Murderball

To call this an inspirational story would be an injustice of sorts to the people/athletes featured in the movie. Murderball, as Team USA spokesman Mark Zupan might tell you, is not a mushy feel good story about handicapped people finding success. It is a portrait of unique personalities and stories that make up the world of quad rugby, a sport that just so happens to be played in wheel chairs.

Wheel chair rugby is played by quadriplegics of all kinds. Some disabilities are the result of illness (Joe Soares lost his legs to polio) or unfortunate accidents (Scott Hogsett was thrown of a deck in a fight and broke his neck). Some have lost the majority of their limbs (Bob Lujano plays despite having nothing much past his elbows or hips), others have nearly full use of their arms (like Zupan). All of them have a distinct desire to move beyond their disabilities and live an even bigger, better life than they would have before their illness/accident. By all accounts, the players, families and friends in the movie believe that this is a blessing, not a curse. They are happy, successful people leading full lives both despite and because of their disability.

It is an uplifting story of hope and perseverance, but often times throughout the film I could not help but think of those who are less fortunate. I recently saw a piece on SportsCenter about Travis Roy, the one-time Boston University hockey player who was paralyzed in a freak accident during his first-ever college game. Travis is completely paralyzed from the neck down. Thinking of his story, I couldn’t help but see the stars of Murderball just as the movie sees them and as they see themselves—ordinary people leading extraordinary lives.

DVD Extras
The DVD includes a slew of special features, from young Keith getting his first rugby chair at the movie’s premiere to a candid update with embattled (former) Team Canada coach Joe Soares. There is also an extensive interview with Larry King on his CNN program, notable mostly for the host’s lack of pre-interview preparation. The guys in the interview (Hogsett, Cohn, Zupan, Lujano and Keith) appear as they do in the movie: confident, outspoken and very comfortable with themselves.

My favorite extra, in spite of its obvious corporate shilling, was the Jackass Murderball Special. Johnny Knoxville, Steve-O, Chris Pontius and Wee-Man get together with Hogset, Cohn and Zupan for a few days of MTV-sponsored fun. The result is an oddly touching unity of spirit. The Jackass boys, who by their own admission are perpetually one accident away from joining the quad rugby team, fit in well with the hardcore mentality of the players. The show is full of the usual Jackass antics (“The Black Eye Game” needs to be seen to be believed), but like the movie it proves that these guys aren’t that different from the rest of us after all.

Grade: A