Saved by sports
Gridiron Gang scores with familiar Hollywood playbook
By Kenya Vaughn
Of the St. Louis American
Seeing the advertisements for Gridiron Gang with the Rock and Xzibit at top billing may prompt an “oh, that’s great, but who else is in it?” response. While they are both household names, neither carries enough star power to bring in respectable box office numbers.
And though people probably won’t show up in droves to see Gridiron Gang, those devoted WWE and Pimp My Ride fans who do will be somewhat surprised and definitely entertained.
In the spirit of Coach Carter, Hardball, Sunset Park and many other films, Gridiron Gang falls within the familiar concept of salvation through sports.
This story is a bit different, and that’s a good and a bad thing. Gridiron Gang does not focus on school or community settings like its motivational sports story counterparts, but delves into the realm of convicted youth offenders.
It tells the true story of juvenile detention camp probation officer Sean Porter (Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson), who, along with another officer, Malcolm Moore (Xzibit), turns a group of hardcore teenage felons into a high school football team in four weeks.
Instead of seeing the all-too-common situational drama where students receive an influence or role model that keeps them from going in the wrong direction, these youth have already traveled down that road and receive inspiration to make a U-turn.
They are no longer just at-risk, but have graduated to the status of official statistics. Gridiron Gang helps viewers see that these young people have the ability to move beyond the crimes that they commit and despite their pasts they can still be affected by a positive influence.
Both Johnson and Xzibit are believable in their roles and elevate the expectations of the typical rapper or athlete turned actor. They effectively expressed a myriad of emotions in their attempts to shed these youngsters of past behaviors and rise to the challenge as actors.
There are some heavy lessons to be learned and behaviors to be undone in Gridiron Gang. And once they are finally ready to work together as a team, the young men face opposition from the outside world and potential competitors.
But Porter and Moore manage to bring the group together and teach them self-respect and responsibility and redemption. The leading men along with the budding talent that is scattered throughout the ensemble cast give the movie plenty of realism and keep it from dragging.
In the same breath that Gridiron Gang exposes audiences to the idea that no child (or adult for that matter) is worth throwing away, a few directorial and screenwriting choices may shoot the efforts of the film in the foot.
For example, by taking a look inside the lives and crimes of what are assumed to be the typical young offender, Gridiron Gang accidentally highlights and reinforces some of the common stereotypes about inner city youth.
Gridiron Gang would have been more successful in it efforts had it featured a more diverse population of offenders. Because as it is, those who view the movie can continue to believe that crime is primarily a product of the poor, single-parent urban home environment.
Even with its shortcomings it would be easy to recommend Gridiron Gang. More star power, both in the leading men and the team of young inmates in addition to a few tweaks in the story line would have made for a fall sleeper hit.
But the flawed messages and lack of a-list performers are still not significant enough to hide its theme, and Gridiron Gang shows audiences that one person can make a difference.
Gridiron Gang opens in theatres nationwide Friday, September 15 with a running time of 120 minutes and a PG-13 Rating.
