An incomplete pass

Rating: 5/10 (17 October 2006)

There are some nice touches here, things like the idiots calling in on the radio shows and "for sale" signs on the family's lawn after a loss. But overall I was disappointed. I haven't read the book so I don't know how to compare it with the film, but on its on the movie left me flat. Billy Bob underplays his part nicely, but I NEVER got a sense that this was a veteran high school football coach at one of the more high pressure, high profile programs in Texas. I love that actor who played the QB, but again never saw him as a player of the caliber he was supposed to be. Mostly, he just screwed up. The way Permian suddenly started playing well in the playoffs didn't make any sense. The assistant coaches were non-entities (as they almost always are in football movies.) Would a high school coach not check with a star player's doctor himself if there was an injury question? The flashy black tailback (Booby) and the quiet but powerful black lineman (Preacher) are almost stock characters, though both are well acted. Actually the most interesting character was the Hispanic defensive back, but the movie didn't do anything with him. The climactic game was highly dubious. It's hard to imagine a team being that physically dominant and then suddenly getting pounded for the last two quarters, Again, I didn't read the book, but the movie overplayed Carter's viciousness. Don't refs in Texas throw flags for that stuff? There were more things in this film I liked and more I disliked, but overall it was a disappointment. The great high school football movie remains to be made. I guess I'll have to write it myself.