Friday Night Lights (2004)

User Rating:

7.2/10   

Directors:

Peter Berg
Josh Pate

Writers (WGA):

Buzz Bissinger (book)
David Aaron Cohen (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

8 October 2004 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Drama | Sport

Tagline:

Hope comes alive

Plot:

Based on H.G. Bissinger's book, which profiled the economically depressed town of Odessa, Texas and their heroic high school football team, The Permian High Panthers.

Plot Keywords:

Texas | Coach | Odessa Texas | Small Town | Championship

Awards:

2 wins & 4 nominations

Cast

Billy Bob Thornton	...	Coach Gary Gaines
Lucas Black	...	Mike Winchell
Garrett Hedlund	...	Don Billingsley
Derek Luke	...	Boobie Miles
Jay Hernandez	...	Brian Chavez
Lee Jackson	...	Ivory Christian
Lee Thompson Young	...	Chris Comer
Tim McGraw	...	Charles Billingsley
Grover Coulson	...	L.V. Miles
Connie Britton	...	Sharon Gaines
Connie Cooper	...	Mrs. Winchell
Kasey Stevens	...	Flippy
Ryanne Duzich	...	Melissa
Amber Heard	...	Maria
Morgan Farris	...	Jennifer Gaines

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for thematic issues, sexual content, language, some teen drinking and rough sports action.

Runtime:

118 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital | SDDS

Certification:

Iceland:LH | Canada:G (Quebec) | Canada:PG (Alberta/British Columbia/Manitoba/Nova Scotia/Ontario) | Australia:M (tv rating) | South Korea:12 | Malaysia:U | Ireland:12A | Singapore:NC-16 | UK:12A (original rating) | UK:12 (video rating) (2005) | USA:PG-13 | Argentina:13 | Finland:K-11 | Australia:PG

Filming Locations:

Abilene, Texas, USA

Company:

Friday Night Lights LLC

Trivia:

Live-action game sequences from the 2003 Permian High School football season are interspersed throughout the film. Director Peter Berg matched the uniforms and on-field jersey numbers for acted sequences so that the live clips would blend. Game sequences were shot on location at Ratliff Stadium in Odessa and the Astrodome in Houston.

Goofs:

Continuity: After the State Championship game Don Billingsley's father Charlie approaches him. In the first shot Don has gloves on his hands. There is then a close up and his father then puts his state championship ring on Don's finger and his hands are bare. The shot after that it shows Don with his father again and his gloves are once more.

Quotes:

Coach Gary Gaines: [to quarterback Mike Winchell] You're playing like the village idiot! You want people to think of you as the village idiot?

Movie Connections:

References "Hawaii Five-O" (1968)

Soundtrack:

Seagull

The Real Varsity Blues

This is a very dark sports movie. It's about fanaticism, the great weight of importance certain people place on sports. Sports fans often regard their teams as extensions of themselves. In "Friday Night Lights," the entire town of Odessa, Texas collectively puts their town's reputation on the shoulders of a high school football team. It's basically the same exact plot as "Varsity Blues," except a serious version of high school football in small town Texas.

One thing the movie does extremely well is taking hackneyed plots of the individual players (because it's all been done before) and putting them all in the background. So the plots play out not in a cheesy, inspirational, in-your-face way. Instead, they are just there with only as much attention as the viewer wants to put on them. The great aspects of sports are enough to keep us interested and makes the movie incredibly real.

The only character whose plot is really focused on is Boobie, the cocky running back who is injured and tries to defy his own injury. This is a plot in sports movies that has been focused on somewhat - the injured player. But never before has the pain been so real and so powerful.

This movie is heart-wrenching. Sports movies usually have so many moments of redemption and cheesy happiness that often feel false. This movie only has one such moment and it is incredibly powerful. Nothing about this movie is Hollywood. Billy Bob Thorton gives a great, understated performance as the coach, a man who is simply internal, who can do nothing but sit back and watch events unfold, knowing full well the impact that each game has on himself and his family. All the actors playing the football players do a good job, especially the guy who plays Boobie.

Don't expect this movie to uplift you. But it will show you an interesting side of sports you may have never considered. And, in the end, it shows exactly what is great about sports, and it has nothing to do with winning or making a career out of the game. It's about giving all you have for a teammate.