'Lights' aren't so bright on Friday nights

Oct. 21, 2004
By Jesse Virgil
Staff Writer

Every other year, or so it seems, Hollywood is in need of another football movie. In 1999 Varsity Blues was a hit, followed by a melancholy Any Given Sunday, then an inspiring tale in Remember the Titans, which led to its rip-off, Radio. Now, 'Friday Night Lights,' Directed by Peter Berg (The Rundown), takes the stage to test itself in the football frenzy waters.

Based on a true story in Odessa, Texas during the late 80’s, the story is about a small town team whose ambitions are to win a state championship and nothing more. I came from a similar background attending Bettendorf High School and playing football there for four years.

At Bettendorf, you have to be the best and nothing else matters, much like in Odessa. In this small town, football rules over everything. If a coach isn’t making the cut, he is cut, much like today’s NFL.

'Friday Night Lights' begins with quarterback Mike Winchell, played by Lucas Black, sitting and eating breakfast while his mom quizzes him on his playbook. It is easy to tell right away that Mike is going to have a tough time throughout the movie, based on the amount of pressure his mother is placing on him.

Boobie Miles (Derek Luke) is the arrogant, cocky, I-know-I’m-awesome running back. He is primed for all-state and Division I scholarships from USC and Texas. However, much like in Varsity Blues, he suffers a knee injury. He comes back after a few games later and re-injures himself mainly because he didn’t follow doctor’s orders. This seems a little predictable in my book.

As the story roles on you meet one last main character, fullback Don Billingsley (Garrett Hedlund). He is forever in his father’s shadow, a local legend played by country superstar Tim McGraw. Each player has to deal with their own demons and make it through the season.

I must say that one thing that wasn’t overdone in this movie was the acting. Black, Luke, and Hedlund all give flawless performances that bring out the intense and emotional story. Billy Bob Thornton takes a back seat role as the head coach, which is an improvement from most football games. McGraw, in his second big screen role this year, gave the most realistic performance, playing a man who reached the peak of his life at age 18 and was unable to move on afterwards.

Things that bug me about this movie is it is a variation of Varsity Blues, Remember the Titans, and Any Given Sunday. The movie was shot with a gray filter, which gave it a dark and depressing mood, somewhat like Any Given Sunday. Both of these movies were shot without tripods for the majority of time, giving the movie a base of realism.

In the storyline itself, Lights plays off Titans and Blues. In Blues the star quarterback gets injured while the star running back in lights gets injured. In Titans the coach’s job is threatened if he doesn’t go undefeated as does Thornton if he doesn’t win state. In Blues, the football extras look like college players, because they are. Lights went with the same idea, which is a major turnoff when dealing with a true story. Titans was smart enough to use actual high school players.

One final thing that annoys me, but is a must have in all football movies, over the top hits. In almost every football movie there is a need for big hits, which is fine in pro and college movies because those hits actually happen. But I know from experience that over the top hits are one in a million when playing high school ball.

Overall, I would say that Friday Night Lights is your basic football movie. If you’ve seen any other movies I’ve mentioned and you’re tired of the same storylines, please stay home. But if you’ve got a hankering for some brutal action and some sad and intense storylines, Lights gives you all that and more.

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