Friday Night Lights (film)

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Friday Night Lights
Theatrical release poster
Directed byPeter Berg
Screenplay byDavid Aaron Cohen
Peter Berg
Produced byBrian Grazer
StarringBilly Bob Thornton
Derek Luke
Jay Hernandez
Lucas Black
Garrett Hedlund
Tim McGraw
CinematographyTobias Schliessler
Edited byColby Parker Jr.
David Rosenbloom
Gabrielle Fasulo
Music byBrian Reitzell
Explosions in the Sky
David Torn
Production
company
Distributed byUniversal Pictures
Release date
  • October 8, 2004 (2004-10-08)
Running time
118 min.
CountryTemplate:Film US
LanguageEnglish
Budget$30 million
Box office$61,950,770

Friday Night Lights is a 2004 Sports drama film, directed by Peter Berg, which documents the coach and players of a high school football team and the Texas city of Odessa that supports and is obsessed with them. The book on which it was based, Friday Night Lights: A Town, a Team, and a Dream, was authored by H. G. Bissinger and follows the story of the 1988 Permian High School Panthers football team as they made a run towards the state championship. A television series of the same name premiered on October 3, 2006 on NBC. This movie ranked number 37 on Entertainment Weekly's list of the Best High School Movies.[1]

Plot

Bissinger followed the team for the entire 1988 season, which culminated in a loss in the State semifinals against Carter High School from Dallas, who eventually went on to win the championship game but would have their title stripped for playing an ineligible player. However, the book also deals with — or alludes to — a number of secondary political and social issues existing in Odessa, all of which share ties to the Permian Panthers football team. These include socioeconomic disparity; racism; segregation (and desegregation); and poverty.

The coach, Gary Gaines (Billy Bob Thornton), is constantly in the hot seat. Tied to the successes and failure of the coach and the team in general are the conflicts the players struggle with on and off the gridiron. The coach overuses his star player and running back James "Boobie" Miles (Derek Luke) who gets seriously injured (Miles tore his ACL, missed the playoffs, and had a limp for the rest of his life). When this happens, sports radios are flooded with calls for his resignation. Miles' once-arrogant attitude vanishes as he sees his once promising chance of playing big-time college football disappear and starts to question his future after he notices his not-so promising academic standing. Recuperating on his parents' veranda he observes the refuse collectors doing their rounds and gets a glimpse of a somewhat different future he could now face; he bursts into tears. Quarterback Mike Winchell (Lucas Black) struggles with being able to play consistently. Fullback Don Billingsley (Garrett Hedlund) has a rocky relationship with his alcoholic and abusive father (Tim McGraw). Billingsley silently endures the abuse from his father, who won a state championship at Permian only to find himself unable to get into college and stuck working a dead-end job. Third-string running back Chris Comer (Lee Thompson Young), who takes the spot of Miles after his injury, attempts to get rid of his fear of being hit and getting injured, especially when the player who last occupied his spot suffered a season ending injury. His obsession with fame and recognition also comes at a high price that he is at first not ready to pay. Safety Brian Chavez (Jay Hernandez) is easily the second smartest player on the team, and the most confident in his future after high school football. One of the themes of the movie depicts the coach as a father-type figure for the players.

Coach Gaines triumphs and struggles with winning football games and connecting with his players a number of times during their tremulous season. His job depends on the Panthers making the playoffs, and his team is in a three-way tie with two other teams at the end of the regular season. Under Texas rules for ties, the tiebreaker is a coin-toss. Permian gets a spot. Meanwhile, after he drunkenly throws away his championship ring, Don Billingsley's father breaks down and confesses his failures in life cause him to push his son as harshly as he does, pointing out that he wants his son to at least have one big moment of triumph before becoming like his dad. The team make it to the finals, where they narrowly lose against a powerhouse Dallas high school team. The movie ends with the coach removing the departing seniors from the depth chart on his wall. Notably, the depth chart has "Case" at quarterback. This refers to Permian's real-life backup quarterback in 1988, Stoney Case, who would go on to lead Permian, along with Chris Comer, to the 5A state title the following year, and still later made it to the NFL. The final scene consists of Winchell throwing a football to a bunch of pee-wees playing pick-up football before leaving with Billingsley and Chavez.

