I give the team behind the new sports movie, “When the Game Stands Tall” a lot of credit for pulling-off something nearly impossible: they’ve made a film about the most successful high school football team of all-time that’s about as exciting as a 0-0 tie in an NFL exhibition game.
“When the Game Stands Tall” is based on the true story of Concord, California’s De La Salle High School football program, and head coach Bob Ladouceur, who lead the team to the longest winning streak in sports history – 151 games in a row – from 1992-2003. However, like all unprecedented accomplishments, De La Salle finally lost and the streak ended in the ’04 season opener. The film looks at the coach and his players before, during and mostly after they suffer their historic loss.
In the months leading up to seeing the film I had watched the unapologetic Regal Cinemas First Look preview for “Game” over a dozen times, and it gave away nearly every major plot point. The summary (SPOILER ALERT if you haven’t been to a Regal theater in awhile) said it all: “Bob has a heart attack, a very popular player is tragically killed, and they lose the streak – all within a couple of months.” Well, what’s left?
So, while the clock was ticking along as I was watched “Game”, I kept waiting for something genuinely surprising or interesting to take place. And nothing does. Instead we get a script packed with cliches, countless forced speeches and stereotype characters, from the hot-shot player, to the ignored wife, to the worst stage parent in the history of high school football. Coach Ladouceur is played by “Person of Interest” star Jim Caviezel with all the energy and enthusiasm of a zombie. An almost unrecognizable Michael Chiklis is the way too sensitive assistant coach, and Laura Dern’s best scene, as Bob’s wife, is a bizarre monologue which comes out of nowhere and doesn’t fit at all.
A subplot involving QB Chris Ryan (“The Hunger Games”‘ Alexander Ludwig) and his father Mickey, who’s obsessed with his son breaking a touchdown record, gets way over-the-top in the “all-football” second half. The actor who plays Mickey is Clancy Brown, the voice of Mr. Krabs on “SpongeBob SquarePants”. Both characters are greedy, but I’ll take Mr. Krabs, who’s genuinely loyal to his “son-like” fry cook over this wacko father any day (who by the way, wasn’t a real person, but made-up for the movie).
Many of the predictable themes of “When the Game Stands Tall” involve friendship, brotherhood and bonding over, as the Coach puts it, “just a high school football game”. Yet there’s only one brief classroom scene and no discussions about the importance of academics. Though they try to deny it, this film is all about the game. Technically, director Thomas Carter (“Coach Carter”) succeeds with the well-shot football scenes. And a stretch in a rehabilitation facility (also fiction) is a nice change of pace. But the announcer voice-overs are amateurish and completely unrealistic and there are so many obvious and sloppy mistakes that the editors must have been rookies.
“When the Game Stands Tall” is rated PG for brief violence, smoking, and mild thematic elements. Diehard football fans expecting an inspiring film with emotionally charged moments will be disappointed with this unsatisfying and corny take on a coach and team that deserved much better.
On The Official LCJ Report Card, “When the Game Stands Tall” gets a C-.