Underdogs

I'm a veteran of sports movies... "Rudy", "We Are Marshall", "One on One"-- I grew up on them and still can't resist the genre. So I'm well aware of the underlying metaphor of struggle and victory as it applies to daily life. I also hold a college degree in Literature, so I can sniff out cheese in a movie. "Underdogs" was refreshingly different.

Yes, I loved it because I grew up in the region-- in the cradle of the birthplace of football. But I liked "Rudy", even though I've never worshiped the Football Jesus at Notre Dame. So, only minimal kudos for my love of place. I loved this movie because, unlike many sports movies, it was clear-eyed and real.

The cinematography was sharp and by no means low-budget. The camera was so omnipresent yet graceful that it was able to pick up the subtleties of actors' expressions that catapulted the story along. The pacing was never slow either. The movie roared along like a high-school football season,with the viewer caught up in the play-by-play of the tumultuous season, as well as the companion struggle of the movie's main protagonists. The movie really let its young actors tell the story, too, so the point of view came right from the characters' hearts. Although the adults in the film did the usual pontificating, it was really the kids' story.

As a veteran of many Film Festivals, I can say that this movie is not traditional Film Fest fare. As Sally Sparrow said so well in an episode of British TV series "Dr. Who", 'sad is happy for deep people'. So not your typical Film Fest Sturm und Dang, but plenty of clear-eyed, uncliched retelling of the football myth and legend in our culture.

As in really, really bad. The writing is terrible, the actors are horrible. We did get a good laugh at how terribly awful the movie is. I thought it was made 20 years earlier and my husband had dug up a gem from the unwatched movies tucked in to Netflix. There was not one appealing character, the scenes were clichéd... you could guess every single line and outcome. I love football and usually will sit through anything and at least partially be attracted. All I can say is, "Wow!" Was this movie cast from the dregs of an acting school in Akron, Ohio? And what kind of music makes up the background? The music would be better matched to a fern bar. I was stunned to learn this film had grossed over $30,000. Much like "Snakes on a Plane," "Underdogs" movie copies will fill bins in WalMart at a few hundred pennies for hopeful sale for many years to come.

I love sports movies, and 95% of them I can figure what's going to happen within the first five minutes, this movie is no exception. The acting is nothing special, but okay, the sports story is average but watchable, but the true tale about the inventor lifts the movie from a 5 to 6 star. It's a football movie, what's not to like?

Terrible movie with some bad acting. Mrs Burkett was terrible and stuttering dad was unbelievable. Turns out to be an ad for suarez's eden pure heaters. Good local flair and commentating by the local whbc sports reporter but not enough to make it worth the matinée price or the 1hr 45mins. of my time that I can't get back.

The best I can say about the movie is that quality filming was present. Doesn't look low budget.

My children and spouse graduated from Aquinas and they were embarrassed to see their school in this movie.

Movie is predictable and takes part of the local storyline into the movie. Those that worked at the Hoover company lived the working part of the story.

Save your time and if your local wait for the DVD release, should be in about 2 weeks.

I just saw this film yesterday at the Cleveland International Film Festival. I must say, I was very impressed.

The overall cinematography is in line with most modern day multi-million dollar Hollywood productions, even though this was produced as an independent film and shot in less than a month in Stark County, Ohio. It's amazing to see how far film makers can go when they actually have talent and aren't relying on a bloated budget and over-hyped marketing campaign. UNDERDOGS shines in that the shots themselves are well composed and can, at times, even evoke emotion.

The actors and actresses all performed extremely well. Though this is a family-oriented film, there wasn't a lot of "cheesy" moments or poor acting typically associated with those types of films. The characters themselves are very memorable and you could almost hear the audience praising the heroes and booing the villains as the film went on. There is enough humor sprinkled throughout to keep it from becoming too serious.

Though this was primarily a football movie, I found it quite engaging even though I didn't understand a lot of the football jargon. The parallel plot of an employee fighting against his greedy employer really helps drive home the whole spirit of being an underdog, which most people can really relate to.

Overall, fun and enjoyable film and highly recommended!