Sports movies are often tasked with the impossible burden of making a fictional athletic story line as compelling as the real, dramatic world of sports. After all, what movie could ever be as captivating as the Patriots' 25-point comeback against the Falcons a couple years ago?
However, some of the best sports movies recognize that the way forward is to make the occurrences as funny as possible. Over the years, there have been plenty of hilarious sports movies. In these films, though, there are some egregious examples of rule-breaking that would never happen in real life. They do make for a good laugh, though.
Uncle Drew: Calling Timeout
Uncle Drew, the Kyrie Irving comedy from two years ago, does have one moment that is based on real life sports. At one point, Uncle Drew tells Chris Webber's character to be careful when calling a timeout.
The timeouts are used without any concern during Uncle Drew, showing that the rules are not as rigid as they are in real basketball. However, Webber's biggest claim to fame is a timeout-induced blunder (he called one without having any in the arsenal) while playing college ball for Michigan. It served as a fun gesture to that moment.
Tour De Pharmacy: Drugs And Bribes
In Tour de Pharmacy, real world sports controversies are present, too. This time, they satirize the prevalence of performance-enhancing drugs in the world of cycling.
While the use of such drugs (and the subsequent bribe-taking to keep it all swept under the rug) is obviously forbidden, it made for some hilarious moments in the movie. These namely centered around John Cena's exceedingly muscular character, Gustav.
7 Days In Hell: Tennis Court Affairs
Samberg's other sports comedy for HBO was 7 Days in Hell, a parody of a marathon tennis match that also starred Kit Harington. While there is precedence for days-long tennis matches in the real sport, there is one moment that would be expressly forbidden by any legitimate tennis tournament.
During the match, Samberg's character ends up having a three-way with two fans of tennis. In the movie, the match is delayed as a result of this. In real life, this would have probably been grounds for disqualification.
Draft Day: Wheeling And Dealing
Technically, in Kevin Costner's general manager character definitely breaks a ton of unwritten rules.
He is constantly spinning his wheels around the NFL Draft and he ends up garnering a ton of picks from other teams after going back on his previous agreements. Not only is the behavior frowned upon, but it is also hilarious because the plan he concocts would never fly in the real NFL.
Balls Out: Intramural Violence
Balls Out is a vastly overlooked sports comedy from the 2010s that starred a few SNL alums and Brian McElhaney and Nick Kocher of BriTANicK. It wasn't flawless, but it did have its funny moments.
However, it also has a complete misunderstanding of how intramural football works. The equipment is constantly being used as a weapon and the players commit more penalties than varsity football teams tend to. It makes for some funny moments, but in real life, the intramural team would've been booted from the league.
Fever Pitch: Fallon On The Field
Many times in the history of baseball, fans would storm the field after a big win or a championship to celebrate with the team. Fortunately, this practice has been quelled over time and the world is better for it.
However, in Fever Pitch, when the Red Sox broke their 86-year curse, Jimmy Fallon's super fan character rushed the diamond with Drew Barrymore's reserved fan persona. It made for a perfect climax for the film, but it would not have been allowed in real life. Besides, the real Fallon is a Yankees fan.
Semi-Pro: Washing Machine
Obviously, one should not derive actual sports knowledge from Semi-Pro, the 2008 Will Ferrell basketball comedy. But for as much fun as it has on the court, it breaks some rules off of the court.
The most egregious of these instances is when a team trades a washing machine to another in exchange for a point guard. In the real NBA, a decently fair trade that would have sent Chris Paul to the Lakers was vetoed by the league's leadership. There's no way they would have permitted a swap with an appliance.
Happy Gilmore: Car Accident On The Course
In the iconic climax of Happy Gilmore, a series of car accidents results in Happy being injured and facing a match-clinching putt in the face of crashed debris on the green.
He ends up using his mini golf expertise to sink the putt, but in the real PGA, this putt would have never been allowed. "Play the ball as it lies" is a good concept in theory, but the results of the match would be under protest for years if a golfer was forced to putt through metal.
Air Bud: The Entire Movie
"There's nothing in the rule book that says a dog can't play basketball!" This may be true, but it has to just be common sense.
The moral of Air Bud is that Buddy, the dog, can be an excellent member of a basketball team. In a real basketball league, players might frown upon a dog on the court. One has to think that dribbling and ing wouldn't go as smoothly as it did in this film.
Space Jam: A Cartoon World
Space Jam is filled with some hilarious rule violations. There is kicking, scooter-riding, skunk-spraying, and preposterous stretching in this basketball game, which was supposed to be a fair game.
Granted, the Monstars play dirty from the jump, but that doesn't excuse the use of dangerous cartoon objects from the world of Looney Tunes on the part of the Tunes. Traveling and fouls are one thing, but a complete flanderization of the court has to result in some kind of penalty.
