After the football team is killed a plane crash the West Virginian Marshall University is devastated. The students of the university rally to have a team rebuilt. Following the wishes of the students, The college president, Don Dedman (David Strathairn) brings on quirky and hyperactive coach Jack Lengyel (Matthew McConaughey). Lengyel works to get a functional team together and struggles to keep them from breaking apart.

This is a traditional sports film and offers the expected highs and lows. Director McG plays up the right parts of the story to keep this a surprisingly light and enjoyable movie (considering the whole thing is built on the graves of dead students.) Strathairn act as the anchor to the movie. His moody performance grounds the glossy parts of the film that threaten to make this production a bit too affected. In contrast to Strathairn's solemn work is McConaughey. The best word I can come up with for McConaughey's performance is "hammy." He all but winks at the camera. His character is eccentric, to be sure, but his performance is too broad and it distracts from his scenes.

This is a good movie even with its healthy servings of sentimentality. This won't change any lives, but it will entertain and most people will probably be satisfied with it in the end.


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Labels: David Strathairn, film, Jate Mara, Matthew Fox, Matthew McConaughey, movie review