Eddie (film)

Eddie is a 1996 comedy film starring Whoopi Goldberg and Frank Langella. The film barely broke even at the box office, grossing 31,387,164 in the US. The film was directed by Steve Rash.

During halftime of a game, Eddie wins a contest to be honorary coach of the Knicks for the second half. She quickly gets on the nerves of head coach John Bailey Dennis Farina, whom she had heckled earlier. Eddies popularity piques the interest of the new Knicks owner, Wild Bill Burgess Frank Langella. After he forces Bailey to quit, Burgess names Eddie the new head coach.At first, she is treated with skepticism and derision. However, she understands that the Knicks have the talent to win, but the players individual problems have caused the team to underperform. Center Ivan Radmonovich, from Georgia sometimes referred to as a Russian, focuses only on scoring, and his lack of defensive technique leads him to frequently commit unnecessary blocking fouls. Superstar forward Stacey Pattons mefirst approach causes him to force low percentage shots because he is unwilling to pass, and his poor attitude hurts the teams morale. At a pivotal moment in practice, Eddie earns the teams respect by taking a hard foul from Patton in order to demonstrate proper defense to Ivan. Eddie also begins to bench Patton in favor of veteran Nate Wilson, who was generally considered washed up because of chronic knee injuries. Wilson experiences a late career resurgence, the Knicks begin to win, and New York embraces the team and Eddies colorful personality. ........

Source: Wikipedia