'Connie Gomper and the Pack' began its life as a 20-minute segment produced for the nationally syndicated television program 'NFL Films Presents' in 1996. However, the segment was so popular and NFL Films received so many calls from fans requesting copies of it that a deal was made with PolyGram to distribute it on home video.
The star of the segment is Connie Gomper, a fictional resident of Green Bay, Wisconsin who loves to discuss all things football-related on her own public-access talk show, and who is slightly, um OBSESSED with the Green Bay Packers. Actually, "obsessed" is a mild description. Fortunately, this is a comedy, a lampoon of the famously dedicated Packer fans, so while her fanaticism would be disturbing in other contexts, here it is amusing and rather endearing. Besides, the real subject and theme of the film is not Connie but the Packers themselves, with Mrs. Gomper providing narration for a showcase of the interesting people, places, history, and culture surrounding the team.
I watched this recently on YouTube, and pretty quickly I discovered the reason this short film was so highly requested by audiences. That reason is Cindy Sandberg, the actress who plays Connie. I'm not sure how Cindy would fare in other types of roles, but here she accomplishes a feat that is very difficult for an actor to pull off. She creates a character who ordinarily would be considered obnoxious in every way – in appearance, in voice, in behavior – and who instead somehow comes across as lovable. Connie is the type of lady who, if she moved in next door to you, would motivate you to think about finding a new place to live, and yet it's often the case that personalities that are annoying in real life are quite funny on screen. It really all boils down to the way she talks; if anything about Connie Gomper is going to get under your skin, it will be that. Her speech is a wildly exaggerated parody of the Upper Midwestern accent and its idioms (although at times it seems to take on a strange Irish-sounding lilt and sound rather leprechaunish). Being the most prominent aspect of Connie's character and the foundation for almost all of the humor in the show, it could have been disastrous if it hadn't worked. However, with Connie Gomper the whole is greater than the sum total of her parts. Much like Mira Sorvino in 'Mighty Aphrodite', Cindy Sandberg has the charisma to not only make an annoying voice work to great comedic effect, but also make all of her exaggerated mannerisms combine synergistically to create a very charming and extremely humorous character. That was a really fancy and long-winded way of saying that she does a great job.
And yes, the film is funny. I do not normally laugh out loud at comedy, even when I find it hilarious (it's just my stoic disposition, I suppose). However, even after watching it several times, there are still parts that can make me chuckle. Incidentally, there are several jokes in the film that are references to famous movies and characters. There are, in fact, two references to Arnold Schwarzenegger/The Terminator. One is very obvious, but the other is more of an indirect reference and is a little trickier to spot. Well, it's actually a lot trickier. If you can pick it out, you're pretty good with your movie quotes.
I believe football fans will definitely appreciate this film; it's funny, you learn some things about the Packers, and meet some interesting people. Some of the players even get cameos, including a young Brett Favre. Now, you may notice that despite all the good things I've said about this film, the rating I gave isn't as high as you might expect. Well, truth be told, I'm not a football fan. I did think Connie Gomper was a funny gal, but as charming as she is she just can't solve the basic problem of my lack of interest in the game. If I loved football as much as the Packers fans do I'm sure my rating would be a perfect 10, you betcha.
Now, if this were a TENNIS parody, it would be a different story
The star of the segment is Connie Gomper, a fictional resident of Green Bay, Wisconsin who loves to discuss all things football-related on her own public-access talk show, and who is slightly, um OBSESSED with the Green Bay Packers. Actually, "obsessed" is a mild description. Fortunately, this is a comedy, a lampoon of the famously dedicated Packer fans, so while her fanaticism would be disturbing in other contexts, here it is amusing and rather endearing. Besides, the real subject and theme of the film is not Connie but the Packers themselves, with Mrs. Gomper providing narration for a showcase of the interesting people, places, history, and culture surrounding the team.
I watched this recently on YouTube, and pretty quickly I discovered the reason this short film was so highly requested by audiences. That reason is Cindy Sandberg, the actress who plays Connie. I'm not sure how Cindy would fare in other types of roles, but here she accomplishes a feat that is very difficult for an actor to pull off. She creates a character who ordinarily would be considered obnoxious in every way – in appearance, in voice, in behavior – and who instead somehow comes across as lovable. Connie is the type of lady who, if she moved in next door to you, would motivate you to think about finding a new place to live, and yet it's often the case that personalities that are annoying in real life are quite funny on screen. It really all boils down to the way she talks; if anything about Connie Gomper is going to get under your skin, it will be that. Her speech is a wildly exaggerated parody of the Upper Midwestern accent and its idioms (although at times it seems to take on a strange Irish-sounding lilt and sound rather leprechaunish). Being the most prominent aspect of Connie's character and the foundation for almost all of the humor in the show, it could have been disastrous if it hadn't worked. However, with Connie Gomper the whole is greater than the sum total of her parts. Much like Mira Sorvino in 'Mighty Aphrodite', Cindy Sandberg has the charisma to not only make an annoying voice work to great comedic effect, but also make all of her exaggerated mannerisms combine synergistically to create a very charming and extremely humorous character. That was a really fancy and long-winded way of saying that she does a great job.
And yes, the film is funny. I do not normally laugh out loud at comedy, even when I find it hilarious (it's just my stoic disposition, I suppose). However, even after watching it several times, there are still parts that can make me chuckle. Incidentally, there are several jokes in the film that are references to famous movies and characters. There are, in fact, two references to Arnold Schwarzenegger/The Terminator. One is very obvious, but the other is more of an indirect reference and is a little trickier to spot. Well, it's actually a lot trickier. If you can pick it out, you're pretty good with your movie quotes.
I believe football fans will definitely appreciate this film; it's funny, you learn some things about the Packers, and meet some interesting people. Some of the players even get cameos, including a young Brett Favre. Now, you may notice that despite all the good things I've said about this film, the rating I gave isn't as high as you might expect. Well, truth be told, I'm not a football fan. I did think Connie Gomper was a funny gal, but as charming as she is she just can't solve the basic problem of my lack of interest in the game. If I loved football as much as the Packers fans do I'm sure my rating would be a perfect 10, you betcha.
Now, if this were a TENNIS parody, it would be a different story