The tale of the 2004 De La Salle football team is not your typical sports underdog story. In fact, the Spartans were the kind of team opponents and cynics wanted to hate, envious of their national record 151-game winning streak and the inevitable media attention that came with it, and their controversial recruiting tactics that placed blue-chip recruits right in their lap.
So it’s noteworthy that When the Game Stands Tall isn’t your typical true-life sports movie. It picks up where most others leave off, showing the aftermath of a dynasty, when adversity both on and off the field provides a true test of perseverance and brotherhood.
It’s hardly a gridiron classic, either, but this modest crowd-pleaser from director Thomas Carter (Coach Carter) might find an audience with young athletes who could be more forgiving of the film’s melodramatic tendencies.
The program at the Catholic school in northern California is shaped by Bob Ladouceur (Jim Caviezel), a savvy but soft-spoken coach whose team-first style is based on work ethic and sacrifice. He doesn’t care much about the sacred win streak or about personal accolades.
But the Spartans are tested during an offseason in which Ladouceur endures some health issues, one of his players is killed, and others seem to be tuning out his message and that of his longtime assistant (Michael Chiklis). That leads to a loss on the field, and places De La Salle in the unusual position of starting over again.
The film is earnest and wholesome, and places an emphasis on speeches and platitudes about teamwork, effort, humility, and respect. It sometimes strains to generate sympathy and tends to assemble its crises and simplify its characters to maximize the emotional impact. However, the off-the-field scenes have a heartfelt authenticity, and the game sequences are taut and exciting, with an emphasis on close-ups and big hits.
The screenplay by Scott Marshall Smith (Men of Honor) — which is based on a novel by sportswriter Neil Hayes — has its share of embellishments and formulaic tangents, and turns predictable in the second half, with a more traditional structure leading to an obligatory big-game finale.
Yet even if the result resembles hero worship for Ladouceur, his methods could also provide a timely reminder about the value of mentorship and priorities during a time when a win-at-all-costs mentality seems to obscure life lessons in youth sports culture.
