Themes: Infidelity, Crumbling Marriages, All Washed Up
Main Cast: Jessica Lange, Dennis Quaid, Timothy Hutton, John Goodman, Ray Baker, Carl Lumbly
Release Year: 1988
Country: US
Run Time: 127 minutes
MPAA Rating: R
Plot
Everybody's All American covers 25 years in the life of college football hero Gavin Grey (Dennis Quaid). When he marries campus sweetheart Babs Rogers (Jessica Lange) and is picked up by the pros, a happily-ever-after denouement is predicted by friends and family. It is clear from the outset, however, that Grey is going to have to do a lot of growing up over the next few decades. Babs does her best to keep in step with her husband's career and mood swings, and in so doing becomes the "parent" in the family. John Goodman also stars as Grey's best buddy, and Timothy Hutton is on hand for a romantic-triangle subplot. Everybody's All American is based on the novel by longtime Sports Illustrated scrivener Frank Deford. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Savannah Smith Boucher - Darlene Kiely; Patricia Clarkson - Leslie Stone; Mitch Carter - Redskins Color Man; A.J. Duhe - Cleveland Linebacker; Mike Fisher - Redskins Quarterback; Barbara Harris - Cheerleader #1; Chuck Hicks - Bigot; Ken Kells - Football Player; Wayne Knight - Fraternity Pisser; Bob Neill - Baseball Announcer; Aaron Neville - Man with Gun; Savannah Smith; Frank Deford - Cafe Owner; John Hazard - Football Player; Tom Rickman - Terra-Turf Man; John Erwin - Redskins Announcer; Lyla Kay Owen - Gray Ghost Inn Hostess; Nancy Klopper; Joseph Meyer - Pep Leader; Fred Lewis - Football Player
Credit
George Jenson - Art Director, Nancy Klopper - Casting, Alan C. Blomquist - Co-producer, Taylor Hackford - Co-producer, Ian Sander - Co-producer, Laura Ziskin - Co-producer, Theadora Van Runkle - Costume Designer, Jerry Ballew - First Assistant Director, Taylor Hackford - Director, Don Zimmerman - Editor, Stuart Benjamin - Executive Producer, James Newton Howard - Composer (Music Score), Dick Smith - Makeup Special Effects, Joe Alves - Production Designer, George Jensen - Production Designer, Stephen Goldblatt - Cinematographer, Stuart Benjamin - Producer, Rosemary Brandenberg - Set Designer, Sig Tingloff - Set Designer, Jeff Wexler - Sound/Sound Designer, Tom Rickman - Screenwriter, Jack Rosenthal - Screenwriter, Frank Deford - Book Author
The film covers 25 years in the life of college football hero Gavin Grey (Dennis Quaid). When he marries campus sweetheart Babs Rogers (Jessica Lange) and is picked up by the pros, a happily-ever-after denouement is predicted by friends and family. It is clear from the outset, however, that Grey is going to have to do a lot of growing up over the next few decades. Babs does her best to keep in step with her husband's career and mood swings, and in so doing becomes the "parent" in the family. John Goodman also stars as Grey's best buddy, and Timothy Hutton is on hand for a romantic-triangle subplot.
Filming was stopped for weeks when Dennis Quaid had his collarbone broken by Tim Fox of the New England Patriots during filming. Footage of Quaid rolling in pain on the sidelines of the snow game appears in the finished film.
A key scene featuring a candlelight parade involving large numbers of extras was filmed, on the steps of the Louisiana State Capitol, when snow started falling. Despite the beauty of the scene, director Taylor Hackford elected to reshoot the scene, as snow in Baton Rouge in November was such a rare event that he was worried it would be seen as a special effects goof in the film.
The game scenes were shot in LSU's Tiger Stadium during the halftimes of actual LSU games. The goalposts were altered to resemble the vintage "H" posts as needed during filming. Vertical posts were moved in place for the bottom portion of the H, and a multi-colored fabric covering was used to conceal the center upright. Upon completion of filming, the vertical posts and fabric were retracted so as not to interfere with the LSU games.
Some of the filming of the football scenes took place during halftime of the 1987 LSU-Alabama game. The producers wanted to continue shooting some scenes following the game, so they requested that the LSU fans remain after the game so that they could finish the scenes. However, Alabama won in an upset, and ten minutes after the game, the only fans still in the bleachers were wearing crimson, forcing the producers to finish shooting the following week.
Michael Apted was all set to direct Thomas Rickman's script in 1982 until Warner Brothers balked at the $16 million price tag, leading man Tommy Lee Jones and the fact that American football movies never do any business overseas. During its 6 years in development hell, Warren Beatty, Robert Redford and Robert De Niro all circled the project.
Despite the fact that the novel was written about the University of North Carolina, when it was filmed at LSU, rumors started that Gavin Grey was based on the former LSU All-American, Billy Cannon. Deford laughs at that. "Never met Cannon and knew nothing about him personally," he says. "Gavin was strictly a composite of many athletes from several sports that I had covered."
The film contains a much more hopeful and upbeat ending than the book, where Gavin takes his own life after trying to kill Babs as well.
