Is ’80 for Brady’ a True Story? Here’s What We Know

There’s so much buzz around the upcoming 80 for Brady movie, and rightfully so. Four true acting legends all have roles — Jane Fonda, Lily Tomlin, Sally Field, and Rita Moreno.

80 for Brady follows the ladies as they go on an adventure to the Super Bowl in hopes of meeting none other than Tom Brady himself.

While we are super excited for 80 for Brady, is the movie based on a true story? Here’s what we know about a group of women known as the “Over 80 for Brady Club.”

Keep reading to learn all about this heartwarming tale!

CBS Sunday Morning actually did a special on the ladies themselves! The origins of the “Over 80 for Brady Club” started with 94-year-old Betty Pensavalle and her best friend, Elaine St. Martin. They have been friends for 70 years. Betty and Elaine would watch the football games with their families because they thought that Tom Brady was “gorgeous.”

After their husbands died, game days became a ritual for the pair and their friends. Betty and Elaine and three other women, Anita, Pat, and Claire gathered every Sunday to watch Tom Brady. Betty’s grandson even made them shirts.

That same grandson, Max, just happened to work in Hollywood and pitched a movie about the club. The buzz around the project made it all the way to Tom Brady, who jumped on board as a producer of the film, and sent a video to Betty himself to telling her that the film was happening.

But this is where the movie veers from the truth. In real life, the “Over 80 for Brady Club” never made it to the Super Bowl. In the movie, the plot focuses our four heroines making it to the big game.

However, much like Betty, Elaine, and crew, Jane, Lily, Sally, and Rita have all known each other for decades. Jane and Lily became friends during 9 to 5, Jane and Sally became friends after Jane basically begged her to get lunch with her, and Jane and Rita met during the TV version of 9 to 5.

One thing that parallels the “Over 80 for Brady Club” and the actors that play them are the friendships themselves. During the sit down with CBS Sunday Morning, Jane said, “Women’s friendships are very different from men’s friendships and they’re very important to our health because you guys, you kind of sit side by side and watch sports or cars or women. Women sit facing each other eye to eye… We’re not afraid of being vulnerable.”

Betty agrees with Jane on friendships. She told CBS, “Good friends stick together, and stay together, and do for each other.” Elaine added that “it’s all about friendship.”

OK, now we’re all crying.

Make sure to catch 80 for Brady when it comes out in theatres on Feb. 3.