‘Andre The Giant’ is a hit; ‘Paterno’ mostly a miss

HBO released two big projects within a few days of each other, including a film involving one of the biggest actors of all time.

Even with Al Pacino, 77, on board to portray the late legendary Penn State football coach Joe Paterno, the film simply titled “Paterno” pales in comparison to the superb documentary about arguably the biggest performer — literally — in sports entertainment history.

“Andre The Giant,” which debuted April 10, is a fascinating 90-minute look at a man trapped in a giant body, as he emerged as one of the most popular professional wrestlers of all time.

Before Hulk Hogan, there was the man from France named Andre Rene Roussimoff, who grew into Andre The Giant.

The film chronicles Andre’s life, beginning with interviews with family members and a trip to his small hometown 40 miles outside Paris. He began growing excessively when he was a teenager, and when he died at age 46 in 1993, he was 7-foot-4 and more than 500 pounds. As Andre The Giant, he was known as the “Eighth Wonder of the World.” His gigantism was the result of an excess growth hormone, and resulted in acromegaly.

Director Jason Hehir showcased archival footage dating back to Andre’s early days as a wrestler overseas, and it helped the documentary shine, but it goes to another level leading up to Wrestlemania 3 in 1987.

When Andre became a wrestling mainstay in America, he was portrayed as the good guy. Nearing the end of his wrestling career, he turned heel to help promote the sport’s next star, Hogan.

That storyline led to the main event at Wrestlemania 3, where 93,000 at the Silverdome in Detroit watched Hogan and the Giant face off for the heavyweight championship. It’s one of the strongest 10 to 15 minutes you’ll ever watch in a documentary.

Until that point, the documentary did a solid job in chronicling Andre’s rise as a phenomenon but also as a gentle giant tormented by his condition. Many interviewed in the

doc described Andre as a “mythical figure,” and rightfully so. • Arnold Schwarzenegger once tried to pay for a dinner with Andre. The two went back and forth until Andre picked up Schwarzenegger and placed him in an armoire. “He set me up there like I was a little doll.”

• He once drank 106 beers in one night partying with wrestler Ric Flair.

• He played Big Foot in the 1970s in an episode of “The Six Million Dollar Man.”

• During filming of 1987’s “The Princess Bride,” co-star Robin Wright complained of being cold on set, and to keep her warm, Andre placed his hand on Wright’s head, and practically engulfed it.

With Andre, seeing is believing, and for young wrestling fans — and those just interested in extraordinary people — “Andre The Giant” is definitely worth your time.

As for “Paterno,” which debuted April 7, it’s hit and miss. Pacino is spot on — appearance-wise — as Paterno, but that’s it. Pacino fumbles trying to pinpoint Paterno’s mannerisms and voice. It’s basically Pacino being Pacino.

The film’s mission is trying to answer the biggest question of all; how much did Paterno know about his former assistant Jerry Sandusky’s connection with sexual assaults of young children?

It’s confusing at best, and with Paterno passed (he died in 2012, a few months after he was fired) the truth will never be known.

Director Barry Levinson’s film details about a week in Paterno’s life —

just before Sandusky’s arrest, and the days leading up to his firing — and those days forever changed the coach’s legacy. Levinson depicts Paterno as mostly oblivious to the magnitude of Sandusky’s arrest and the fallout from it on the football program and university.

There’s plenty of supporting characters, including Paterno’s wife Sue (played by Kathy Baker), plus Athletic Director Tim Curley (Steve Coulter), PSU president Graham Spanier (Tom Kemp) and Harrisburg Patriot News reporter Sarah Ganim (Riley Keough), who won a Pulitzer Prize for her work and was a consultant for the film.

The film’s final scene in which Ganim takes a phone call from an alleged victim of Sandusky is chilling, and a whopper of a revelation.

Still, it should come as no surprise that those close to Paterno are piling on about the film.

On April 9, more than 300 ex-Penn State players sent a letter in support of Paterno and bashed the film. Members of the Paterno’s family also said many scenes are inaccurate.

When Paterno died in 2012, I interviewed former Penn State player and Lake Catholic graduate Joe Jurevicius. My first question was his reaction to his former college coach’s death, and the situation surrounding the football program and school. His answer summed it perfectly in 2012. “It’s sadness.” It’s difficult not feeling the same way watching “Paterno” in 2018.