Family Tensions Run High on Friday Night Lights

Based on a book by author H.G. “Buzz” Bissinger, Friday Night Lights is a movie about an Odessa, Texas high school football team, its players, coaches, and families and how football affects their every day lives. This sports film takes a look at the pressures felt to excel in a city that lives and breathes football.

Movie Facts:

Rating: PG-13
Format: Color
Director: Peter Berg
Screenplay: Buzz Bissinger, David Cohen, Peter Berg
Theatrical Release Date: October 8, 2004
Movie Length: 117 Minutes

Cast: Billy Bob Thornton, Lucas Black, Derek Luke, Garrett Hedlund, Tim McGraw, Jay Hernandez, Lee Jackson, Lee Young, Grover Coulson, Connie Cooper, Kasey Stevens, Connie Britton, Morgan Farris, Ryanne Ducich.

Contents of This Movie:

The setting is Odessa, Texas and the football team is the Permian High School Panthers. The year is 1988 and Coach Gary Gaines (played by Billy Bob Thornton) is in his second season as head coach of a team that has won state championships in the past. Gaines is tough but fair and he knows he has an important job in this sports- crazed community. He has a solid team of players and with the right level of discipline and guidance, they could become state champions once again.

Some players are critical to the team’s success, but many of them also have problems with overbearing parents and other domestic issues. The team’s quarterback, Mike Winchell (played by Lucas Black), has a lot of weight on his shoulders to overachieve, but he is also worried about his sick mother back at home. Fullback Don Billingsley (played by Garrett Hedlund) has one of the most difficult situations of all. His father, Charles Billingsley (played by Tim McGraw), is obsessed about the game of football and also has a drinking problem. Charles is a former football player himself, from the same school, and he has a championship ring. He demands that his son perform with perfection.

The team has no problem winning the first game of the season, but the road to the state championship is paved with eggshells. During one of the games, halfback Boobie Miles (playted by Derek Luke) is seriously injured but only coach Gaines knows how serious. He and his uncle, L.V. Miles (played by Grover Coulson) visit with doctors and they confirm the seriousness of the injury and advise Boobie not to play for a while. But Boobie Miles is determined to play and is convinced the doctor has other interests in mind. He proceeds to the playing field against doctor’s orders.

The end of the movie finds the Permian Panthers in the state championship game against Dallas Carter High School. The team has come a long way and its players have dealt with injuries, parental problems, and intense pressure to win. Will they have what it takes to compete against Dallas Carter and secure a state championship title? Or, will they choke on this, the biggest day of their young lives thus far?

Final Thoughts:

“Friday Night Lights” is like other sports movies in many ways. There have been dozens of high school sports films and they often contain the usual clichés and the typical come from behind, heart stomping victory at the end. In some ways, this movie is predictable and ordinary but in other ways it does offer a few added twists on different situations and there are some parts that are less predictable than other similar films.

When I watched “Friday Night Lights”, I looked for the standard formula for sports movies and much of it was in place. First, there was the tough but fair minded coach who wanted to win above everything else. Then, there were the players and their respective personal problems. There was one player with an alcoholic father who harassed and abused his son for not being better. There were locker room meetings and pep talks, and there was the championship game at the end to wrap up the film.

But in other ways, this movie was different. First of all, the story line didn’t really pull everything together the way it probably should have. I felt like I was watching several short bits of a team biography that were then combined together to make a film. It lacked a certain flow that you expect when you watch a movie. Second, the level of blood and violence was a little more than with other high school sports flicks.

One thing about this film to keep in mind is that it does elevate your stress level. You don’t know what is going to happen when, say, player Don Billingsley is confronted by his father. You know there is likely to be some sort of violence but you don’t know exactly what it will be. When I was watching this film, I had heard that Tim McGraw was in a starring role, but at first, I couldn’t even tell it was him playing the drunken, disciplinarian father. But sure enough, it really is country singer Tim McGraw playing the role of Charles Billingsley. And he performs quite well for a newer actor. Every time he shows up on the screen, you can feel a certain level of tension. You don’t know what he is going to do, but you know it probably will not be good.

The main reason I wanted to see this movie wasn’t because of the sports theme, it was because of Billy Bob Thornton in the starring role. Thornton performs well, and his character isn’t nearly as nasty as those in the coaching positions in other movies. Thornton is determined, but he is also empathetic toward the team members and their families. One thing I would have changed with Thornton’s character is his amount of speaking. I would have preferred if Thornton had a greater speaking part in the movie with more lines. He seems to spend most of his time on camera in a listening role. Hearing what others have to say is an important part of coaching, but I would have liked Thornton’s character to be a little more dynamic and I’m surprised the director didn’t put forth a greater effort to utilize Thornton’s many talents as an actor. This performance wasn’t quite as memorable as some of Thornton’s other roles, but it is still good. And the players and supporting cast members are generally convincing in their respective roles.

This movie makes you think a little more about the pressures and obsessions of high school sports and sports in general. To what lengths will individuals go to win? Is there a point where players and their families will draw the line? Does a person have to be a complete and total pr-ck to successfully coach a team or does a nicer persona- like that presented by Thornton in this movie- bring greater success? I like it when films have underlying messages and get me to think about social issues and society in general. And “Friday Night Lights” does offer some good moments where further analysis is in order.

At the end of this movie, the viewer is treated to watching the team play in the championship game. This is typical of sports films, but what you see in this movie isn’t so typical. Director Peter Berg makes the opposing team seem like a bunch of unsportsmanlike jerks, willing to do anything to win the big game. There are scenes of opposing players kicking the Permian players after a play is whistled dead and committing other shameful antics in front of the sellout crowd. I don’t know if there is truth to this behavior when compared to the actual event that the movie is based on, but it’s not what I expected to see.

This movie is based on the book of the same name and it loosely follows the book and the various events that took place in the lives of the coach, the players, and the residents of Odessa, Texas as their Permian Panthers set out to win another state championship in the late 1980’s. “Friday Night Lights” isn’t the best sports film I have ever watched, but it is still better than average, with some tension- filled moments among the players and parents and some great anticipation as you await the end of the film and the team’s chance to win the state championship title. It isn’t perfect, but it does offer some solid movie entertainment for a rainy day.