The new edition is here!
Thomas Hayden Church/Ellen Page
Sarah Jessica Parker


When you say Madden, some still think of the announcer that works the games on Sunday nights. But for many, when you say Madden you are referring to the remarkable video game that celebrates a twentieth anniversary this week with the release of Madden ‘09.

We have three versions of this game in my home. The 2006 and 2007 versions for the PC and the 2008 edition for Playstation. There isn’t a big difference in the playing of these versions save that the rosters are markedly different for some teams. But each year, we seem to get the new one.

And why not? It is probably one of the best games out there.

I can watch my kids play and have just as much fun as they do (without the pressure!) The NFL owes this game a tremendous debt…whole generations of kids are falling in love with professional football because of this game.

This game has taught my guys so much about football. Understanding passing routes and complex defenses. It cracks me up to hear them talking like Madden.

My kids love the Colts…but they also know the rest of the teams in the NFL. The Tennessee Titans and Vince Young are a fave for my six year old. Why? Cause Vince Young can scramble for touchdowns like nobody else. That’s why my little guy begged us to sign him up to play Flag Football this fall.

Hey, sounds like a good enough reason to me.

*****

“Smart People” is a little movie released earlier this year just out this week on DVD.

The subdued comedy stars Dennis Quaid, Sarah Jessica Parker, Thomas Hayden Church and Ellen Page (she made this one before “Juno.”)

When I first watched it, I was a little underwhelmed with it…but the movie grew on me. Quaid, playing off character, plays a cranky college literature professor who can’t get over the death of his wife. (This is a comedy?) Thomas Hayden Church plays his adopted brother who can’t hold a job and moves in with Quaid and his daughter (played by Page.) Sarah Jessica Parker plays his new love interest, a doctor, who also happens to be a former student.

It’s a subtle comedy…not big laughs, for sure, but an interesting experience. As smart as all the characters are, you realize they are all pretty emotionally stunted. (Again, this is a comedy?) 

The movie reminded me a little of “Wonder Boys,” a movie out a few years ago starring Michael Douglas as a college professor suffering writers block and also emotionally stunted.

“Smart People” was fine as a rental…but if you want to watch a smart college professor go through emotional crisis, I’d pick up “Wonder Boys” instead. But it would make for an interesting double feature.