Click Here For Our Interview with Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson

Gridiron Gang

There's no denying that former Professional Wrestling star The Rock has immense charisma. His initial transition to film wasn't entirely smooth though – his first role, a forgettable, essentially silent film role in the unbelievably horrible The Mummy Returns indicated that he wasn't quite ready to hang up his elbow pads. But subsequent film choices have proven to be fruitful; his ability to pick interesting roles has sidestepped him from a mid-40s Jean Claude Van Damme-type career and presented him as a burgeoning talent instead. I suspect he considers Gridiron Gang his most personal film to date as it's easily his most humanistic role yet.

Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson stars as Sean Porter, an idealistic probation officer at a juvenile detention camp. Porter takes his job seriously and is determined to make a difference in the lives of these at-risk kids. Disgusted by the camp's low success rate, Porter upstarts a radical wing of the detention camp devoted to teaching the kids to play football together as a way of venting their anger. Porter has the unenviable task of going from high school to high school in order to convince the coaches to let their team play against these delinquents, many of which have been detained for muggings, grand theft auto and even murder. Naturally, this is a hard sell but eventually he gets one coach to crack and soon they all start coming around. Now, he just needs to get the hot-headed kids prone to put aside their differences and function as a team.

For a film that resembles Disney's Remember the Titans in a number of ways, Gridiron Gang is surprisingly gritty. It opens with a drive-by shooting that is so brutal you can't believe you're seeing it in a PG-13 movie. The kids in the film aren't the squeaky clean stereotypes we've come expect to from an adolescent-led sports movie. When Porter's co-worker Malcolm (Xzibit) marvels over the way the water boy Bug (Brandon Mychal Smith) is perpetually smiling and good-natured, Porter is quick to remind him, "Think he was smiling when he stabbed an old lady for her purse?" Thanks to key instances like this, the film constantly contextualizes its story, avoiding the urge to sentimentalize.

That's not to say Gridiron Gang isn't earnest about its material. In fact, it's so impassioned that one can find plenty to make fun of it if one so chooses. But there's also a lot to admire and most of the film's shortcomings are excusable. Sure, there may be some hokey dialogue here and there, but people in these situations really do need to use Hallmark phrases to reach children like this. And just when things start to taste too saccharine around the end of the second act, we're harshly reminded of the far-reaching

depths of gang ties.

It would be easy to equate gang banging with football but director Phil Joanou does a good job of visually distinguishing the scenes on the streets with the scenes on the turf. The drive-bys and muggings are shot with a frenetic madness that is hectic and disorienting. Comparatively, the football scenes are shot with clarity and played at a slower speed. Joanou's biggest accomplishment though is the stifling feeling of isolation from the outside world that he imparts throughout the film; only once do we get a helicopter shot of the entire football stadium.

Due to his intimidating physique, The Rock is a perfect choice for a football coach. One look at him and you can tell he knows a thing or two about hard work. He even suggests immortality on a couple of occasions as he evidently doesn't need sleep. With one eye on the slumbering delinquents and the other eye screening letters home to their family and friends, he also implies he's panoptic. But the scenes between him and his sick Mother open up another side of his personality, allowing his heart to emerge. As the team starts to come together, he even drops his dour demeanor and starts emitting an irresistible grin.

Rest assured though, the film doesn't end with a freeze frame of The Rock smiling as he warmly regards his players. Instead, it concludes with documentary footage of the real-life Sean Porter coaching his players. We hear Porter uttering many of The Rock's lines verbatim and even though there's absolutely no physical resemblance between the two, The Rock's performance becomes all the stronger viewed alongside the everyday hero who inspired it.

Movie Grade: B

Synopsis:

Teenagers at a juvenile detention center, under the leadership of their counselor, gain self-esteem by playing football together.