Celtic Pride (1996)

9% of critics liked it
(23 reviews)
31% of users liked it
(9,866 ratings)

Two basketball fans, whose enthusiasm overwhelms their intelligence, come up with a new but legally problematic way of helping their favorite team in this comedy. Physical education instructor Mike O'Hara (Daniel Stern) and plumber Jimmy Flaherty (Dan Aykroyd) are close friends and obsessive… More Two basketball fans, whose enthusiasm overwhelms their intelligence, come up with a new but legally problematic way of helping their favorite team in this comedy. Physical education instructor Mike O'Hara (Daniel Stern) and plumber Jimmy Flaherty (Dan Aykroyd) are close friends and obsessive followers of the Boston Celtics; to them, the Celtics are everything, to the point where Mike's marriage is falling apart because his wife can't deal with his mood swings, hinged as they are on the Celtic's fortunes. One night, with the Celtics and the Utah Jazz tied at three games each in the NBA championships, Mike and Jimmy spot Lewis Scott (Damon Wayans) in a sports bar. The star player with the Jazz, Lewis is known to sink up to 50 shots a game, and his talent on the court is exceeded only by his arrogance. Emboldened by alcohol, Mike and Jimmy start buying Lewis drinks, posing as Jazz fans; the next morning, they wake up hung over to discover that they kidnapped Lewis while drunk, and he's tied to a chair in Jimmy's living room. Neither of them planned on doing anything like this and at first they think they ought to let him go. But then again, if Lewis can't play the final game of the championship series, the Celtics chances look a lot brighter. Former Celtics star Larry Bird has a cameo as himself; as do sports heroes Bill Walton and Deion Sanders. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

Rating, Runtime: PG-13, 1 hr. 30 min.
Directed By: Tom DeCerchio
Genres: Comedy

In Theaters: Apr 19, 1996 Wide
On DVD: Sep 3, 2002

Critic Reviews

Joe Leydon, Variety
An uneven but largely likable basketball-themed comedy.
Desson Thomson, Washington Post
The outcome is deeply unsatisfying.
Jack Mathews, Los Angeles Times
This is a bad time for NBA fans in Boston. Just as their beloved Celtics are about to wrap up a dismal season, with nearly 50 losses and no berth in the playoffs, Hollywood comes out with a comedy about the Celtics that's even worse than the team.
Hal Hinson, Washington Post
Not only is the picture woefully short on laughs, it's also coarse, overbearing and, in places, downright insulting.
James Berardinelli, ReelViews
You don't even have to be a Celtics fan to appreciate it. In fact, considering who becomes the butt of the film's ultimate joke, perhaps it's best if you're not one.
Stephen Holden, New York Times
Celtic Pride has ingredients that could have made for a tough knockabout farce. Unfortunately, the film, directed by Tom De Cerchio from a screenplay by Judd Apatow, doesn't know the meaning of the term 'light touch.'
, TV Guide's Movie Guide
Celtic Pride supplies predictably lowbrow yocks for jocks, and its rather disturbing racial implications go entirely unacknowledged.
Scott Weinberg, eFilmCritic.com
A desperately unfunny comedy, and what's worse is that the premise really COULD have been something solid!
Daniel Eagan, Film Journal International
Dismal attempt at basketball comedy
Kevin Fiddler, Henderson Home News (Henderson, NV)
Kind of funny, especially for Celtic fans.
Christopher Null, Filmcritic.com
This is one film that won't appeal to either sports or comedy fans.

Read all 11 critic reviews

Critic ratings and reviews powered by RottenTomatoes.com

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Featured Audience Ratings

Lenny M

2 stars for the Larry Bird cameo.
Phil H

Good fun loopy comedy with Aykroyd and Stern as a couple of obsessed Boston sports fans that kidnap Utah's top basketball player just in time for the NBA finals. Great simple plot that works really well but the duo of Aykroyd and Stern really makes the film hit top stride. Stern… More
Good fun loopy comedy with Aykroyd and Stern as a couple of obsessed Boston sports fans that kidnap Utah's top basketball player just in time for the NBA finals. Great simple plot that works really well but the duo of Aykroyd and Stern really makes the film hit top stride. Stern being a crazed on the edge father and Aykroyd as his timid submissive best friend make a great combo, Wayans is also actually very good as an arrogant selfish top player really nailing the role, all together its really quite amusing as the trio get into all kinds of trouble as the big game approaches. I liked how the boys had to pretend to support the Utah Jazz in order to get close to Wayans character so they could nab him haha some good facial/physical comedy on display there. Not a well known flick but well worth it if you find it.
Tim S

This had some laughs, but not enough.
Jason O

Celtic Pride is probably the worst comedy movie I've ever seen and one of the worst movies I've ever seen period. Basketball is my favorite sport, but not even the basketball in the movie was all that entertaining. Cameo appearances by a few NBA players including Larry Bird… More
Celtic Pride is probably the worst comedy movie I've ever seen and one of the worst movies I've ever seen period. Basketball is my favorite sport, but not even the basketball in the movie was all that entertaining. Cameo appearances by a few NBA players including Larry Bird are just about the only things good about the movie. The reason I didn't like this movie is because some of my friends had told me that it was hilarious. I didn't think it was funny at all. All the jokes that Damon Wayans and the rest of the crew told were sickening rather than funny. The ones that weren't dirty and sick were just plain stupid. If you like good comedy movies, I definitely don't recommend this movie at all. Save your money for some of the other good ones. NOTE: That was my Amazon review from the year 2000. I like the actors in this film and like most of their movies, but this was the lowest point of all their careers to me. Horrible!
danny d

pretty silly but had some funny moments. probably more enjoyable for celtic fans