Movies-TV

My favorite football movie

I saw this movie on some random cable network one day when I was sick in bed. I couldn't stop laughing. The story is of course lame, but it's a comedy so that can be forgiven. Robert Loggia's halftime speech in the final game is halarious. The list of b-list actors will keep you laughing. Go 'dillos!

Oh yeah, it's necessary

When was the last time a Scott Bakula performance blew you out of your seat. Actually, when was the last time a Bakula performance DIDN'T blow you out of your seat. Scotty's back and he's up to his old tricks. In this flick he throws on a denim jacket and cowboy hat and heads back to good ol' Texas State where the football team is desperate to find anyone to fill out their squad (even a 34 year-old). When viewing this, prepare yourself for a stellar performance from Hector Elizondo and even Hogan Familiy's Jason Bateman (fully!). You can expect to find Sinbad "keeping it real" and "to the max". If comedy is your vice than prepare to get naughty because Rob Schneider's one-liners from the press box gave my knee a bruise from slapping it so hard. I know you're probably thinkin'... it's a football film, no girls allowed. No siree, Suzanne Carter is magnificent as a professor who falls for Paul Blake's (Bakula) rugged charm. Kathy Ireland rounds out the cast as the place kicker (and kick she does)! If your ready for a some rowdy, radical comedy on the grid-iron, then make sure you add this little gem to your your "collection de excellance". You can find this film on my shelf right next to other sports comedies such as "The Little Giants", "Major League 1-3", and "Goofus and Galant Take the Field".

Necessary Entertainment!

It seems that now critics are even entering the football realm. My knowledge of what makes a film great, differs greatly from the so called critics, I even thought Saving Private Ryan was best picture. I do know football though, and none of them can mach my understanding of this great game. Yes, the film is far fetched, but what film isn't? Iron man football, going both ways, is difficult to do, but many high-schools across the country have to do so in order to field a large enough team to compete. What this film does, that so few others can, is lift your spirits above the playing field. Appriciation for the integrity of college athletics is the underlying aspect of this film, without sounding contrite. The realism comes from the fact that they are simply trying to win a game, not a national championship. Success is all too often measured in wins, this film measures it in laughs and good feelings. I watch this film every August, to get in the mood for football season. I reccomend that every football lover does the same. P.S. this would be easier to do if it were in DVD format, hint hint!

Not great, but fun to watch.

Scott Bakula gets re-recruited (if that's a real word) to play for the fictitious Texas State Fighting Armadillos after the NCAA drops the hammer on the football program following various violations. It sounds like a premise to a bad sitcom, but in this case it's the premise to a somewhat decent, if not forgettable, movie. POSITIVES:Sinbad: The man has always been funny and will probably go down as one of the most under-appreciated comics working today.Kathy Ireland: 'Nuff said.Hector Elizondo and Robert Loggia: Not exactly Laurel and Hardy, but a likable duo and one that you truly want to root for.Larry Miller: As the dean, he's a complete tool. He does that part so well it makes you wonder if he's as big a tool off screen as he is on. The perfect villain.The "Convict" Football Team: Just looking at the credits that say "Convict Football Team" would make any football player wet himself.NEGATIVES:Harley Jane Kozak and Scott Bakula: I didn't feel any chemistry between them at all. Nor did I believe for a second that they had any feelings for each other whatsoever.The writing: It's in the negative category. 'Nuff said.** out of *****

A fine football flick, with enough zany humor and romance to please both sexes

Paul (Scott Bakula) was a great high school quarterback in Texas, where he never lost a game. However, his father died after football season was over and Paul felt obligated to take over the family farm. Therefore, he turned down scholarships and never went to college. But, now Texas State wants him, wants him badly. The university has had a long history of NCAA violations and, consequently, is having trouble recruiting players. But, with a new, straight-arrow coach (Hector Elizondo), his assistant (Robert Loggia), and a dedicated college president, Texas State is trying to turn the tide. Paul, although he is now 34, agrees to join the team and the freshman class. Wouldn't you know it, though, he soon has a run-in with an attractive female professor (Harley Jane Kozak), who refuses to accept his growing interest in her. And, with a ragtag roster of only 17 players, playing both offense and defense, can they win any games? This is a fine football flick with some elements of romance thrown in, too, to please any viewer. The cast is very nice, with Bakula, Elizondo, Loggia, Sinbad, a tiny-bit- pretentious Kozak, a lovely Kathy Ireland, a very funny Rob Schneider, and a hilarious Larry Miller whooping it up all the way. The football scenes are quite fine as well, which should please any true gridiron fan. Yes, unfortunately, the film looks dated, with its out of fashion costumes and its mediocre camera work. The Texas setting, however, is rather welcome. All in all, if you love the game-with-a-pigskin, you must arrange to view this one. You will find it greatly entertaining. Fans of romcoms, too, who are running out of material, will be pleased with the efforts here as well.

