'Gridiron' portrays life beyond the game
By Tasia Endo
If you are looking to fill the football void at Santa Clara by watching "Gridiron Gang," be forewarned: This film is not a typical feel-good football movie.
Rather, as the title hints, it is truly about the struggles of youth in the gang-ridden streets of Los Angeles, battling to redeem their place in society by playing on the football field.
The movie begins with depressing statistics, stating that there are 120,000 juveniles in prison, of whom 75 percent return to jail or die in the streets.
The setting becomes even more grim and depressing as you learn that the story is true.
The juvenile detention center, Camp Kilpatrick, does exist, and so do several salient characters in the film.
Most notably, Dwayne "the Rock" Johnson and Xzibit play the real-life coaches of the Kilpatrick Mustangs, Sean Porter and Malcolm Moore, who led a team of juvenile delinquents toward a regional championship in their inaugural year.
However, the heart of the story lies within the teenage boys themselves, who, through one season, change from losers to winners in the game of life.
Like most movies these days, the plot, admittedly, is predictable.
The misguided teens bring to life the same bad-news stories that clutter the media: drive-by shootings, rival gang rifts and abusive homes.
What keeps this familiar story fresh is the emotionally and thoughtfully provocative performance.
The violence and the horrors of the underbelly of society are highlighted, which many productions with a PG-13 rating too often sidestep.
Johnson's performance is particularly poignant.
As Coach Porter helps a team of 60 players, he is battling family issues himself. Johnson's experience with hardship and his performance further enhances the viewer's connection to the story.
It is no wonder that these once troubled kids could successfully access their full potential when motivated by the Rock.
Johnson even expanded his name from "the Rock" to his to include his birth name, giving some accreditation to him and his acting abilities.
However, some of his lines, such as the pre-game inspirational speech about giving the opposing team "38 ass whoopin's," resonate too closely to his WWE days of yelling out from the wrestling ring that he was about to "open a can of whoop-ass."
Popular cultural allusions aside, "Gridiron Gang" successfully gets at the gritty aspects of society that mainstream movies rarely delve so deeply into.
This film chronicles the true, yet often untold, story of teens who have no support system.
These characters have no drive and no alternative to joining gangs. The journey to change their course is achieved through football.
See this movie for its humbling story based on reality and the sophisticated football scenes that lucidly bring back Friday night high school football games.
If these reasons do not convince you , at least watch it for its popularity, as it credibly earned the top box office spot during its opening weekend.
GRADE: A-
Contact Tasia Endo at (408) 551-1918 or tendo@scu.edu.