Should you watch 80 for Brady just because Tom Brady says so? 

80 for Brady was rather unbelievably released to theaters in early February and took in a box office haul of $39 million. It recently came to streaming via Paramount+ and Tom Brady himself, who is the producer of the film and has a significant amount of screen time in the movie, had something to say about it. 

Tom Brady commands that we watch his film and watch his film we must. 

A niche story with big names, 80 for Brady is based on a true story of five 80 year old women who are Tom Brady super fans – the movie imagines that they attend the Super Bowl to support their favorite NFL player (and also America’s favorite human person). 

I could review 80 for Brady but in all honesty, the movie defies critical review. A film which features not only the Prom King of America, Tom Brady, but also the Mayor of Flavortown himself, Guy Fieri simply cannot be given objective analytical critique. The bias in their favor is too strong. 

Instead here are the best moments and why you should support Tom Brady and Guy Fieri by watching this movie on Paramount+ (or other streaming platforms like Amazon Prime video) 

Because the true story is so cute and inspirational 

The movie version is about four women who love Tom Brady but in real life it’s five. Elaine St. Martin, Betty Pensavalle and their three other friends, Anita, Pat and Claire. The women became closer friends when they all became widows and used their love of Tom Brady to keep their friendship thriving. The women met up at each other’s homes for Brady’s games every Sunday during the season. It was Pensavalle’s grandson who made them the t-shirts after they started to refer to themselves as the “Over 80 for Brady club.” 

It was also Pensavalle’s grandson who got the movie made. He worked in Hollywood and pitched the film and the story got to Tom Brady himself who was eager to produce the movie. He even reached out to the women via video and asked for the rights. 

The film invents the trip to the Super Bowl and the personal dramas but it reflects the sweet spirit of friendship and how traditions like American football can ground us. 

The cast is legendary 

The movie version features four women (not five) all played by extremely famous actors including two-time Academy Award winner, Jane Fond; Academy Award winners Sally Field and Rita Moreno and near EGOT (Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, Tony) Lily Tomlin (she has the EG and T and was nominated for the O). That’s a lot of hardware. That is an undeniable talent roster.

Guy Fieri 

Guy Fieri plays himself in the film as an attendee and special guest of the Super Bowl. He is as charming and hilarious as always in his scenes both where he is real and where he is being imagined. Long live the Mayor of Flavortown. 

Gronk romance novels

A minor but delightful subplot of the film is that one of the women (played by Jane Fonda) is a romance novelist who wrote a Best Selling erotic romance novel about Rob Gronkowski called “Between a Gronk and a Hard Place.” Gronk makes a brief cameo related to this subplot. *Chefs kiss.* 

Ultimately – 

80 for Brady is a silly and sweet film about some real life women who deserve their story 

to be told. And most importantly: you should watch it because Tom Brady asked you to and by God hasn’t he done enough for us all? Hasn’t he earned it?