My All American

Films about sports whether based on fact or fiction has been a constant staple of Hollywood seemingly forever, and even more so, football based films. "Knute Rockne", "Leathernecks", "Any Given Sunday", "The Replacements", even "Heaven Can Wait" are a handful of football films, much less sports films in general. A lot of times, these films have a tendency to inspire us to cheer them on and to maybe give us something to think about in our own lives, so when I realized "My All American" was being released, I noticed that this film certainly gave that feeling of inspiration, and it inspired big time.

What Freddie Steinmark (Finn Wittrock) wants most in the world is to play football. Although he is deemed too small by the usual athletic standards, his father, Fred (Michael Reilly Burke) trains him hard. Freddie brings a fight to the game that ultimately gets him noticed-- by none other than legendary University of Texas coach Darrell Royal (Aaron Eckhart), and is awarded a scholarship and a chance to play for the Longhorns. Freddie sets off to Austin with his loving high school sweetheart, Linda Wheeler (Sarah Bolger), determined to make the team. Alongside his old teammate Bobby Mitchell (Rett Terrell) and his new pal James Street (Juston Street), Freddie was put through the riggers of a grueling practice schedule. The boys' camaraderie off the field translates into solid playing on it, and they rise up the depth charts, giving the Longhorns a real chance to improve upon their mediocre record. But just when they're reveling in the success of the season, Freddie suffers an injury that leads to a shocking diagnosis and the biggest challenge he will ever face. This tells the true story, back in the late 1960's, of a young man who became a hero and what it truly means to have the heart of a champion.

Others to round out the cast are Robin Tunney as Gloria Steinmark, Freddie's mother, Donny Boaz as Super Bill Bradley, Marco Perella as Dr. Martin, Brent Anderson as Coach Mike Campbell, Brett Brock as Coach Emory Bellard, Hector Becerra as Frank Medina and David Stokey as Dr. Jullian.

There been more newbie directors that have come our way within the last 5 to 10 years, and what's more impressive is how many of them have been talented--basically naturals. One such director, Angelo Pizzo, who directed this film is an amazing newcomer to that director's chair. This not only his first theatrical film he's helmed, but his first direction period. These actors were paced and staged well. If this is his first, just think what he may become say, 10 years down the road. This is also well written by Pizzo ("Hoosiers" '86, "Rudy" '93, "The Game of Their Lives" '05). Certainly he's more than qualified to write scripts for sports based films--look at his resume, but the way he delineates his stories, as with this film, is cohesive, and well-structured. Other than a couple of very small choppy areas in script, this screenplay soared. I can't wait to see what sports based film he decides to write next. Eckhart's performance was solid and Wittrock's portrayal of this football hero was electric. This actor is definitely going places--he is an actor to contend with, and after this will undoubtedly receive more work.

This does have a bittersweet ending, but then it is based on a true story, so that being the scenario, to quote Forest Gump, "life is like a box of chocolates, you never know what you're gonna get".

Out of 4 Stars: 3.5                           Rated: PG                                118mins.