Friday Night Lights (2004)

Who’s in it

Billy Bob Thorton, Garrett Hedlund (Four Brothers), Lucas Black, Jay Hernandez

What was good

The individual stories of the football players. Each of them had different backgrounds that they brought to the table, different circumstances that motivated them, from an abuse father, to a way out of the town, to their whole future riding on this game. Plus, the good guys don’t win in the end.

What sucked

It was a sad movie in a lot of ways, and wasn’t what I would call a fun movie-esque football game, where everything is overdramatized and in slow mo, making things fun like Varsity Blues. It was a touch more on the thinking side, and showed again the pressure’s of a small town football mentality that I have a hard time sometimes believing, even though I know they must exist.

Who should go see this

People who love football. This movie is somewhere between a touching Disney movie and Any Given Sunday. It has the violence to the football players and their bodies, but really shows how these kids are all affected by the game. There are handful of really powerful stories, just don’t rent this and expect it to focus on the football, because I don’t think it does.

Here are some similar arcade posts

• Invincible (2006)
• Relaxing Friday Night
• Atari Football Sideart Reproductions
• Love Actually (2004)
• The Longest Yard (2005)

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