MovieChat Forums > Hoosiers (1987) Discussion > Shooter and booze

Shooter and booze

posted 16 years ago by bigcat20
7 replies | jump to latest

Anyone else laugh their tail off when seeing Shooter drunk at all the games, the best parts were when Coach Dale plays with only four guys and the camera pans to the drunk Shooter who has this look of complete horror on his face, anyone remember that scene its really funny. Also when Shooter just comes out on the floor drunk again during the game and starts blabbering and going on and on. You just have to laugh, when would there ever be a guy like that in any era of highschool basketball is what makes it so funny.

[–] DTigersFan 16 years ago

It was funny in a way. I thought when coach Dale only played with 4 players, Shooter just laughed because he knew the reason behind it. Dale is going to coach the way we wants. Not how the towns people wants.

[–] netitans17 16 years ago

The movie is on TV right now and I am reminded that there is a similar scene in The Great Santini where Robert Duvall's character (obviously drunk but not as incoherant) goes out on the court during his son's (Micheal O'Keefe) high school basketball game.

[–] nutsberryfarm 15 years ago

shooter. legend!

I was thinking of the immortal words of Socrates, who said, "... I drank what?"

[–] Traianus 15 years ago

Shooter's booze is the only reason I can think of that he said that he missed a buzzerbeater shot in the "sectionals of '33." Sectionals of '33? That would make him about 35 or 36 years old at the time of the events in Hoosiers. I know alcoholism can have really bad effects on a person, but there's no way he's that young in the film. Maybe his drunkenness caused him to screw up and he meant to say "sectionals of '23."

[–] liscarkat (18886) 4 years ago

People in their thirties looked more mature in 1951 than they do today. Also, the ravages of alcoholism would have made him seem older.

[–] Roguemail (1615) 4 years ago

Talking of the drunk scene, on the directors commentary on the DVD, he remember how Hopper prepared for that scene. He stood outside, and when the director called actions, he turned around on the spot 10 times, then came in the door staggering. Simple, but effective.

[–] strntz (12658) a year ago

Shooter's booze is the only reason I can think of that he said that he missed a buzzerbeater shot in the "sectionals of '33.

Or he just missed. There's nothing in the script that would suggest that Shooter was an alcoholic in school. Players miss high pressure shots all the time.

Just as (or more) likely is that he peaked in high school (something that Ms. Fleener was worried would happen to Jimmy) and just took to the bottle as the years went by.