Celtic Pride
Encyclopedia
Celtic Pride is a comedy
film
written by Judd Apatow
and Colin Quinn
and directed by Tom DeCerchio. It features Daniel Stern
and Dan Aykroyd
as Mike O'Hara and Jimmy Flaherty, two passionate Boston Celtics
fans and Damon Wayans
as Lewis Scott, the Utah Jazz
's All-Star shooting guard
.
. So when the Celtics drop Game 6 of the NBA Finals to the Utah Jazz, setting up a deciding Game 7 in Boston, Mike and Jimmy find themselves depressed and hopeless. On top of all this, Mike has moved back in with Jimmy after his wife Carol, fed up with his unhealthy obsession with the Celtics, left him and took their son Tommy with her. Despondent after the Celtic loss in Game 6, a loss engineered by the Jazz's selfish, one-man-show shooting guard Lewis Scott, Jimmy and Mike stumble upon Scott at a Boston nightclub. Hoping at first to get him drunk enough so he'll be hungover for Game 7, Mike and Jimmy pose as Utah fans. However, the pair get more than they bargained for when first they meet their idol Larry Bird
who scolds them for being "fair weather fans" and later end up kidnapping Scott after he wakes up at Jimmy's apartment the next morning. Mike and Jimmy decide to hold Scott until after the game, reasoning that if they are going to prison, they might as well help the Celtics win in the meantime.
Scott's streetwise, arrogant ways contrast with Jimmy and Mike's bumbling blue-collar lifestyle. He derides them for being washed-up losers, and insinuates Mike is only after him because he is jealous of Scott's fame and ability. Mike, on the other hand, berates Scott for his behavior on and off the court, including starring in a campy Oscar Mayer
hot dog commercial and skipping practices. Scott attempts to turn Jimmy against Mike, and, when this fails, escapes, only to be foiled by an antagonistic cabbie and a local cop, Kevin (Paul Guilfoyle
), both fellow Celtics fans.
Ultimately, Mike challenges Scott to a game of one-on-one and the pair is incapacitated well before the final game is set to begin. Before he runs off, Scott presents the pair with a dilemma, they must root for him and hope the Jazz win, otherwise he will turn them both in to the police. Mike reconciles with his wife and son, knowing he might be going to prison, and Jimmy says goodbye to his grandmother. At the game, the two convince the other Celtics fans they are only pretending to root for the Jazz, and the first half ends with the Celtics leading 52-38. Mike, who knows the Jazz are losing because Scott refuses to pass the ball, gives him a pep talk from the stands, and Utah closes the gap to one point with a little over 7 seconds remaining. With one play left and the Jazz with the ball, Mike and Jimmy choose life over the Celtics, rooting for Utah and rushing the court after they win. Approached by Kevin who earlier ignored his cries for help, Lewis denies Mike and Jimmy committed the kidnapping, saving them from prison.
A few months later, Mike has promised his wife he would never interfere with an NBA Finals game again. But now it's football season. He and Jimmy sneak into the hotel room of Deion Sanders
at 3:00 a.m.
Comedy
Comedy , as a popular meaning, is any humorous discourse or work generally intended to amuse by creating laughter, especially in television, film, and stand-up comedy. This must be carefully distinguished from its academic definition, namely the comic theatre, whose Western origins are found in...
film
Film
A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...
written by Judd Apatow
Judd Apatow
Judd Apatow is an American film producer, director, and screenwriter. He is well known for his work in comedy films, especially for films he has been involved with throughout the latter half of the 2000s. He is the founder of Apatow Productions, a film production company that also developed the...
and Colin Quinn
Colin Quinn
Colin Edward Quinn is an American stand-up comedian and writer best known for his five years in the cast of Saturday Night Live, as the sidekick/announcer of MTV's late 1980s gameshow Remote Control and as host of Tough Crowd with Colin Quinn on Comedy Central from 2002–2004.-Early years:Quinn was...
and directed by Tom DeCerchio. It features Daniel Stern
Daniel Stern (actor)
Daniel Jacob Stern is an American film and television actor. He is known for his roles in the Hollywood films C.H.U.D., Diner, City Slickers and the first two Home Alone films, and as the narrator for the television series The Wonder Years.-Early life:Stern was born in Bethesda, Maryland to a...
and Dan Aykroyd
Dan Aykroyd
Daniel Edward "Dan" Aykroyd, CM is a Canadian comedian, actor, screenwriter, musician, winemaker and ufologist. He was an original cast member of Saturday Night Live, an originator of The Blues Brothers and Ghostbusters and has had a long career as a film actor and screenwriter.-Early...
as Mike O'Hara and Jimmy Flaherty, two passionate Boston Celtics
Boston Celtics
The Boston Celtics are a National Basketball Association team based in Boston, Massachusetts. They play in the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference. Founded in 1946, the team is currently owned by Boston Basketball Partners LLC. The Celtics play their home games at the TD Garden, which...
fans and Damon Wayans
Damon Wayans
Damon Kyle Wayans is an American stand-up comedian, writer and actor, one of the Wayans brothers.-Early life:Wayans was born in New York City, New York, the son of Elvira, a homemaker and social worker, and Howell Wayans, a supermarket manager...
as Lewis Scott, the Utah Jazz
Utah Jazz
The Utah Jazz is a professional basketball team based in Salt Lake City, Utah. They are currently a part of the Northwest Division of the Western Conference in the National Basketball Association...
