The 1st and Ten Blogathon – The 5th Quarter (2010)

This is my 3rd of 6 submissions for the The 1st and Ten Blogathon being run by J-Dub over at Dubism and Quiggy of The Midnite Drive-In

Tnx for letting me take part!

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“Luke was with you today, I know he was ” – Josh

Number of Times Seen – 1 (4 Sep 2019)

Brief Synopsis – Following the tragic death of his younger brother, a football athlete inspires his teammates to play even better in his memory.

My Take on it – When I heard about this blogathon, I started looking around for inspirational films dealing with the subject of football and came across this one.

The fact that it stars both Aidan Quinn and Andie MacDowell were the main reasons tho that it made my list.

The premise of this film is actually great but since the films presents things in a very preachy way, the film loses much of its impact.

The film is based on a true story and that adds a lot to making things come across as being quite sincere, but the story too often switches into ‘preachy’ mode which takes so much away from things.

The cast is quite impressive and they managed to sign on both Quinn and MacDowell despite the fact that things are obviously done here in a very low budget style throughout.

They both do wonderful jobs showing the different ways that grieving parents can deal with unforeseen tragedies like the one they need to cope with here.

This movie actually has some really good messages about life and about dealing with tragedy but unfortunately it fails to be as inspirational as one would hope for from such a story.

Bottom Line – Nice premise that is spoiled by the preachy way that this story is told. The fact that this film is based on a true story helps make it come across as being a bit more sincere, but the overall effect is ruined too much by the preachyness of it all. The cast is quite impressive for a film that seems to be quite low budget and Quinn and MacDowell are both great as the grieving parents who must find a way to move forward despite their tragic loss.  The movie has some nice messages about life and dealing with tragedy, but overall, it just doesn’t manage to be impactful or inspirational enough.

MovieRob’s Favorite Trivia – When Luke’s father Steven is first given the news that his son is brain dead, he asks to speak with the doctor alone. He then points in gesture to friends and family in the hall with his right hand. Then, in the reverse shot, he’s gesturing with his left. (From IMDB)

Rating – BAFTA Worthy (5/10)

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