Directed by Peter Berg

The movie ?Friday Night Lights? is based around the Permian Panthers, a football (aka gridiron) team from Odessa, Texas and their highs and lows as they attempt to win the State Championships way back in 1988. I have to state first off that I love sports but I think Gridiron is one of the most boring sports of them all. I hope no Americans are reading this because they will probably want to lynch me. I will be blunt, I think the sport is crap but it has been responsible for some great films like ?Remember the Titans? and ?Wildcats? so I had high expectations for this film as a result. The reviews I had read before watching the film were also highly complimentary but they were written in the U.S.A and they could probably relate to the story a lot more and would understand the rules to a game a lot better than me. I mean, come on, why is this sport actually called football. I mean, how many times per match would the ball actually be kicked!!

Back to the DVD, I must say I was disappointed with the finished product and it left me wondering at the end of it all, why did they bother to make this film in the first place? Why with all the high school football teams going around would they pick the 1988 Permian Panthers? They were apparently the most successful Texan high school team ever, but hey, there are 49 other states to choose from. Why would they choose actors to play the footballers who clearly looked like they were well and truly into their twenties?

The Permian Panthers are coached by Gary Gaines (Billy Bob Thornton) and we watch the team begin pre season and follow their progress right up through the play offs for the State Championships of 1988. Do they win, well I won?t reveal that, I wouldn?t want to spoil the whole film for you. While watching ?Friday Night Lights? we meet a town obsessed with football, so obsessed that the town virtually shuts down during game time and we get a bit of an insight into the pressure placed on these high school jocks. The school?s football stadium is quite a sight in itself. We also learn a little bit about some of the important players on the team. Football is so huge in Odessa that there are signs outside the students? homes stating that they play for the ?Mojo?.

There?s Boobie Miles (Derek Luke), the star of the team who has a very high opinion of himself but whose dream quickly falls apart when a knee injury ends his season. There?s Mike (Lucas Black), the quarterback, has to cope with a mother who the town say is ?mad? and Don (Garrett Hedlund) with his abusive father Charles (Tim McGraw), who keeps reminding him of when he won the State Championship. All of these young men have one thing on their mind and it starts with ?F? and ends in ?ootball? and they see it as their ticket out of Odessa where there really is nothing else of interest.

As well as the players we also get a bit of an insight into the pressures placed on Coach Gaines when the team isn?t performing to its expectations. I don?t know why they gave him a family in the film because they contributed so little to the plot. There was one exception, his wife made a cute remark about moving to Alaska to escape the pressure he?s under in Odessa should they not win the championships.

This film was supposedly ?based? on a true story and a novel by Buzz Bissinger. I don?t know how much ?Hollywood Licence? was used on this one. As a result, you always get a bit of info at the end of the film about what the various characters did with their lives after the season ended. I always find that interesting but unfortunately, the same can?t be said for the storyline. The football action was pretty realistic and I am sure that the footballer?s parents are grateful for all the protection they wear on to the field because they need it. There is plenty of bone crunching tackles and like all movies some very close football matches that are often decided just near the final bell.

Overall, the film just didn?t grab me like ?Remember the Titans? did which also looks at a high school football team but tells a much more uplifting story. I don?t think this film will get another screening on our home theatre. It did, however, make me ponder this one question, why has Australia made so little films about our sporting heroes? I mean, there are hundreds of stories out there and I am sure lots of people would flock to the cinemas to see them brought to life on the big screen. The only films I can really think of that cover our unique brand of football are ?The Club? and ?Australian Rules?. Why can?t they make a film on the best football team of all time, the 1990 Collingwood Football Team? Now that would be AFI winning material!!! I would be more that happy to star in it as a fanatical supporter. It wouldn?t be much of a stretch really!

Back to ?Friday Night Lights?, if you are like me and love your sports flicks, do yourself a favour and look to other films of the genre because this one is far from the best of them. It did manage to maintain the husband?s attention and didn?t send him off to the land of nod, but he had the same opinion as I at the end of it all. I suppose many other Australians may have shared my view as this film didn?t last long at the cinemas.

In conclusion, if the film was an AFL footballer it could only be described as a ?good ordinary player?. I was expecting a Nathan Buckley!!!

THE EXTRAS

Other than Scene Selection the DVD has quite a few extras. They are:
1) Action Packed Deleted Scenes (21 minutes) There are 10 scenes in total and all were probably worthy of being in the film. They were probably cut because the film was quite long (just under 2 hours). In these scenes we see the coach getting advice from cleaners and teachers. We hear from some of the rival school supporters but the most interesting scene of all was when Permian?s opponents in the final were disqualified for ?cheating? but then the decision was reversed on appeal. Well worth a look.
2) Peter Berg discusses a scene in the movie (4 minutes approx) The title speaks for itself really. Peter Berg, the director, discusses one of the earlier scenes and why it was included in the film.
3) Player Cam (4 minutes approx) A bit boring really. We see a little behind the scenes action of the footballers and actors mucking around with each other and one of them cutting his afro off. Riveting!!
4) Tim McGraw: Off the Stage (6 minutes) Tim McGraw, a Country Music star (and husband of Faith Hill) discusses the differences between acting in a movie and performing on stage. Billy Bob Thornton tells us all what a talented actor he is!
5) The Story of the 1988 Permian Panthers (23 minutes) An excellent documentary that looks back at the actual Permian Panthers back in 1988. We meet the main players then and get to see what they look like now when they discuss the good ol? days. Boobie, Mike, Don and Brian are all there for a brief chat and the last three named actually catch up for old times? sake and have a bit of a thrown around with the footy (or pigskin as it is known in the USA). Well worth a look.
6) Audio Commentary with Peter Berg and writer Buzz Bissinger. As usual, I didn?t bother with this one. I didn?t want to watch the film again.
7) Universal Mediterranea An advertisement for a theme park in Spain.

CONCLUSION

If you like sports dramas then you may enjoy ?Friday Night Lights?, or if you are like me, you may be disappointed as after seeing films like ?Remember the Titans? your expectations may not be met. ?Friday Night Lights? revolves around the Permian Panthers, a high school football team from Odessa Texas, and their 1988 attempt at the Texas State Championships. They come from a town that lives and breathes football and the high school footballers are treated as celebrities. Can Coach Gaines (Billy Bob Thornton) take them all the way to the championships? That question will be answered during the course of the film. The question I wanted answered was, why did they make this film about that particular high school football team? After watching this film that is what I was left pondering. There are certainly better films from this genre available.