Friday Night Lights

The reason Varsity Blues is so much like Friday Night Lights is b/c VB is a fictional story which was written 10 years after the true story of FNL took place in Odessa, TX in 1988.

The game faces worn by the players in FNL are genuine. The "Religion" of High School Football gave them no other choice. H.G. Bissinger spent almost an entire year with his family in 1988 in Odessa, TX. He essentially became a part of the community and team in documenting and then writing his book Friday Night Lights. He said that due to depressed economic conditions, lack of higher education, and good paying jobs, the communities in West Texas looked upon the high school football programs as saviors from reality.

I just don't see how anyone who didn't read the book could follow the story at all. The book was so watered down, and the story is almost unrecognizable. We saw precious little of Booby Miles' complexity or the pressures around him over which he had no control. We saw almost nothing of Chavez, one of the very few players who actually made something of himself, or what effect the high school football experience had on his success in life. And the other players ... their personal lives were so affected by what happened that single season, and it was pretty much ignored. There was so much background about the frenzy that Mojo generated (and still generates) in Odessa that just wasn't shown.

That being said, I can see why the people in Odessa so disapproved of the book and loved the movie. The movie doesn't show the rather affectionate, yet unflattering picture that Buzz Bissinger painted of the town. Instead, it only showed the stereotypical hype of small town football. After seeing the movie, PLEASE do yourself a favor and read the book.

Few films are truly elevated by their soundtracks, but the scores/songs composed by Explosions in the Sky capture the solitude of youth in suffocating situations (lost in their father's dreams, the isolation of a small Texas town, the aimlessness of high school etc.).

Based on a book, this movie does a really good job following a Texas high school football team through their season while dealing with themes of expectations, racism, and class. I'm not sure if this is better than the series or not. There's pros and cons to both. But the movie captures everything in just 2 hours and keeps you engaged and excited throughout. There's also some great sport action scenes and music and edits. It's definitely a strong sports drama that's always worth watching. Definitely recommend this to anyone. IMDb needs to chilllllllll with this stupid character minimum expectation.

When I first heard of this movie, I immediately let it go under my radar because I am not a big fan of sports movies. However, I am a huge fan of the Texas band Explosions in the Sky and when I heard a few months ago that they scored most of the soundtrack for Friday Night Lights, it was compulsory that I check it out.

It turns out that I freaking love this movie. The cinematography is nicely done, comprising wide, sweeping shots of Texas plains, oil-rigs, and football fields. The colors come through nicely (the white and black of the jerseys is particularly nice). As I already mentioned, I am not a big sports fan, but from what I could tell, the football sequences were well done and quite intense.

The acting is superbly executed by most in the film. However, there are still one or two times when one of the players' lines is delivered with that all-too-well-known teen-acting cheesiness that almost makes me cringe a little. Those times aside, the acting works wonderfully.

As I already mentioned, the reason why I initially watched this movie, was because Explosions in the Sky did the score. In my opinion, every song that they wrote (or adapted from previously written songs) for this movie lends beautifully to the content. Their lush soundscapes play nicely alongside the beautiful fields of Texas (no surprise, since TX is their home). Their crescendo-laden rock happens also to fit perfectly with slow-motion sequences (which there are plenty of in Friday Night Lights).

I am sure that almost all of the other reviews here have touched on the fact that this football movie does not play like other football movies (with all of the regular sport movie clichés). Because of this, I won't go into that. My thoughts are, if you like football (and also enjoy genuinely good cinema) OR if you aren't really a big fan of football (and also enjoy genuinely good cinema), you will probably dig Friday Night Lights.

So go and buy the DVD; and while you are at the store, pick up an Explosions in the Sky CD.