
Hoosiers

I was drawn to Hoosiers mostly because it made number 13 on AFI's Most Inspiring Movies list. Copy and paste this link into your browser to check your movie knowledge.
http://www.afi.com/tvevents/100years/cheers.aspx
Once in a while I tune in to their countdown mostly to prove to myself what a movie buff I am. And I'm always proven wrong. And I'm glad to be, I'm glad there's more out there for me to experience, especially the older stuff. This movie is a gem I wouldn't have found otherwise. When I showed Dan my new list of movies I had to see, he highly recommended this one so we made it one of our first rentals. Hoosiers was made in 1986 (when I was three years old) and stars Gene Hackman. If anyone else has seen the episode of South Park with Christopher Reeve and Gene Hackman, you'll understand why I just want to yell, "HACK-MAN!!!" when I read his name.
Anyway, it's one of those movies without which we wouldn't have Coach Carter or Glory Road. It's one of the original against all odds basketball stories. Of course he's a new coach in town and he has a history. What's amazing is how much people don't like the new guy. It's 1950 so it's a little more understandable what a small town has at stake. Basketball is a way of life for small towns. When Hackman immediately shuts down their coaching advice and does things his own way, they turn their backs on him even more and try to vote him out of town. He has few supporters. One of them the town drunk who is father of one of the players. Begrudgingly a teacher starts to respect him too and when the time comes to call him out and tell the world his past, she changes her mind and asks they give him a chance. When star player, Jimmy (pronounce that like Forrest Gump says "Jenny") gives the coach his approval the town changes sides just so they can watch him play again.
This movie has great music. It also has a great plotline which many other movies have to try to live up to. It's all about proving oneself and every character has a chance to do it. The coach has to prove what he can do. Each player has a journey to get good or what grudges they have to get past or how short they are. The drunk father has to get on the path to recovery and has a moment to shine. I agree that it IS an inspirational movie. They also do great with all the period stuff. You're reminded of the time with every cheerleader completely covered up with sweaters and long skirts. Also the game clock that has hands on it instead of digital in the smaller towns is a great touch. Anyone can watch this movie. I give it an A. It's solid. And it's fun to make fun of the hick characters too.
Review ID: 10000000003264443

Thank you for voting. If your vote meets our
guidelines, it will be posted within 24 hours.
You cannot vote on the helpfulness of a review you wrote.
Your request cannot be processed at this time. Please try again later.