Review of When the Game Stands Tall (2014) by Christopher W — 23 Dec 2014

TV director Thomas Carter has had few but reason successful ventures into the world of feature films (with COACH CARTER being the most popularly produced title). Carter has once again attempted a big screen production with WHEN THE GAME STANDS TALL, based on the true story of the effective high school football coach Bob Ladouceur and his unconventional philosophical approach to game play in the midst of personal crises.

The general critical consensus is currently less than flattering for WHEN THE GAME STANDS TALL, but the movie also seems to have generated a positive response from most audiences. Clearly the movie is connecting with people in ways that critics are often failing to see or do not care to take into account.

Complaints are understandable to an extent - the movie is a bit over-sentimental and is certainly focused more on being "inspirational" than examining the specifics of Ladouceur's interesting philosophy and techniques.

Many moments are melodramatic. This picture does not dazzle with technical elements but it is also effective in the way that the piece is shot and cut together. Despite the frustrating "ordinary-ness" of its assembly, though, WHEN THE GAME STANDS TALL yet examines the concept of brotherhood in a way that did not seem to me to be quite as cliché as some have pass it off to be.

In keeping with what is apparently this year's theme in film, WHEN THE GAME STANDS TALL contrasts desperation and entitlement. Competition - especially in high schools - has, at least in my experience, far too frequently boiled to the problematic mindset of "I tried, so I deserve a trophy".

Carter's examination of Ladouceur and his beliefs are interesting because Ladouceur was highly successful even while motivating students with social and moral educational incentives instead of physical hardware.

The movie perpetuates the excellent belief that athletic events - and other activities - may serve as a way to accomplish more than proof of physical strength. "Good" sports movies do share the (maybe cliché) commonality of making the story's athletic event serve as a way to unite people and be educative in new ways.

Even if it is "common" to take this approach, WHEN THE GAME STANDS TALL still achieves its purpose of bringing into conversation and rejecting the trophy-based ideology and what it brings into public affective economy.

In addition to this, the cast is ever interesting to watch and Jim Caviezel plays Ladouceur brilliantly with calm confliction. Although it may not be as subtle or well assembled as other movies in a similar thematic vein this year (FOXCATCHER comes to mind), WHEN THE GAME STANDS TALL still acted as a way to bring its important - even if not completely ground-breaking - ideas to the everyday person in a way that other movies this year may have been able to.