NDSU Spectrum: Movie review

‘Titans’ is a great football movie and more

By JOHN HANSEN

Oct. 6, 2000

“I’m not saying I’m perfect. None of us are. But as a team, we are perfect.”

This line describes the T.C. Williams football team that battles for the Virginia state championship in “Remember the Titans,” but it could just as easily describe the film itself. The individual components might not be perfect, but as a whole, there are few football movies better than this one.

The film is based on a true story about two high schools–one black and one white–that merged in 1971 to form T.C. Williams High in Alexandria, Va. In order to appease the district’s powers that be by hiring at least one black coach, potential Hall of Famer Bill Yoast (Will Patton) is bumped out in favor of Herman Boone (Denzel Washington), who is coming off a successful stint coaching in North Carolina where an inferior white coach was promoted above him. Because the same thing happened to him, Boone doesn’t want to get Yoast’s job based on race, but the black community’s support is too overwhelming for him not to take it.

Similarly, Yoast’s destiny is also decided by others. At first, he plans to gracefully leave T.C. Williams and coach elsewhere, but his players sign a petition saying they won’t play for anyone but him. Not wanting to sacrifice his players’ future, Yoast decides to stay and coach the defense.

And so the groundwork is laid for a football movie that’s about more than just football. Written by Gregory Howard and directed by Boaz Yakin, “Titans” is a mellowed-down Jerry Bruckheimer-produced epic featuring two of today’s best actors in Washington and Patton; a great supporting cast of football players; cinematography, sets and music that takes us back to the early ‘70s; and the majestic musical score we’ve come to expect from Trevor Rabin (“Armageddon,” “Deep Blue Sea”).

It’s a movie about the power of teamwork–the Titans are only successful because they work together. If either coach had not been there, if any player had given up, the team would have crumbled. It may sound sappy on paper, but it’s powerful on screen.

The contrast in coaching philosophies is fascinating–both Boone and Yoast are good men with open minds who are untainted by the racism going on around them, but they also have typical coaches’ egos, a firm belief that their approach is right, and the track records to back it up. Boone is the brutal leader who runs training camp like boot camp; on the first day he announces “This is not a democracy, this is a dictatorship” and later he wakes the team up for a 3 a.m. run. Yoast takes the softer approach, realizing that yelling and insults don’t work on all players.

This philosophical debate runs throughout the film with points and counterpoints from both sides. When a player skulks away after a verbal thrashing from Boone, Yoast cheers him up with a friendly pep talk. Later, Boone tells Yoast he’s not doing the player any favors by going soft on him, because the real world certainly won’t.

Another major theme is the race conflict that gives the Titans a major obstacle that other schools of the time didn’t have. Boone tackles the issue head-on, having players of different races room together and telling them to learn something about their roommate, with the threat of three-a-day practices serving as the incentive. Friendships are formed, Temptations tunes are sung in the locker room, and male bonding ensues with the traditional exchange of “yo momma” jokes.

Again, it sounds corny on paper, but it works thanks to the likeable supporting cast of characters. Of particular note are quarterback Gerry Bertier (Ryan Hurst), running back “Rev” (Craig Kirkwood) and linebacker Julius “Big Ju” Campbell (Wood Harris).

It’s remarkable how true stories are often more surprising and dramatic than fiction. What screenwriter would dream of having Coach Yoast’s little girl Cheryl (delightfully played by Hayden Panettiere) be obsessed with football strategy, to the point where Coach Boone brings her over to analyze game film with him? One of the movie’s best lines comes from Boone after the mini-coach compliments his gameplan: “That means a lot coming from a five year-old.” “I’m nine and a half!” she responds.

If there’s one problem with “Titans,” its that it doesn’t have as many memorable moments as other Bruckheimer epics such as “Armageddon”; at times Rabin’s music seems to drive the film more than the plot does. But like a football team coming together at crunch time, “Titans” gels and delivers some heart-wrenching shocks and a finale that will get even the most jaded moviegoer a bit misty-eyed. It’s great that this little-known footnote in the history of race relations is finally getting its moment in the spotlight, along with all the quiet heroes that played a part.

Title: “Remember the Titans”

Starring: Denzel Washington, Will Patton, Ryan Hurst, Craig Kirkwood, Wood Harris, Hayden Panetteire

Written by: Gregory Allen Howard

Director: Boaz Yakin

Grade: A-