Review of Hoosiers (1986) by Kevin D — 20 Jun 2010

This is how you make a sports movie. Correct that: This is how you make a movie in general. Hoosiers is one of the greatest sports movies of all time and it's also one of the most inspirational and heart-warming movies ever helmed.

Its charm is irresistible. This movie packs heart, love, and passion into every scene. This movie's goal was to show how important the game of basketball is in Indiana and the movie succeeded at that.

We got to see things from the coach's perspective, the fans' perspective, and the players' perspective. This is the movie that Friday Night Lights wanted to be, but that movie failed miserably.

This movie got everything right, especially the narrative. The plot in this movie was told as perfectly as anything by Shakespeare and the plot of In Bruges: New coach is introduced. New coach lays out guidelines.

Locals disagree with the coach. Coach and team show a lot of spirit in the games. It all probably sounds formulaic and cliched, and it is, but everything is done to perfection in this film. The filmmakers and actors showed legitimate passion for the movie.

You could tell they all wanted to make the best product as possible. The cast was brilliant, Gene Hackman and the late great Dennis Hopper shined in particular. Hackman was inspirational, strong, and charismatic as the head coach and Hopper was sympathetic, relatable, and quirky as the drunk father of one of the players who used his basketball knowledge to become an assistant head coach on the team.

Hopper received an Oscar nomination for his role in the film. The movie deservedly received another Oscar nod: Best Original Score, and it was a superb one at that. Hoosiers is a predictable movie, but when you're in the middle of it, you're fully engrossed.

You'll feel goosebumps after every big game and after every inspirational speech. The movie was done to perfection and everybody who participated in the making of this film gave 110%. The heart, spirit, and emotion in this film makes for a winning combination.

Hoosiers is a great film.