One on One

This was the first Robbie Benson I ever saw. Once I did see it, I have always been alert for other things which involved his talents.

This movie was especially meaningful to me because I took a much younger friend to view it with me. After seeing the movie I bought the fabulous movie soundtrack album by Seals and Crofts, and those songs were played over and over by this young friend and I until every word and note could be sung-along with the artists. I think this experience was an inspirational time for both myself and my young friend, who could identify in many ways with Benson's character.

Decades later I find that few fans of Seals and Crofts even know they recorded such a soundtrack, much less having any familiarity with the movie One On One. However, I have always since sought-out other features and appearances by Robbie Benson, and have become a life-long fan of this talented, if somewhat obscure, actor. I will continue to seek-out his productions and performances wherever Robbie Benson may show himself next. We are blessed by the gift of such a competent and gifted artist.

Henry Steele grows up playing basketball in small town USA, doing well at his high school he is soon signed by a college. There he enjoys easy money and special treatment in many ways. However when he begins to fall for Janet, who is teaching him extra classes, he loses his focus on the basketball. This causes his coach to regret his pick and ask Henry to resign his scholarship. When Henry refuses it begins a war of attrition between the two.

At heart this is a tale of a little guy who overcomes obstacles in his attempt to do well in life and in sport. When I taped it all I knew was that it was a basketball movie, so I thought I'd give it a try. At the start I thought it was going to be all innocent as opposed to sports movies now that focus on the real side of it as well as the game (Any Given Sunday, Blue Chips etc), however this had layers of brutality, drugs, money being `given' to students etc. The story at core is one of Henry battling against his coach and it is quite good, but the added layers add more too.

It may never be excellent but it is better than expected and was quite enjoyable (even if the basketball is played at a bit slower pace than now!). Benson is a bit too innocent and whiney at times as Steele but once you get used to him it's ok – he also co-wrote, not bad for a 21 year old! O'Toole is OK but isn't really anything other than a device for moving the plot on. Spradlin is good – but for the first 20 minutes I could hear his voice giving better lines in a better film – it bugged me until I placed him in Apocalypse Now. An almost unrecognisably young Melanie Griffith makes a brief appearance – but overall the cast is good enough to keep this just above the level of a TVM.

Overall it may seem a little naive compared to modern college sports films but it's actually quite enjoyable, even if it won't change your life!

Perfect? No. Rewatchable? Yes. I liked the movie when it came out and I can still watch it. Sure, Steele makes some bonehead mistakes and reacts to things awkwardly like a young inexperienced noob. I felt like this when I first joined the football team, some of those players were men! Yeah, I got head butted by a samoan during non-contact practice but I learned from that and dodged him the next time he came around but my inexperienced noob friend Gary wasn't as lucky as he got jacked off the ground by the same guy. Yeah, I blew it on a few girls when I didn't know what to do with them in my younger days. These are all why I feel this movie is real to me. Of course, the coach bloodying Steele's face is overdone but I remember my first coach calling me by the wrong name and showing a little disrespect. Steele's roommate reminds me of my friend George Devaney, who helped me while I was trying to make the team (No he didn't give me drugs). He ended up starting while I quit (but I ended up starting both ways the next year elsewhere). This movie hits close to home for me. And didn't we all just hate that snooty hippie and enjoy it as Steele finally stood up to him. Some of the lines in this movie are corny but that's how the 70s were. "Justice" by Seales and Croft adds some nice emotion to the film. BTW, in Spike Lee's opinion this is the worst sport movie ever. Spike who? I've seen much worse.

G. D. Spradlin is a splendid actor. Between his role as the coach here, and in the same role in the great football flick, "North Dallas Forty" - he has undoubtedly won, hands-down, the prize for the best portrayal of the quintessential "total horse's-ass coach." As others have pointed-out, it is illogical that he would recruit Henry (Robby Benson) as heavily as he did, then not know who he was when he reports on campus. Also, he knew Henry was a small-school, small-in-stature, fast-break player, whose talents were speed, ball handling and shooting - and yet, he is non-plussed when this doesn't seem to fit with his slower, ball control, "big-team" offensive philosophy.

The gratuities furnished Henry (automobile, do-nothing job, alum booster buying his game tickets for exorbitant amount) are beyond the scope even the most "liberal" programs would furnish - at least in terms of their obviousness, with little intent to provide some sense of legitimacy to them. And the coach's decision regarding Henry's scholarship, and his measures to try to drive him off the team, are over-the-top, even for the heavy-handed character portrayed (and even bearing in mind that big-time college athletic programs are not as altruistic as the schools like to portray).

But these contrivances are also what make the movie more interesting, and sometimes characterizations which are exaggerated help as much as they hinder the plot - and they do so here. I remember seeing Burt Reynolds with Johnny Carson on a show, discussing a movie in which Benson had appeared with him. He laughed about winning bets from others when Benson was able to do 100 sit-ups in about a minute. With some of the performances in sports movies, where the principals can be made to look like they can perform only by using trick photography or stunt doubles - it is a pleasure to watch Benson, who obviously is physically capable, and knows how to handle, pass and shoot a basketball. Annette O'Toole is engaging in the female lead, and together they make an attractive, appealing young couple.

I came across this movie on TV by chance, and was compelled to keep watching purely due to Robbie Benson's performance. If you are in any way a fan of the young (or older) charming, adorable, and sexy Robby Benson, this movie is worth your time. A young, completely collagen, silicone, and botox free, Melanie Griffith also has a wonderful little part as a hitchhiker at the beginning of the film. The first ten minutes are worth watching just for her!! (And I don't even like Melanie Griffith.)

In the lead role as Henry Steele, Robby Benson is completely engaging and totally believable as a naive and talented basketball player having his eyes opened to the realities of life in the big city and the world of big-business college sports. He also clearly trained physically for the part, increasing both his watchability on the court (as an athlete) as well as his sex appeal. Annette O'Toole is charming as his tutor; it is not hard to see why she grows to care about him as he rises to her challenge to study hard in spite of "jock" stereotypes.

As for Henry's conflicts with his coach and his difficulties in practice, while this part of the storyline is undoubtedly heavy-handed, his character is all the more lovable for the trials he faces physically, emotionally, and morally, both on and off the court. In addition, the story of the smalltown sports star who finds himself "humbled" when up against other great players from across the country is always interesting, even if it is overdone in certain respects.

Although the storyline overall is entirely predictable, the performances hold up over time. I found myself wishing Robby Benson was still a young heartthrob--or at least putting his pretty face, as well as his other talents, in front of the camera more often.

Be forewarned, however; unlike the rest of the film, the '70s ballads used for the soundtrack do not stand the test of time. Also, the corny movie tagline does not do the film justice.

While ultimately unimportant to the overall plot, I did find it quite annoying that so little attention was paid to the fact that Henry Steele is supposed to be this great basketball star, yet he's at least a foot shorter than every other player. It is mentioned maybe twice in the entire film. If you won't be able to set this annoyance aside while you watch, ... better to save this film for someone else.

Note: I would like to thank the previous reviewer, whose spot-on comments helped me pay attention to (and even re-watch) the film's better scenes, while pointing my finger to the fast-forward button on my TiVo at some of the "less-than-stellar" movie moments.