's All-Star shooting guard
Shooting guard
The shooting guard , also known as the two or off guard, is one of five traditional positions on a basketball team. Players of the position are often shorter, leaner, and quicker than forwards. A shooting guard's main objective is to score points for his team...
.
Plot
Best friends for life, gym teacher Mike O'Hara and plumber Jimmy Flaherty are united by their love of Boston and its sports teams, especially the Boston Celtics, who are playing their last season in the old Boston GardenBoston Garden
The Boston Garden was an arena in Boston, Massachusetts, USA. Designed by boxing promoter Tex Rickard, who also built the third iteration of New York's Madison Square Garden, it opened on November 17, 1928 as "Boston Madison Square Garden" and outlived its original namesake by some 30 years...
. So when the Celtics drop Game 6 of the NBA Finals to the Utah Jazz, setting up a deciding Game 7 in Boston, Mike and Jimmy find themselves depressed and hopeless. On top of all this, Mike has moved back in with Jimmy after his wife Carol, fed up with his unhealthy obsession with the Celtics, left him and took their son Tommy with her. Despondent after the Celtic loss in Game 6, a loss engineered by the Jazz's selfish, one-man-show shooting guard Lewis Scott, Jimmy and Mike stumble upon Scott at a Boston nightclub. Hoping at first to get him drunk enough so he'll be hungover for Game 7, Mike and Jimmy pose as Utah fans. However, the pair get more than they bargained for when first they meet their idol Larry Bird
Larry Bird
Larry Joe Bird is a former American NBA basketball player and coach. Drafted into the NBA sixth overall by the Boston Celtics in 1978, Bird started at small forward and power forward for thirteen seasons, spearheading one of the NBA's most formidable frontcourts that included center Robert Parish...
who scolds them for being "fair weather fans" and later end up kidnapping Scott after he wakes up at Jimmy's apartment the next morning. Mike and Jimmy decide to hold Scott until after the game, reasoning that if they are going to prison, they might as well help the Celtics win in the meantime.
Scott's streetwise, arrogant ways contrast with Jimmy and Mike's bumbling blue-collar lifestyle. He derides them for being washed-up losers, and insinuates Mike is only after him because he is jealous of Scott's fame and ability. Mike, on the other hand, berates Scott for his behavior on and off the court, including starring in a campy Oscar Mayer
Oscar Mayer
Oscar Mayer is an American meat and cold cut production company, owned by Kraft Foods, known for its hot dogs, bologna, bacon and Lunchables products.-History:...
hot dog commercial and skipping practices. Scott attempts to turn Jimmy against Mike, and, when this fails, escapes, only to be foiled by an antagonistic cabbie and a local cop, Kevin (Paul Guilfoyle
Paul Guilfoyle
Paul Guilfoyle is an American television and film actor. He is currently a regular cast member of the forensic television drama CSI: Crime Scene Investigation where he plays Captain Jim Brass.-Early life:...
), both fellow Celtics fans.
Ultimately, Mike challenges Scott to a game of one-on-one and the pair is incapacitated well before the final game is set to begin. Before he runs off, Scott presents the pair with a dilemma, they must root for him and hope the Jazz win, otherwise he will turn them both in to the police. Mike reconciles with his wife and son, knowing he might be going to prison, and Jimmy says goodbye to his grandmother. At the game, the two convince the other Celtics fans they are only pretending to root for the Jazz, and the first half ends with the Celtics leading 52-38. Mike, who knows the Jazz are losing because Scott refuses to pass the ball, gives him a pep talk from the stands, and Utah closes the gap to one point with a little over 7 seconds remaining. With one play left and the Jazz with the ball, Mike and Jimmy choose life over the Celtics, rooting for Utah and rushing the court after they win. Approached by Kevin who earlier ignored his cries for help, Lewis denies Mike and Jimmy committed the kidnapping, saving them from prison.
A few months later, Mike has promised his wife he would never interfere with an NBA Finals game again. But now it's football season. He and Jimmy sneak into the hotel room of Deion Sanders
Deion Sanders
Deion Luwynn Sanders , nicknamed "Prime Time" and "Neon Deion", is a former National Football League cornerback and Major League Baseball outfielder who currently works as an NFL Network analyst...
at 3:00 a.m.