Susan Granger’s review of “Gridiron Gang” (Columbia Pictures)
Based on a 1993 Emmy award-winning documentary, this true story about inner city thugs in juvenile detention who come together to forge a winning football team, neither scores nor inspires, except on the most superficial level.
Sean Porter (Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson) is a dedicated, hard-working probation officer at Camp Kilpatrick, the maximum-security last stop for violent teens before incarceration in an adult penitentiary. Dismayed over the recidivism rate, he believes that by forming a football team he can instill a sense of self-worth and discipline in these convicted felons. His first task is convincing the skeptical administrator (Leon Rippy) and his assistant (Kevin Dunn), then he has to find other high school coaches willing to compete against these repeated offenders.
“Let’s try the impossible,” he says. “The possible ain’t working.”
His biggest challenge is forming a cohesive squad since the grim boys, many from rival gangs, distrust one another. There’s surly Willie Weathers (Jade Yorker), who killed his mother’s boyfriend after his cousin died in a drive-by shooting in South Central L.A.; troubled Kenny Bates (Trever O’Brien), the token Caucasian; a surly Samoan known as Junior Palaita (Setu Taase); and Bug (Brandon Mychal Smith), the team’s water boy and mascot.
“This is your ‘hood now.You’re Mustangs!” Porter tells them.
Screenwriter Jeff Maguire has never encountered a sappy sports clichŽ or trite inspirational slogan that he doesn’t utilize. Director Phil Joanou peppers the predictable plot with some gritty glimpses of the real Camp Kirkpatrick in the Santa Monica Mountains but fails to navigate the melodramatic hurdles. So on the Granger Movie Gauge of 1 to 10, “Gridiron Gang” is a formulaic 5, concluding with clips of the real Sean Porter and relating what eventually happened to each of the players.
