Double Feature

November 2005 - What's a Phillies fan to do now that baseball's gone bye-bye for the winter? For me, it's football and ice hockey. But, even if you don't enjoy watching these sports, you can enjoy two great movies about them.

First, Billy Bob Thornton has all the right moves in the 2004 drama Friday Night Lights. Peter Berg (Chicago Hope) directed this film based on a book by his cousin. It tells the true story of the 1988 Permian Panthers, a high school football team from Odessa, Texas. Thornton plays Gary Gaines, their second-year coach. From the beginning, it's clear that the hopes and dreams of the entire community rest on the shoulder pads of these young athletes. The message here: State title or else!

Lucas Black, who played a mysterious boy in the equally mysterious TV show American Gothic, stars here as the team's quarterback and leader. Country music superstar Tim McGraw plays the frustrated father of the team's running back, a boy who has trouble holding on to the ball. McGraw's character won a state championship in high school and he expects nothing less from his son, even if he has to beat it out of him.

Overall review: Loved it! Football is more than just a game to these people; it's their life. But, what the coach knows, and what he tries to pass on to his players, is that winning means more than having the higher number on the scoreboard.

Don’t drop the ball on this one. Friday Night Lights is rated PG-13. You can find it on video or DVD.

A few years before those football players hit high school, a scrappy group of American hockey players shocked the world at the 1980 winter Olympics in Lake Placid. The story of how these kids beat the Soviets and then defeated Finland to win the gold medal is told in the 2004 film Miracle. Kurt Russell stars as Herb Brooks, the coach who led the team to victory.

The movie puts the era in context, using pictures of TMI, the hostages in Iran, the gas crisis and sound from Jimmy Carter talking about a national case of depression. The message: the hockey team provided a miracle for a nation in desperate need of one. Brooks and his boys, however, weren't really focused on that big picture. They just wanted to win.

Overall review: Loved it! In many of the hockey scenes, footage from the real games has been edited in. Generally, these edits are quick, but they're effective and well done. Russell is very good as Brooks. Whenever he's with his family, you know he's thinking about how to beat the Soviets.

This is one of the greatest sports stories ever told, and it's told in an outstanding way.

Miracle is rated PG. You should be able to find it on DVD or video.