A great film

All of the charaters are likeable in their own way. Scott is a great actor who I always enjoy watching. It doesn't quite follow the pattern of other sports films, and I don't agree that it's unrealistic. All they are doing is trying to win, and you will be as pleased as they are when they do.

Rough and unnecessary

Necessary Roughness is a humorous film that's supposed to make us laugh and cheer for the underdog. It has its parts, I admit, where it is good fun and it is enjoyable, but then it has its stupid, cliched parts that kinda ticks me off as a student of football.

Good points:
1) I think there's a good range of characters, each one has a different persona, thankfully. Some of them are pretty enjoyable and even at times believable. Especially the QB, an older guy going back to college to guide a losing team to a better record. It's a storyline we can follow and his character is pretty fun to follow.
2) I like how this was about a losing team, a nobody school, that is trying to get a couple wins, not a championship under their belt. If this had been a film about a nothing school going all the way, I would've given it one star.
3) This film has a solid plot, for a football film. It has easy characters to follow and the objective of the film is clear. Meaning, you know what it's about and it answers most the questions that might be raised during the film.

All right the bad things:
1) The dialogue of this film is so full of cliches and you can almost expect what each character is going to say because it is so scripted. This really hurt the originality of this film, the complete originality of this film.
2) The romance is unnecessary and dumb. It has nothing to do with the plot, it's just a side note that the QB is making out with his English prof. I mean, who cares? It's not as if she plays an important role and it isn't as if the romance is crucial to the development of characters.
3) The bar fight. How predictable and stupid. And naturally the team they fight over in the bar is the very same team they meet in the final game. How cliche.
4) What I wanted to see was this aging QB to have to prove himself all over again, kind of work his way up and earn the confidence of his team members. That would've added the element of emotion in this film, which lacks because you don't really care a whole bunch about any of the characters, they are just entertaining jocks. Instead, he's accepted almost instantly and doesn't have to earn his starting job, it's granted to him. Because everything is practically handed to him, all the oppertunities that is, how in the world can we possibly sympathize with his character?
5) A football film without emotion is a pretty boring film, if at best, a one time wonder and then it's dull. Which is the problem with this film. It's fun to watch the first time around, but after that, it's like who cares? This film taught me nothing because I was never involved with the plot or any of the characters emotionally. Again, it had good characters, but they weren't good enough to make this film better because they were all distant jocks.

If you are looking for a football film that's fun to watch one time, then watch this film. But don't even think for a second you'll want to buy this film to watch again and again. It's just not worth it. It's an average sports film, with poor dialogue, and lack of creativity in development of characters.

Grade: C

One of the most well made football movies of all time

Sports comedies are truly a lost art, and
this one proved to be the last great film in
this rather little used genre. While films
like The Replacements and Little Giants
have tried, they have ultimately failed. This
film's cast wasn't littered with big name
talent, it proved sufficient in the story of a
bunch of football players trying to be a team.
While few really appreciate this movie for
what it is, it is probably the last great film in
a genre that is slowly being overtaken by
raunchy teen comedies and pointless
excursions into other sub-genres

Necessary Roughness

Doesn't hold up to the calibre of a "Longest Yard" or "Slap Shot", but does have its moments with Loggia and Elizondo working the hardest.

One of the funniest movies I've seen

This is an absolutely hilarious movie that I would recommend toanyone. True, it has the same basic plot as every other sports movie that has come out in the last 20 years (group of ragtags come together to form a team to defeat a bigger, more evil team, etc.), but there such high energy in all the performances, and the dialogue is so brimming with hilarity that it doesn't matter. How many "comedies" have come out recently that contain only a few jokes, each of them surrounded by tons of boring and meaningless plot development that don't add up to anything. For anyone tired of this, I highly urge you to take a look at this highly underrated film filled with dialogue that is refreshingly funny all the way through. Movies like this are what great comedy is all about.

Good movie, was it altered?

