Between 1990 and 2003, De La Salle High School in Concord, CA (San Francisco Bay Area) won 151 consecutive football games. When the Game Stands Tall gets around this obvious plot problem by biographing only the end of the streak and in doing so, the film portrays a school that hasn’t lost in 13 years as an underdog. Gosh, remember that time the Harlem Globetrotters showed grit and determination to beat the heavily favored Washington Generals? That was a close one.
Coach Bob Ladouceur (Jim Caviezel) is pensive, quiet. He stresses hard work and humility. The goal is not perfect play, but perfect approach. The rest will follow. Contrasting Coach Ladouceur is neither a rival, nor a player, but a bad parent. As De La Salle’s best player, Chris Ryan (Alexander Ludwig), approaches a Babe Ruthian-type record (forgive the baseball example; there isn’t really a football equivalent), the biggest source of pressure comes from his own father (Clancy Brown). Dad wants that record. Son seems less sold on the idea. And this sets up the key conflict in When the Game Stands Tall between the rewards of personal glory and the rewards of personal growth. And Coach Bob is a personal growth guy, forever and always.
Um, how shall I put this? Bullshit.
Look, I don’t know Bob Ladouceur, but I do know sports. A 151 game win streak takes great talent, great discipline, great coaching, a fair amount of luck, a fair amount of circumstance, but most of all a head coach who doesn’t give a crap about anything besides the “W” column. The desire to cloak Coach Ladouceur in a shroud of piety strikes me as disingenuous and a tad insulting. 151 wins in a row tells me a story of a guy who on multiple occasions put the scoreboard ahead of a kid’s future. You didn’t lose once in thirteen years and you want me to believe you prioritized students and development? Uh uh. No way. Don’t sell that here. Frog ain’t buying. Furthermore, it’s kind of embarrassing portraying the man as a saint as you imply his teams win because 
of the goodness of his character. Yeah, that’s fine; what are you implying about the ones who don’t win so much?
When the Game Stands Tall constantly wants it both ways. At the heart of this absurd distortion of reality is when the film gets to a De La Salle upset. You spend the first half of this film talking about the invincibility of this structure and suddenly they’re so vulnerable we have to cheer for them? This is a classic forest-for-the-trees scene — Yes, De La Salle lost a talented senior class; yes, Coach Christ Ladouceur spent much of the summer in a hospital bed (not unlike post-crucifixion Jesus, I might add); yes, his son holds a starting position (frequently the kiss of death in amateur sports); and yes, they were 0 and 2 and playing the team ranked #1 in the nation the previous year (Long Beach Polytechnic high school)… but think about it. It’s De La Salle. Are you really surprised when these guys win a game? They went undefeated in the 90s. Not a year. The entire decade.
I’m more critical of Stands Tall outside the forest, where it’s easy to see the tree-line of exaggeration, where an obsessed win addict can be portrayed as modern Jesus – unassuming and wise and always looking to protect his flock. There’s some nice stuff in here; you’ll like the kids and the football scenes are well shot, but there isn’t greatness here — at least not from this vantage point.
A football team with Jesus as its head
Reflects the words our savior once said:
Not “turn the cheek”
Nor “overlook bye week”
“Do unto others as you would beat the spread.”
Rated PG, 115 Minutes
D: Thomas Carter
W: Scott Marshall Smith
Genre: SanDimas DeLaSalleHighSchoolFootball Rules!
Type of person most likely to enjoy this film: Saint Bob Ladouceur
Type of person least likely to enjoy this film: Local rival coaches
