Edwina “Eddie” Franklin (Whoopi Goldberg) is a New York City limousine driver and a fanatical follower of the New York Knicks professional basketball team. The team is struggling with a mediocre record when, in mid-season, “Wild Bill” Burgess (Frank Langella), the new owner, as a public relations gimmick, stages an “honorary coach” contest, which Eddie wins. The fans love it, so “Wild Bill” fires the coach and hires her. She takes the bunch of overpaid prima donnas that make up the team and turns them around. But the owner hopes to move the team, now the darling of the New York City fans, to St. Louis. He may own the team, but it belongs to the city and the fans.
If you were of movie-going age during the early 1990’s, you will surely remember that the one-two punch of Ghost and Sister Act turned Whoopi Goldberg from a heralded standup comedian into an Oscar-winning actress and commercially bankable movie star. Studios lined up to get into business with the outspoken but likeable Goldberg, and 1996 marked the height of her celebrity and the beginning of her decent. She will appear in three movies over the course of 14 months. None of which would be as commercially successful or entertaining as the basketball-themed comedy Eddie. Goldberg is perfectly cast in a role that feels as if it was originally written for a man, and she wins over the audience based solely on her charisma.
Eddie is populated by NBA stars of the era, none of whom prove as good an actor as John Sally, but all of whom seem to be enjoying their time in front of a movie camera. The mid-nineties were a haven for basketball-themed films. There were three movies featuring basketball released in 1996 alone. Eddie is on the upper echelon of that grouping; it’s an amiable sports comedy that has added nostalgic value to those interested in seeing the state of the NBA during its popularity surge.
Directed by: Steve Rash
Written by: Steve Zacharias, Jeff Buhai, Jon Connolly
Starring: Whoopi Goldberg, Frank Langella, Dennis Farina
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