The transparent moral lesson of When the Game Stands Tall is lazily propped up on a bible verse about ten minutes in. As much as I’d admire the self-awareness of Ecclesiastes 1:9, they instead opt for Luke 6:38. “Give, and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over, shall men give into your bosom. For with the same measure that ye mete withal it shall be measured to you again.” You reap what you sow, as interpreted by one of our gridiron heroes depicted in the film. You make a lazy, cliché ridden sports melodrama, you bear bad fruit, no matter how strong the premise.
When the Game Stands Tall does have a good premise. In a somewhat unique turn for the archetypal sports movie, this is a story about losing. Adapted from a book of the same name by Neil Hayes, When the Game Stands Tall tells the true story of De La Salle High Football’s unthinkable 151 game win streak. The coach at the helm of this juggernaut is the soft spoken and earnest Bob Ladouceur. This all happened in real life, but anything resembling actual life doesn’t make it into the film.
To put 151 straight wins into perspective, the De La Salle Spartans won 13 consecutive state titles. According to the film, all of the success goes back to Ladouceur’s message of the ‘perfect effort life,’ above all else, even winning. This is not unlike what every coach tries to tap into, but the real marvel is in Ladouceur’s message resonating with class after class of young men.
This is where the film gets problematic. Coach Bob portrayed by Jim Caviezel seems like a good enough guy, but his young men are perfect. This is some magical high school vacuum sealed in the 1950’s Middle American dream. There’s thankfully more diversity, but outside of that, these young men are, gosh, just good boys. One boy espouses the importance of the chastity promise he and his girlfriend made. None of them cuss. They all attend bible class (taught by Coach in what appears to be a converted science class, oh delicious irony). There’s no cussing, or drinking, or drugging. As a narrative certainty these kids have some broad lessons to learn, but they are unburdened and square enough to almost be actual footballs.
Why embrace this lie? I don’t want to live in a world where high school football players aren’t entitled, dangerous, wasters. My prejudices aside, it minimizes what coach Ladouceur was able to accomplish in actuality. Young men will be young men, but creating a worthwhile means to avoid these pitfalls is impressive. It’s the essence of that idealized mentor.
Moving outward from these cherubic youths, the story elements play out with laughable predictability. Laura Dern and Michael Chiklis wander around somewhere in there as Coach Bob’s wife and assistant, and nothing more, respectively. Everything from the score to the on field drama to the crisis of confidence all dove tail into an anticipated championship game. Just in time to beat the game clock, perspective takes hold in the huddle, on the sidelines, and in the crowd alike. Every important lesson is said aloud, and our feet never have to touch the ground.
There’s no tragic mistake in making a positive film, but When the Game Stands Tall cheats itself. For fear of knocking the angelic sheen off Coach Bob and his players, they don’t truly delve into the immensity of this team’s accomplishments. A daunting string of real life tragedies befell the team in the space of a few weeks, and then they blew the 151 game win streak. Through this medium Coach Ladouceur imparts an actual life lesson on these young men, a pillar on which to build a good life. When you understand the smallness of what happens on a football field, you can begin to understand the lessons the game has to teach.
In the end, When the Game Stands Tall trades a chance to elevate above the banalities of the genre for a cannonball into mediocrity. Perhaps they thought the core identity would be strong enough support these stick figures, but it’s like a lone light inside a vacuum of…well, vacuity. It could have been the film coaches use to shape their winning ethos on and off the field. Instead, When the Game Stands Tall will be the film coaches show their disinterested 7th period class.
--Monte Monreal
When the Game Stands Tall does have a good premise. In a somewhat unique turn for the archetypal sports movie, this is a story about losing. Adapted from a book of the same name by Neil Hayes, When the Game Stands Tall tells the true story of De La Salle High Football’s unthinkable 151 game win streak. The coach at the helm of this juggernaut is the soft spoken and earnest Bob Ladouceur. This all happened in real life, but anything resembling actual life doesn’t make it into the film.
To put 151 straight wins into perspective, the De La Salle Spartans won 13 consecutive state titles. According to the film, all of the success goes back to Ladouceur’s message of the ‘perfect effort life,’ above all else, even winning. This is not unlike what every coach tries to tap into, but the real marvel is in Ladouceur’s message resonating with class after class of young men.
This is where the film gets problematic. Coach Bob portrayed by Jim Caviezel seems like a good enough guy, but his young men are perfect. This is some magical high school vacuum sealed in the 1950’s Middle American dream. There’s thankfully more diversity, but outside of that, these young men are, gosh, just good boys. One boy espouses the importance of the chastity promise he and his girlfriend made. None of them cuss. They all attend bible class (taught by Coach in what appears to be a converted science class, oh delicious irony). There’s no cussing, or drinking, or drugging. As a narrative certainty these kids have some broad lessons to learn, but they are unburdened and square enough to almost be actual footballs.
Why embrace this lie? I don’t want to live in a world where high school football players aren’t entitled, dangerous, wasters. My prejudices aside, it minimizes what coach Ladouceur was able to accomplish in actuality. Young men will be young men, but creating a worthwhile means to avoid these pitfalls is impressive. It’s the essence of that idealized mentor.
Moving outward from these cherubic youths, the story elements play out with laughable predictability. Laura Dern and Michael Chiklis wander around somewhere in there as Coach Bob’s wife and assistant, and nothing more, respectively. Everything from the score to the on field drama to the crisis of confidence all dove tail into an anticipated championship game. Just in time to beat the game clock, perspective takes hold in the huddle, on the sidelines, and in the crowd alike. Every important lesson is said aloud, and our feet never have to touch the ground.
There’s no tragic mistake in making a positive film, but When the Game Stands Tall cheats itself. For fear of knocking the angelic sheen off Coach Bob and his players, they don’t truly delve into the immensity of this team’s accomplishments. A daunting string of real life tragedies befell the team in the space of a few weeks, and then they blew the 151 game win streak. Through this medium Coach Ladouceur imparts an actual life lesson on these young men, a pillar on which to build a good life. When you understand the smallness of what happens on a football field, you can begin to understand the lessons the game has to teach.
In the end, When the Game Stands Tall trades a chance to elevate above the banalities of the genre for a cannonball into mediocrity. Perhaps they thought the core identity would be strong enough support these stick figures, but it’s like a lone light inside a vacuum of…well, vacuity. It could have been the film coaches use to shape their winning ethos on and off the field. Instead, When the Game Stands Tall will be the film coaches show their disinterested 7th period class.
--Monte Monreal
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