Cast

Differences between the movie and actual events

Regular season

  • The film shows Boobie Miles injuring his knee against the Marshall Bulldogs in the first game of the regular season. However, his knee was injured in a pre-season scrimmage against the Palo Duro Dons in Amarillo.
  • In the movie, the top-ranked Permian Panthers defeated the hapless Marshall Bulldogs in a non-district game, the game is the season opener, and played on a Friday night in Odessa. In real life, the third-ranked Marshall Mavericks (whose colors are red and white, not purple and gold) defeated fourth-ranked Permian 13–12, and was Permian's second game of the season, and played at Maverick Stadium in Marshall on a Saturday afternoon.[2]

The playoffs

  • In the movie, the three-way tie for the district lead was between Permian, Midland Lee, and Abilene Cooper. In reality, however, Midland High was in Cooper's position but did not make the playoffs just like Cooper.
  • Permian's first opponent in the playoffs was Amarillo Tascosa (31–7)[3] and not Dallas Jesuit as in the movie. In fact, in 1988 Texas public schools (such as Permian, Carter, and Amarillo High) and private schools (such as Jesuit) competed in separate leagues with separate playoffs. Jesuit was not allowed to join the previously all-public school University Interscholastic League until 2003, starting football competition in 2004. Permian did play Dallas Jesuit in Odessa during the regular season in 1988, winning 48–2.[4] Following the postseason victory over Tascosa, Permian defeated El Paso Andress 41-13, Irving Nimitz 48-7 and Arlington Lamar 21-7 before losing 14-9 to Dallas Carter in the semifinals at University of Texas Memorial Stadium in Austin. Converse Judson High School was the team that played Dallas Carter in 1988 for the 5A state championship, Judson lost to Carter but was later awarded the state title due to Carter having ineligible players.

Cameo roles

  • Chicago Bears wide receiver Roy Williams (a Permian alumnus) has a cameo in the movie, ironically, as an assistant coach for Midland Lee (Permian's arch-rival).
  • Former New England Patriots cornerback Ty Law plays a wide receiver for Dallas Carter, the team Permian plays in the movie's state championship game (as noted earlier, the real Permian-Carter game was a semifinal). He wears jersey #2, his last name is Graf, and he eventually catches a one-handed touchdown pass.
  • The real James "Boobie" Miles plays a Permian assistant coach in the film. Although he has no lines, he is seen several times. In the locker room scene at halftime of the state championship game, he is seen standing next to the fictional "Boobie" Miles as Coach Gaines gives his speech.

Soundtrack

Main article: Friday Night Lights (soundtrack)

The soundtrack for the film predominantly features post-rock band Explosions in the Sky. Music by Daniel Lanois and rock band Bad Company are also included. Other songs in the film are "Just Got Paid" by ZZ Top, during the montage of the Panthers' road to the finals; the pump up song that is featured as the team runs through the tunnel in the game against Dallas Carter is "New Noise" by the seminal Swedish punk band Refused. Also, during the start of the third quarter during the Championship game, the song "I Wanna Be Your Dog" by The Stooges is used.

Critical reception

Reviews of the film were highly positive. The film received an 81% "Certified Fresh" rating on Rotten Tomatoes, based on 168 reviews, and a score of 70/100 on Metacritic, based on 35 reviews.

While the residents of Odessa held a negative reception of the book, the residents anticipated the release of the film.[5]

References

  1. ^ 50 Best High School Movies.
  2. ^ "Marshall Edges Odessa Permian". - Dallas Morning News. - September 11, 1988.
  3. ^ Sports: "Key Games". - Dallas Morning News. - December 8, 1988.
  4. ^ "Sixth-Ranked Permian Rolls of Jesuit, 48-2". - Dallas Morning News. - October 16, 1988.
  5. ^ "FRIDAY NIGHT FRIGHTS." The Miami Herald. March 29, 2004. 2D Sports. Retrieved on September 3, 2011.

External links

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