I enjoyed this movie for what it is, a Hollywood underdog, sports movie. Lots of clichés, but it worked for me.I recently saw it on cable, and then on DVD, because something was bothering me. I could swear that a few scenes were different than when I saw it originally. First, I could have sworn that there was a scene where the Suzanne Carter character pulled out her old scrapbook that had Bakula's high school sports clippings. Also, at the Gatorade shower scene, I thought that Coach Gennero was going to get drenched but he scooted away. It's weird, neither of those scenes were in the DVD or the current cable version. Geez, maybe my memory is playing tricks on me.Anyhow, if you liked Major League, and football, you should enjoy this movie.

Not Necessary

This movie was on the pay channels today and I had nothing to do so I had it on. This has to be the worst football movie ever made. This has to be one of the worst movies period. The premium service on the cable system has a rating system, and they gave 2 stars out of 4. This movie isn't even a half a star. Bad acting, Scott Bakula sinks as usual, Larry Miller?? Sinbad, couldn't act if he tried. Rob Schneider's one liners completely stunk. Fred Thompson should be embarrassed that he was even in this movie. The only saving grace for this movie was the hope you would see Kathy Ireland nude in the shower, not even close. A complete waste of time and of film. If we could give a negative number, minus 9.

This is an entertaining family film

Mr. Bakula is his engaging self in this roll and, while it might insult the critics, I thought it a fun film...something the whole family can watch, enjoy and be entertained by. Hey, every now and then people actually want to enjoy a movie without getting teary or "deep". Well worth the rental or purchase!

Its a cute show

Scott Bakula is great as he is in anything he does. It is a unique show as it isn't about the winning so much as becoming a team. It has some very funny scenes and it is fun for the whole family.

Fun football movie

Necessary Roughness is a fun movie that if it isn't taken too seriously can be very enjoyable. The first to worst Texas State team finds itself with a team of mostly "non-athletes" that came about after the school held open tryouts. The entire championship team from the year before had been suspended for violations. Scott Bakula plays a competent lead as a middle aged college athlete. Sinbad adds some fun to the story as another "elder athlete". Kathy Ireland, while no actress, does add some eye candy to the film. I also like this film in that this rag-tag team does not reach the heights of being #1 or making it to a championship game. The "big game" of this film is when Texas State plays the the #1 ranked college team. The film has plenty of laughs, a touch of drama and competent script writing and players. Watch it on a Sunday afternoon when nothing else is on.

I think i must have missed something

this movie is allegedly a comedy.so where did all the laughs go.did the forget to put them in,on the version i watched.as a football movie,it is mildly entertaining,i guess.maybe'm just a stick in the mud,with no discernible sense of humour.or maybe this movie just isn't funny.it is also annoying,with that way over the top "you're a winner"musical score.and the odd thing is,the team sucked through most of the season,only winning the last two games,and the last game meant nothing since they were not in the playoffs.so what is the point? are they celebrating mediocrity?I don't see it.if anybody knows,please let me know.anyway,this movie isn't great or even very good.i'm giving it a low 3*

Necessary Roughness - definitely

This is one film that I could watch repeatedly. It was an entertaining story starring the talented actor, Scott Bakula, as the aging QB. It is funny, great cast-interaction, exciting game action and characters you can't help but really root for .....

When you want to kick back...

Always been a Scott Bakula fan, but this movie -- which also stars Sinbad -- is a great one! The language and some bedroom scenes makes it inappropriate for kids, but when you want a movie to get your mind of things...this is a good one!

great movie

The storyline is old but the cast brings a new light on it. The movie wanted you to kick the dean and have the professorstudent relationship go farther. YEE-HAAAA

The Major League of Football movies.

This is a very good flick, and Scott Bakula has always been one of my favorite actors.I first saw this film on TV as a child and recently picked up the DVD in a bargain bin and just re-watched it. It has only gotten better with age.I love the concept of this movie, and having been a college athlete myself, understand the NCAA sanctions and the rampant cheating that does go one within the sports world, which made this movie all the more enjoyable for me.Within the course of this movie we see the Texas State University football team (the two time defending national champions) suffer through a plethora of NCAA violations and lose all of the scholarship players, coaches and broadcast rights to their games. The new coach recruits a 35-year old freshman with a what-if I had gone to college attitude, and he quickly meets and falls for his journalism teacher, before she realised that he was not faculty but one of her students. It's fun to watch this film and wonder 'what if' like if this really did happen to this extent how would a team prevail.