Back Rowe Reviews
Real Time Movie Reviews from the Back Row of a Theater

When the Game Stands Tall (PG)

tt2247476
Directed by: Thomas Carter
Starring: Jim Caviezel
August 2014

This review was originally tweeted in Real-time from the back row of a movie theater and appears @BackRoweReviews. Though efforts were made to tease rather than ruin this movie’s memorable lines and moments, some spoilers may exist in the following evaluation. The original tweets appear in black, while follow-up comments appear in red. For concerns over objectionable content, please first refer to one of the many parental movie guide websites. All ratings are based on a four star system. Happy reading!

When the Game Stands Tall

Nice archival footage of the real team.
Always a plus in these true story sports films.

“A perfect effort from snap to whistle.” I’m inspired.
However, Caviezel’s non-modulating droning isn’t a good match for an inspiring high school coach. Perhaps he’s been playing the soft-spoken John Reese on Person of Interest for too long, but he needed to get more fired up for this role.

Coach throws an opportunity in the trash.
Most people in his position would die for such an opportunity.

Coach survives the widow-maker.
And we’re not talking about a sandwich or burger with that moniker. Nor a movie with Harrison Ford as a submarine commander.

“Lame dad.” Ouch!

He was only trying to help his friend. What a senseless tragedy.

“They’re playing just like us.” Uh-oh!
Whenever you come to such a realization, it’s already too late.

Field trip. Some much needed perspective.
Coach Boone (Denzel Washington) took his team on a field trip to Gettysburg in Remember the Titans (2000). The location here is quite a bit different, but the result is similar in that players are forced to look beyond their own struggles and, in this case, see the problems and needs of others.

“Well it sure aint Gatorade.” Ha!
Correction: ain’t has an apostrophe. However, since ain’t ain’t a word and because ain’t ain’t in the dictionary, does misspelling it really matter?

Team sharing session...a nice moment. See, guys can emote.
I’m just glad they didn’t have a group hug.

The first nationally broadcasted high school game on TV is a special one.
An epic confrontation and just what the team needed to get back on track.

Take a knee and raise your hat for a heartwarming finale.
However, part of me sympathizes with the over-competitive dad (Clancy Brown), who wants his son to break the record. You only get one chance in life to achieve something like that. You can always raise a hat after the record’s been secured, right? I know, I know, we wouldn’t have the mushy ending that way.

Final analysis: an inspiring true story about overcoming adversity with courage and integrity.

Rating:
3 out of 4 stars. A meaningful story with solid performances. A lot of bang for the budget.

Or is it “boom,” as #JohnMadden, who appears in the closing credits, would say?

Based on the incredible real life story of one high school football team’s (the De La Salle Spartans) legendary run of 151 consecutive victories (the longest winning streak of any team in sports history), this film follows in the footsteps of the great gridiron tales of yesteryear. By now, these factual football movies have developed a well-established (well-worn?) formula: archival footage of the original team, reenactments of key games, tragedy befalling one or more of the characters, a caring/inspiring coach, a noteworthy achievement garnering national headlines, etc. Although this film doesn’t have the same financing, production values or cinematic polish as major studio releases like Remember the Titans (2000), Friday Night Lights (2004) or We Are Marshall (2006), the story is worthy of its big screen showcase and the talent on tap (Caviezel, Michael Chiklis and Laura Dern) helps to elevate the material while shrewdly disguising its budgetary limitations. Caviezel is serviceable as Coach Ladouceur, but his monotone delivery belies the passion he seeks to instill in his players…Caviezel only raises his voice during one locker room speech. I have no way of knowing if the actor’s quiet intensity mimics the real coach’s vocal inflections or not (I’ve never met the man), but on the face of it Caviezel doesn’t seem like a natural fit for the part of a spirited football coach. Chiklis provides some comic relief and sage advice as Ladouceur’s assistant coach and, in light of Caviezel’s understated, emotionally vacant performance, is the heart of the film. Dern, as Ladouceur’s supportive wife, makes the most of a limited role, but her talents are wasted on a part that’s completely servile to the exigencies of her husband’s career. The one story line possessing the potential for character complexity is the father-living-through-his-son scenes between uber-controling dad (Clancy Brown) and his star running back son (Alexander Ludwig). Unfortunately, due to standard dialog and minimal screen time, this subplot ends up being the narrative equivalent of an incomplete pass. There are certainly finer examples of its kind in the annals of true story football accounts, but this movie has found its own niche and the fact that it’s also inspirational and family friendly is so much the better.