugby: "Invictus"
Clint Eastwood directed Morgan Freeman and Matt Damon as Nelson Mandela and Springboks captain Francois Pienaar, respectively, in this dramatization of the 1995 World Cup which arrived shortly after apartheid's end. The film earned its stars Oscar nominations. Currently streaming: Amazon Prime, Apple TV
Skateboarding: "Minding the Gap"
Bing Liu's Oscar-nominated 2018 documentary was a True/False Film Fest selection; the film follows three skateboard-loving friends who come of age against very particular challenges growing up in the American Midwest. Currently streaming: Apple TV, Disney+, Hulu
Soccer: "Bend it Like Beckham"
This 2002 crowd-pleaser more than surpassed its box-office goals and sparked a subsequent musical with the tale of a British Indian young woman overcoming social expectations to pursue her passion for soccer. Currently streaming: Amazon Prime, Apple TV, Disney+
Swimming: "Nyad"
Annette Bening and Jodie Foster both earned Oscar nominations for this 2023 portrait of real-life marathon swimmer Diana Nyad (Bening), who decides to battle the Straits of Florida in her early 60s. Currently streaming: Netflix
Surfing: "Point Break"
Perhaps the least Olympic offering here, and yet this 1991 Keanu Reeves-Patrick Swayze thrill ride so perfectly captures the risk, reward and rush of a surfing life. Currently streaming: Amazon Prime, Apple, Hulu, Paramount+, Tubi
Tennis: "Battle of the Sexes"
In 2017, the directors of "Little Miss Sunshine" served up this look at the real-life volley between Billie Jean King and Bobby Riggs, as played here by Emma Stone and Steve Carell; the film seeks to capture the zeitgeist of a changing '70s and the intensity of competition. Currently streaming: Amazon Prime, Apple TV, Disney+
Aarik Danielsen is the features and culture editor for the Tribune. Contact him at adanielsen@columbiatribune.com or by calling 573-815-1731. He's on Twitter/X @aarikdanielsen.
This article originally appeared on Columbia Daily Tribune: 10 summer sports movies to watch after the Paris Olympics end
