I was curious to see this as I'd seen the original and was interested to see how a follow-up to Remember The Goal would play out. Well I'm glad to say the evolution in writing/directing/acting is evident as this is a far more polished movie, a lot more scenes/settings, and overall just felt like a bigger production. And while I'm not a runner and have virtually no knowledge of the sport, I find these movies really interesting in terms of changing up the approach and strategy to win races.
I won't spoil anything, I will simply say this is a great movie from start to finish. At no point does it drag on or slow down, and at around 90 minutes the film feels perfectly edited.
The film is based on a runner named Brittany who is one of the top runners in the nation (at least, in her specific league - she's ranked #2). The whole coaching staff and other runners at her college all realize she is a gifted runner but, of course, there's still one girl who is faster - and the entire goal of the movie is to figure out how to win or, at the very least, place in the top 3 and get on the podium.
Coach Michaels, her coach at the college, is excellent in this movie! Very stern and genuine but sweet old soul who, unfortunately, is advised by his doctor that due to medical issues and the need for heart surgery, he will need to bow out of coaching Brittany for her upcoming race. Around this same time, Coach Smith-Donnelly is reintroduced and she and Coach Michaels both have a mutual respect for each other and also seem to be on the same page in terms of both coaching and their faith. Brittany was actually a runner at Orange Hills and Smith-Donnelly was her coach during high school, so the two know each other well. One thing to note, Smith-Donnelly is used to endurance races but not the 800m, which Brittany is running, so she learns a thing or two from Coach Michaels and, after some consideration, he recommends Smith-Donnelly take over as Brittany's coach while he steps aside due to health reasons and a need for surgery.
From here we see a similar story arc as we saw in the first movie. Smith Donnelly employs some unusual training techniques which aren't immediately understood by Brittany but by using inspirational parables she gets Brittany to have trust in the training regimen.
This dynamic is the main storyline, but there are other stories playing out at the same time: Smith Donnelly and her husband reach a fork in the road regarding career location and whether they will upend their lives to relocate. Brittany and her boyfriend (another runner at the college) hit an inevitable snag in their relationship which complicates matters. Due to a misunderstanding (and also uncertainty about Smith-Donnelly's unusual training style) the other coaches at the college don't embrace her right away - which causes some tension amongst the coaching staff. There's also an issue of one of the other runners who isn't necessarily acting like a Christian should. Her immoral behavior is called into question by her teammates and eventually word of this behavior reaches the ears of Smith-Donnelly who gives this runner another really well delivered parable about doing the right thing in life.
Anyway, this review is getting quite long and I apologize for that. All this is to say I think it's a great movie! I will definitely watch it a few more times as I think there's a lot to absorb and the overall storyline is excellent.
I think these racing movies that Dave Christiano is putting out are excellent and I really hope he continues them or at the very least considers another sequel (hey, sequels are meant to exist in 3's!). I also think Allee Sutton Hethcoat has evolved very much as an actress and I would love to see her in more roles either with or without Dave at the director's helm.
Overall a great movie and a worthy successor to Remember the Goal. Everything here seems more fleshed out, polished and precise. That's not to say I didn't enjoy the first movie, I just think this one is shows great all around improvement. Perhaps I simply relate more, age-wise, to the lives of college folks than high schoolers.
Great movie, highly recommended!
