Today, I went to see "When the Game Stands Tall." I'm not a big sports person; not when it comes to watching anyway. I've been to a handful of high school football games, but I never really watch them on TV and I don't keep up with football in any way. However, after watching a few of the TV previews for this movie, I thought it might be all right. I enjoyed 'The Blind Side' and thought this might be similar, so I tried it.
I very much enjoyed this movie. If you couldn't tell from the previews, its not really about the game at all but about the people, and about the coach who is teaching these young men not just to be good athletes, but to be good men, which in the long run is much more important. I love the emphasis on being a team player, on behaving with integrity and giving whatever you do your best try because that's what you and the people around you deserve. I think the lessons Coach Ladouceur strove to teach to his players are lessons that are applicable to all of us no matter where we are in life or what we're doing.
I think the adaptation from the true story was well done and the pacing of the movie was handled really well. I was engaged by the story and drawn to the characters. I found myself cringing during some of the game sequences, even though I knew that this was a movie and no one was really in danger of having a heat stroke, getting a concussion or breaking bone.
There was even a small amount of Bible stuff in the movie, which I wasn't expecting and I think that aspect was also handled really well. It was presented without apology, but wasn't overly preachy.
There were some really touching moments; the whole movie just seemed very heart felt, like the people who worked on it really had a passion for it.
So, as I have said, I think 'When the Game Stands Tall' was very well done, is an entertaining movie- even for non-football fans- and has a great message that applies to everyone. I would say it is definitely worth seeing.
