As inspirational sports stories go, this one is effective, but with an unhappy ending, which is telegraphed right at the beginning of the film. It's also a faith based story of perseverance and positive attitude, a Cinderella story if you will, of a young man seemingly ungifted in ability and desperately overweight and out of shape. However, even from a young age, Brandon Burlsworth (Christopher Severio) knew in his heart he would one day play college football for the Arkansas Razorbacks, and dedicated his life to making a difference for himself and his teammates. There's a prophetic scene that takes place when Brandon is treated to an evening out with his teammates, with the conversation turning to the concept of death. Brandon's response was "... when it's your time to go, it's your time to go".
Throughout the film, emphasis is brought back to Brandon's older brother by seventeen years, portrayed by Neal McDonough. Marty Burlsworth, in the aftermath of Brandon's death, suffers a crisis of conscience that questions his family's faith in God. A foil for Marty is provided by the character of The Farmer (Nick Searcy), who rejects the notion of life after death, and seems intent on tipping Marty over to his agnostic side. One might consider The Farmer as the devil on Marty's shoulder, whispering in his ear the way it's sometimes represented in less serious movies. The angel, if there is one, would be represented by Marty's mother (Leslie Easterbrook), who never loses faith and belief in her younger son to attain his dream.
There's one very odd scene that the takes place during the first football game that's shown in the movie. Taking place at the Razorback home stadium, the crowd in attendance rises to give the legendary hog call, but it's only one side of the stadium facing the players that give the cheer. The other half of the arena behind the players remain seated and silent. I can't imagine why it was filmed that way, but if you didn't notice it, go back and take a look. Very strange.
Throughout the film, emphasis is brought back to Brandon's older brother by seventeen years, portrayed by Neal McDonough. Marty Burlsworth, in the aftermath of Brandon's death, suffers a crisis of conscience that questions his family's faith in God. A foil for Marty is provided by the character of The Farmer (Nick Searcy), who rejects the notion of life after death, and seems intent on tipping Marty over to his agnostic side. One might consider The Farmer as the devil on Marty's shoulder, whispering in his ear the way it's sometimes represented in less serious movies. The angel, if there is one, would be represented by Marty's mother (Leslie Easterbrook), who never loses faith and belief in her younger son to attain his dream.
There's one very odd scene that the takes place during the first football game that's shown in the movie. Taking place at the Razorback home stadium, the crowd in attendance rises to give the legendary hog call, but it's only one side of the stadium facing the players that give the cheer. The other half of the arena behind the players remain seated and silent. I can't imagine why it was filmed that way, but if you didn't notice it, go back and take a look. Very strange.