10. Cool Runnings: Oh Jamaica Had A Bobsleigh Team...That's About It
Buena Vista PicturesIt's one of those uplifting, inspirational stories that always makes for a good feel good film. Even more so when that story is so unlikely, as was the case for the bobsleigh team from Jamaica - a country not known for its snowbound slopes - who entered the 1988 Winter Olympics in Canada. Even more so when that film becomes a light comedy starring John Candy as the group's manager, who has them training in bath tubs and on skateboards. And even more so when, against all the odds, this rag-tag group of failed Summer Olympians almost break the world record for bobsledding speeds, only to crash; then they get slow clapped to the finish line as they lift their sled above their heads, proud and vowing to return in four years.
Cue the Jimmy Cliff.
What really happened: There really was a Jamaican bobsleigh team at the 1988 Winter Olympics, which is pretty cool. They also crashed out pretty early on, leaving the favoured Swiss team to win. Needless to say John Candy didn't actually coach them, but there's plenty more besides that which the filmmakers just pulled out of thin air. The actual story is a little less heartwarming, since the team weren't failed sprinters who decided to try their luck in the winter games. In actuality they were recruited from the army, and not by a loveable Candy-esque scamp but some enterprising American businessmen who saw them mucking about on pushcarts in Jamaica and thought they could make some money. They didn't face nearly as much animosity from other countries as shown in the film, either. In fact they didn't face any, least alone from the East Germans who hassle the cast of Cool Runnings the most (one of the real bobsledders recalled "one of the East Germans smiled at me and gave me a badge"). Oh yeah and the crash did happen, but during a practice, and some behind-the-scenes guys got their sled off the track. Don't cue the Jimmy Cliff.