by OMAR MAJEED

At the end of the preview screening for Gridiron Gang, the newest contender in the feel-good-football drama, a funny thing happened.

People filing out of the theatre stopped in their tracks, unable to tear themselves from the credit scroll. Clips from a documentary (also called Gridiron Gang) that this film is based on were interspersed over the end titles. The audience reaction went from mild-contentment to passionate engagement almost immediately. The big budget glossiness, slick camera work and editing and grandiose score seemed paler and duller than the cheap video clips showing us the real thing.

The story of Gridiron Gang revolves around Sean Porter, played by Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, a counsellor at the Camp Kilpatrick Juvenile Detention Center in Los Angeles. A one-time football hero, Porter starts a football team for the troubled teens in order to teach them discipline, confidence and responsibility.

Predictably, he faces many challenges—both from the teens caught up in the cycle of gang violence, and from the bureaucracy of his fellow social workers. Through perseverance and determination, Porter’s team, the Mustangs, make it into the high school championship.

If you’ve never seen Hoosiers, To Sir With Love, The Longest Yard, Lean on Me or even The Bad News Bears before, then you’ll probably be moved to tears. If you have, Gridiron Gang manages only to be another feel-good movie about the inspirational power of sports to mould young men. The Rock does his best to be dramatic, which mostly means watching his brow become extremely furrowed, and most of the intensity is conveyed in intense glares between teammates. Filmmaker Phil Joanou crams as many plotlines as he can into the film, leaving almost no time for any real sense of connection.

It’s a real shame. Watching the closing credits and seeing the real-life Sean Porter, there seemed to be such potential for genuine inspiration. But the Hollywood treatment of this material only serves up a reheated hash. At one point in the film, Porter tells a teammate, “You don’t have to be an athlete to be a Mustang. You just have to have heart.” Perhaps this is a lesson the producers should have listened to.

Gridiron Gang opens Friday, Sept. 15

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