This is a lot like Friday Night Lights, which came a few years later. That is to say, it focuses on high school football in a small Texas town. This is less of a downer, though. The coach, played by Jon Voight, is as mean as anyone in the later movie, willingly sacrificing the health of his players, tolerating no challenges to his authority. The hero (James Van Der Beek) is the second-string quarterback, who seems to have talent but irritates the coach because he does things like read books and suggest different plays. His girlfriend (Amy Smart) doesn’t care for football players.
There is some attention paid to the role the game plays in an otherwise dull small town, and to the outsize privileges and attention afforded to its young stars. (The movie’s best-known scene involves Ali Larter’s cheerleader character’s innovative use of whipped cream as a tool for seducing them.) But compared to Friday Night Lights the story is more about the hero’s clashes with the coach and his own morality, less about seeing the town or the coach (an easy villain) as a microcosm of something larger. Still, it’s easy to watch and enjoyable, with Ron Lester’s Billy Bob probably the most compelling supporting character, a 300-pound behemoth who proves the most fragile of the players.
IMDB link
viewed 1/99 at Moorestown; re-viewed 01/30/10 on television; reviewed 1/31/10
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