When the Game Stands Tall (2014)

The Worst Film Ever

This is a must-see and one of the best documentaries - and films - of this year.

Story: It's very simple but honestly that is fine.

Just intense enough to provide a much-needed diversion, just lightweight enough to make you forget about it soon after it’s over. It’s not exactly “good,” per se, but it does what it sets out to do in terms of putting us on edge, which makes it … successful?

This was by far the best football movie I ever saw! As a former coach, I loved the relationship with the players (beyond that of a coach). i also saw myself in the coach's growing as an individual and changing his perspective on what is important. You see the tragedy of the death of a player. The hardships of growing up, temptations outside of football and the struggles of family, growing up poor, and the demands of an unrealistic father. I like after the movie when the real coach was shown giving the eulogy at church. The coach also was offered a high paying college job but tuned it down because he realized the impact he was having on the boys he worked with. He also changed his own relationship with one player who happened to be his son.

Over the past several years, the sports genre has been slowly grown more and more dull as the year goes by, with many films of the genre driven by almost nothing more than common sports tropes. Fortunately, the triumphant nature of these films hasn't stop audiences everywhere from buying a ticket to see an inspiring story of a high school overcoming odds to claim their victory, and for fair reasons. When a film has a heart, it's only destiny is to win the hearts of undemanding family audience. In this case, clichéd doesn't automatically mean not entertaining. Based on true events, When The Game Stands Tall follows the story of Bob Ladouceur (played by Jim Caviezal), a long-time and soft-spoken coach of the the De La Salle High School football team in Concord, California who made legacy in American sports with a 151 game-winning streak, the biggest record ever held in the history of American sports. When tragedy strikes the team and they face a defeating loss for the first time, their faith and their dreams are put to the test where they must learn how to overcome loss and get back on their feet. Featuring a likable cast of Michael Chiklis, Alexander Ludwig, Clancy Brown, Laura Dern, Matthew Daddario, Joe Massingill, Ser'Darius Blain, Stephen James, and Richard Kohnke; this film brings together a heart-warming and inspirational tale of a football's team determination and hopefulness, while challenging a typical sports movie clichés.This movie certainly doesn't offer anything new to the table of sports-related dramas. As far as football-themed films go, this one seems to burn through nearly every cliché that many sports movies are known for, including a major plot point where a character is tragically is killed and a subplot of a family dispute relating to duty of working with a football team, how many times we seen this before? Most of the characters are barely distinguishable with the exception of Alexander Ludwig's character Chris Ryan, an eager player who suffers from emotional abuse from his father who only cares about his son's touchdown records. With all this said, the lack of innovation put into this story will likely indulge viewers into more déjà vu than inspiration. On the other hand, audience who've grown fond of sports movies won't help but pleased by the film's messages of treating your team as a family and the heart- touching story of how the team learns to overcome the obstacles that get in the way of their goals. There is also a little bit of a Christian undertone to it that will likely satisfy viewers, and the film does a great job at delivering a message about hope and teamwork without being overly preachy or forcefully shoving the message down your throat. Lastly, the performances are great to say the least. Jim Caviezel really makes a strong impression as the coach who deeply cares of his team, while trying to balance his relationship with his wife. The rest of actors do a decent job as well, though nothing particularly outstanding to speak of.When The Game Stands Tall is certainly nothing original, but it is quite entertaining and pleasing to watch. It is a film that can surely inspire viewers and fill them with great messages. Looking for a good family movie? This one is worth a try.

"People always ask me what it's like to never lose. Today I am lost."A 151 game winning streak is not something you see everyday, so when they decided to make a film about the De La Salle High School football team who managed to remain undefeated for 12 years I was sold. A lot of credit has to be given to Coach Bob Ladouceur for his accomplishments because he didn't stay undefeated with the same group of players. The streak went on for over a decade so he had to continue winning with different players and that goes on to prove what a talented guy he is. This is a fantastic story for every sport fan out there, but unfortunately the movie is full of clichés and doesn't offer anything new to the sports genre. It tries too hard to be inspirational and it includes several fictional characters that were completely unnecessary. This is such an inspiring tale in real life, that there was actually no need to make it more inspirational than what it already was. The relationship between one of the running backs and his father (Alexander Ludwig and Clancy Brown) was placed here exclusively to give it a more melodramatic arch, but it is laughable. Brown plays the over demanding father who wants his kid to break the national record for most touchdowns. The scenes are placed here exclusively in contrast to the coach's philosophy which has to do more with being a team of brothers who are there for each other. There is no I in team. We've seen these clichés in sport films many times in the past, but here the dialogue is even more cheesy and forced. I did find some of the melodramatic moments quite touching, like an eulogy the coach gives midway through the film, but most of the sports scenes felt disconnected with the dramatic ones. The film left me with a sense of wanting to learn more about this real life story, but When the Game Stands Tall doesn't do a good job of telling it. There are some great sport scenes that kept me engaged for a while, but the film fails in the dramatic department forcing inspirational moments and feeling too preachy. It is a manipulative and by the books uplifting feel good tale.The film at times felt disconnected. You are introduced to this fabulous coach (Jim Caviezel) who is always inspiring his players, but at the same time his situation at home doesn't seem to be going too well. His wife is played by Laura Dern and I felt like these family moments didn't work at all in this film because they only touched the surface of their problems. The relationship with his son (Matthew Daddario) wasn't explored either and everything was sort of left in the limbo when the second half of the film focuses exclusively on the football games and practices. The actors are fine, but the script is weak and ultimately their characters suffer from not having any depth. There is also a subplot involving some of the seniors who are heading to college that's also kind of ignored after the passing of one of the players. It is a key moment in the film, but it simply felt disconnected with everything else.

This was inspired by a true story.California High School football coach Bob Ladouceur (Jim Caviezel) takes the De La Salle high school to 151 straight victories. This movie starts when the streak is broken and how everyone handles it. This is one of those movies that gets better and better as it goes along. Bob Ladouceur insists that it not about scoring touchdowns and winning. But he has a method of teaching that actually insures that scoring touchdowns and winning will result. He says his main goal is to prepare his young players to be able to handle life after school so whatever happens, they can be counted on. Simply said, it works. Because of his belief in how he teaches and what he believes, he turns down offers to coach college football. This is well acted all around and the hard-hitting (ouch, ouch, ouch) scenes on the football field appear to be quite real (Hey, Bob, it's movie magic). Well, I hope so, but I checked with my doctor anyway. So far he says I am good to watch more of these hits. Ouch!The father of the Quarterback wants his son to achieve the record for the most touchdowns in High School competition nationwide. And, it is here the ending is nothing short of Pure Gold. You will be touched. Also, you will understand why the title is perfect. (7/10)Violence: Yes. Sex: No. Nudity: No. Language: No.