Recently Hollywood has put an emphasis on movies based off true, shocking stories, When the Game Stands Tall is no exception. The entire movie is set in reality, even the shocking 151 game winning streak. When the Game Stands Tall accounts the story of the De La Salle Spartans, a Northern California High School football team, during the 2004 season that broke their 12 season winning streak. The film follows the tragic end to the streak and how the characters overcome it.
The De La Salle Spartans are led by Coach Bob Ladouceur, played by Jim Caviezel (The Passion of the Christ, Person of Interest) who not only coaches football but preaches the importance of god’s involvement in life. Ladouceur isn’t your typical “ra-ra” coach like Al Pacino in Any Given Sunday, Billy Bob Thorton in Friday Night Lights or even Denzel Washington in Remember the Titans. He handles the pressure with a much calmer approach. Some may be turned off by his unusual portrayal of a coach, but he ultimately gave a great performance. His assistant coach Terry Edison, played by Michael Chiklis (The Fantastic Four, The Shield), makes up for some of Ladoucer’s apathy, but ends up being mostly forgettable. His wife, Bev, played by Laura Dern (Jurassic Park, The Fault in our Stars), though a great actress gives a very fake, phony performance mostly due to the bad dialogue in the script. Chris Ryan, the team’s running back is played by Alexander Ludwig. He is sure to be the favorite among the audience, since he is very likable and has a great sense of confidence. The cast is rounded out with Clancy Brown playing Ryan’s dad Mickey, Mathew Daddario as Ladouceur’s son and Jessie Usher as Tayshon Lanear, the teams wide receiver.
Thomas Carter was at the directing helm for the film and for the most part was able to create a believable, intense football atmosphere. There were a couple scenes that seemed like the actors were going at half speed – likely because they’re actors and not football players. He worked well with what the script gave him.
The main attraction to the film is the football action and luckily, there is much to go around. The film is shot with a sense of realism, over dramatizing the plays as they happen on the hot turf fields. The cinematography gives a sense of really sitting on the sidelines on a 112 degree day witnessing the failure and redemption of this family of football players. The football scenes are sure to excite many and are by far the best part of the entire film.
The main problems with the movie lie in the script – mainly due to the over-dramatized conversational scenes and awful dialogue. Mix in every football movie cliché and it becomes a very structurally flawed film. There is a scene in the locker room that is exaggerated to look like an infirmary room in WWII. Players are acting like they just went through the gates of hell when really they just played half a football game against a really good team. This feels too overplayed and gives the movie a phony feeling. Also the dialogue casts the actors in a negative light, as they aren’t given a lot to work with. Laura Dern, a very talented actress was given no material to work with except for cliché “supportive wife” lines. Ultimately the film feels like its been done many times before, just better.
The Game Stands Tall is sure to please audiences. Fans of family and sports dramas should by all means pay $7.00 to go see it. However, those looking for something more, something they haven’t seen in cinema yet, will be severely disappointed by its generic nature.
