I’m really bad at Top 10s, Top 5s, etc. I drive people crazy who ask me for my favorite this or even my Top 3 that. My moods are fickle, and my answer to anything can change depending on what time of the day it is or if I have had too little or too much coffee. I’m wondering if I’ll even leave this alone after posting …

Related, slight side-bar: the results I get for those “What [Game of Thrones house/pizza/dog breed/whatever] Are You?” quizzes also varies by when I take them. I don’t seem to consistently hit anywhere with most things that try to box me. So, I’ve been sorted a Snake as many times as I have a Smart or a Brave — however I don’t think I’ve ever been sorted as a Puff. Thinking on it though, aren’t all theater people Puffs way down if not directly on their sleeves? IYKYK. Past that, for more of my life than not being the giant nerd (gaming, comics, sci-fi, horror, etc) I am has been more of an outcast activity than the “cool” thing to do. Add to that the Boy Scout thing, I also like to be near the kitchen, I’m into plants … jeez, maybe I am more Puff than I’ll ever know.

I also love a good underdog story, cheesy or sincere, and that’s one of the things that has me so excited about our next show, PUFFS: Or, Seven Increasingly Eventful Years at a Certain School of Magic & Magic. So, here are some of my favorite underdog films. What are yours? Drop a comment!

These are in no particular order other than how they came into my brain. I’m also not going to play the game where I am evaluating the movie in any way on a current set of criteria but only on how they mattered to me in a moment.

Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story (2004) – an infinitely quotable movie and, well, underdog is right there in the title! This is peak underdog story. If you can dodge a wrench, you can dodge a ball!

The Bad News Bears (1976) – I can’t even count how many times I watched this movie as a small child, it was heavy rotation in the early days of cable. Kids swearing and drinking beer, poop jokes, how could I not be all in? I had at least one uncle who called me Engelberg. Secret: I have never been able to make myself watch the Billy Bob Thornton remake. 

The Longest Yard (1974) – another movie I watched a million times as a kid. I was coming up right in that perfect window where Burt Reynolds was just really, really cool. I wish I would have missed the Adam Sandler remake like I avoided the remake above, but I think I was bored on a plane one time …

I think the sports comedy subcategory of underdog movies has a million and one good ones to consider (c’mon now, from Mighty Ducks to Cool Runnings there are a lot of worse ways to spend an hour and a half), it’s just a strength of the formula).

Kung Fu Panda (2008) – another great subcat of the underdog film is of course the comedy action quest, and you find some of the same tropes: a whacky misfit team, a cranky old trainer, etc. I saw this in the theater just because of Jack Black, but I also grew up on a steady diet of wuxia films on Saturday afternoons, which turned into an affinity for more “mature” HK cinema as I got into my 20s. Plus, bro, pandas! Pandas (like badgers) are cool!

Animal House (1978) – anyone who knows me understands my deep love of John Belushi. These Delta guys are a far cry from the Puffs, and some folks may not consider them underdogs at all by today’s standards. Considered in context of when it came out this one really stands out to me to be an iconic underdog story. This one is incredibly subversive, too, which I sometimes think it doesn’t get enough credit for. Subverting whatever the dominant cultural bullshit of any moment or institution (sports, college, etc) is one of the most powerful parts of the underdog tale. Yes, there is a lot of “cringe” in here by today’s standards but I love this movie still.

The Revenge of the Nerds (1984) – ok, speaking of cringe, has anyone watched this in the like last 5 or so years? Egad. That said, I can’t count how many times I watched this movie as a young teen and HOW MUCH I identified with it. I was sure I would go off to college in a few years and find a Lambda Lambda Lambda charter to join. Dodging mean-assed preps and jocks in the ’80s was a whole damn thing, y’all, and part of why all these movies worked so well.

Ghostbusters (1984) – some of these may be contentious picks as underdog stories, but I’ll die on this hill. Plus, as the first movie I saw in a theater with a girl — and one I thought was way above my pay grade — these guys helped me look and feel cool being such a big geek. 

The Goonies (1985) – I mean, duh, right? Is there a more iconic underdog story if you’re circa my birth year? It’s got it all: the motley crew, the quest, learning teamwork and perseverance, multiple character redemptions, treasure, the truffle shuffle (maybe the one sore spot I have with the film, I had more than my share of being called Chunk and demands for that dance).

Stranger Things (2016-2025) – maybe this one is cheating, too, because it taps into a zeitgeist several movies above were part of — but that’s also what makes this show so good. And that it manages to flip some of these tropes so hard on their ear, take for example the evolution of Steve Harrington or how 11 is somehow both ET (the thing to pity/save) and Carrie/Firestarter (the thing to fear/control), makes it all the more genius. This should just all end up weaponized intertextual nostalgia but it somehow still manages to be fresh.

And an honorable mention goes to all the underdogs in the John Hughes movies I felt were always underrated: Brian, Cameron, Ducky, Gary and Wyatt — I SEE YOU. 🙂 I almost added Weird Science (1985) to this list for how formative it was for me — wait, I guess I just did? Does that make this a Top 10 now? Argh! The pressure! 

If you like a good underdog story like I do, I urge you to grab a ticket to PUFFS. You don’t have to even really be a fan of “that wizard series” to find the joy in here, and I think that’s a solid credit to Matt Cox and the show he’s made. 

Because maybe no matter how much of a goth or a jock or a badass or a supergenius we think we are — we’re all pretty puffy in our hearts. Right? Tickets are going fast and increase by date and seating location based on demand.