Fill out this form to email this article to a friend
Film
Kick off football season with 'Gridiron Gang'
By STEVE PERSALL
Published September 14, 2006
If audiences tire of football after the surprising success of Invincible and last weekend's never-ending college and NFL seasonal kickoffs, they may skip Gridiron Gang (PG-13), and that would be a shame. On the surface, Phil Joanou's movie looks like a teenage version of The Longest Yard, with juvenile detention center inmates doing time on a football field. But a lot more than punts and pranks is going on here. Gridiron Gang is based on the true story of Dean Porter, a California corrections officer who believed the discipline necessary to build a winning team could benefit criminal youth. One of the film's strongest attributes is the strong performance of former pro wrestler Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson as Porter. The former University of Miami football player had his own youthful run-ins with the law, which influenced his portrayal. Joanou doesn't tinker much with a story that many screenwriters would consider unbelievable. For proof, stick around for the closing credits, when footage from the 1993 documentary of the same name shows events and dialogue that you may have thought were contrived a few reels before. A full review of Gridiron Gang will be published Friday in Floridian, along with an interview with Johnson about his rising image as an actor. - STEVE PERSALL, Times film critic
[Last modified September 13, 2006, 13:13:47]
Share your thoughts on this story
|
News
Fifty years ago, they were screwed-up kids sent to the Florida School for Boys to be straightened out. But now they are screwed-up men, scarred by the whippings they endured. Read the story and see a video and portrait gallery.
Print
Email story
Comment
Email editor
