This past February, UNDEFEATED took home the Best Documentary Feature Oscar. The film tells the story of a feisty, focused coach determined to end the losing streak of a football team from a school that’s seen better days. The prime example of this plot would go all the way back to 1940 with KNUTE ROCKNE, ALL AMERICAN and continue through to the more recent REMEMBER THE TITANS and WE ARE MARSHALL. So it might be more than a bit familiar. And the documentary techniques are not ground-breaking. We’re basically a fly on the wall observing the start of the new season. But what observations! There’s just as much drama and suspense here as in any big Hollywood ” based on true events” flick. You don’t have to be a pigskin fanatic to be enthralled with these people. Perhaps you may identify with one or two of the principals even if you never took to the field.
UNDEFEATED chronicles the Fall 2009 football season at Manassas High School of West Memphis Tennessee. The area around the school has been hit hard by the economic down-turn. The neighborhoods are filled with boarded-up, abandoned houses, piles of garbage, and drug dealers on nearly every corner. The school’s football team ( as Colbert would call them, ” the fightin’ Tigers” ) is almost in the same sad shape as those mean streets. In some recent seasons the team went without a single win. Hoping to reverse the trend is Head Varsity Football Coach Joe Courtney. He’s the owner of a big lumber company who’s had a love of the game since childhood. We see him spending the early morning hours supervising his business then zipping over to the school to roam the halls and do some on the run recruiting ( ” Got a nice jersey just for you! “). He’s a big, jovial guy ( kind of a cross between Kevin James and the much missed John Candy ) who’s often the only white face roaming the hallways. With racial issues filling the news today, the film presents a great portrait of respect and co-operation. Courtney loves his team, but feels guilt pangs over the time away from his own kids. He blows his top sometimes, but he’s always there when his players have a problem.
Speaking of players, the film focuses on three members of the Tigers. The most promising, gifted player may be the gentle giant O.C. Brown. He’s got the size to take out the competition, but unlike most husky guys, O.C. has the speed. We see him clearing a path for the running back to score and running alongside. College scouts have started to sniff around. The only thing that O.C. can’t seem to break through is his studies, particularly the all-important SAT tests. Because he and his grandmother live in such a rough part of town, no tutors will venture there, so the coach came up with a plan. O.C. will live with the family of one of the coaching staff during the school week. After class and practice, the tutors will work with him there. The opulent suburbs are a completely foreign world to the big, sweet-natured young man ( reminiscent of THE BLIND SIDE, except he’s back with Grandma’ on the weekends ).
While O.C.’s a man of few words, his team-mate Motrail ’Money” Brown, has the gift of gab. Money’s got big plans, but unfortunately he’s one of the shortest guys on the squad ( ala’ RUDY ). He spends most of the game begging to be sent in. His story might be the most affecting. He’s an easy-going, ambitious guy, who’s pals with the team’s loose cannon Chavis Daniels. We first meet Chavis as he returns to school after 15 months in a youth detention facility. He’s got an explosive temper and lashes out unexpectedly. Courtney’s got his hands full dealing with this angry young man’s blow-ups. The coach wrestles with Chavis’s behavior. How many chances does he get? Can football channel all his pent-up emotions. Or will he be swallowed up by the streets? It’s a wrenching dilemma.
What comes across in the film is a need by most of the team, including the coach, for a male authority figure. In an emotional confession Courtney talks about his father walking out of his life as a toddler. After finding some joy in football, he’d be filled with sadness watching his team mates leaving the field with their dads ( one hand on his son’s shoulders, the other carrying his boy’s helmet and pads ). We see the profiled players with mothers, aunts, and grandmothers, but rarely with male relatives. This not to say the film is full of gloom. Included are many small victories ( I won’t reveal how the season ended ), a major setback for one player, and an act of incredible kindness that may have you reaching for your hankie ( unless your veins are filled with ice water! ). As I said earlier, no ground-breaking documentary techniques here. No re-creations, no graphs, no animations. It’s similar to the format now adopted for TV sitcoms like ” The Office ” and ” Modern Family “. Except there’s very few seated confessionals or interviews here. Everyone’s always on the move, particularly Coach Courtney. I never threw on the pads and helmet at school, but I was delighted to spend some time with this team. Any teenager mentored by Coach Courtney is a winner, no matter what the scoreboard reads.
Overall Rating : 5 Out of 5 Stars
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