Friday Night Lights

Mark Laliberte · 10-08-2004, 11:33 AM

Is anyone going to see this? I cannot wait to go. I read the book right after high school (in 1993) and it may be my favorite sports book of all time (maybe after Summer of '49 but they are close). The reviews look good for it as well.

(It's Friday, I'm rambling

)

everyman · 10-08-2004, 01:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mark Laliberte

Is anyone going to see this? I cannot wait to go. I read the book right after high school (in 1993) and it may be my favorite sports book of all time (maybe after Summer of '49 but they are close). The reviews look good for it as well.

(It's Friday, I'm rambling

)

I read the book and can't wait to be dissapointed by the movie.

purple_and_gold10 · 10-09-2004, 10:54 PM

Just went and saw this movie tonight and i loved it...the hype and excitement of cant wait to go see it was matched tonight by probably what will become one of the year's best films. I would say a good description of this move would be a mix between Remember the Titans and Varsity Blues. Billy Bob Thornton was great and i honestly cant find a scene or actor i didnt like. Yahoo! gave it an A- with the critics so you know its good. I do think that the movie is different than the book. However, i read the book a long time ago and cant remember everything that happened it...

But definitely...Get out and see this movie!! Its worth it!

Hammer · 10-09-2004, 11:04 PM

I don't know if I'd go that far, but it was very good. It was probably one of the best football movies I've ever seen, but they Disney-ed up the ending.

They were dead-nuts accurate in the story-telling right up until the playoffs, and then they started shaking up the facts. They also missed the whole point of the book about Dallas Carter High. I don't want to give anything else away here, but if you've read the book you'd definitely understand. If they would have gotten that part right the movie would have been so much more powerful, IMHO.

Still a **** good flick.

Blackout · 10-10-2004, 12:44 AM

i read the book in june...

...saw the movie tonight...

some stuff was dead on, others not so much. Michael didnt get hit after every throw in the book, heh, but if thats as bad as the dramatization gets then so be it

I dont want to give anything away, so i will be suttle... i dont remember an event happening in the book that happened in the movie... its how *his* chin gets cut vs. Carter before the half... was that made up? i forget...

also the helmet thing before boobie's hit, that was a little drama too

otherwise good. Ivory wasnt a prominent enough character. there was little explination about how the cheerleading system worked (pepetts, although they hinted with the rice krispies), and i was bummed no watermellon feed. LV looked JUST like the LV in the book. Oh, and i dunno how many people read last week's SI, but the real Boobie is a coach on the sidelines, and i got hit in the chest when he was standing next to the acting boobie during half time, nuts....

not to ramble, but a little more.... Alot of people laughed at the scene when boobie is in the car crying... I was kinda mad they portrayed him as such an ***, when the book shows him as more of a cocky kid who means well but has nothing else but football... the movie makes you root against him, kinda...

Thornton and Tim McGraw were EXCELLENT... Chavez's character was dead on. a few lesser players werent even mentioned.

oh, my biggest beef? the astrodome? ***? now i realize this was purely for the reason it was easier and cheaper to shoot, but man, c'mon....

all in all i think you need to read the book to get more out of the movie... without the book its just any given sunday in high school form... the whole story is hidden...

i loved the book, it might be my favorite ever, and having played football myself in a football town (that was no Odessa, but still) some things really hit home

edit: Hammer, i just got your reference to Dallas Carter, reminds me of a whole CHAPTER that was left out. I agree, it should have at least have been mentioned

Brenthoven · 10-10-2004, 03:39 AM

So far, the best football movie I have seen that really captures the moment is Varsity Blues. Laugh at me if you will, but it was a solid movie in the fact that it captured the hard-arse coach, the studious player, the politics, etc. Sure, some things were glamorized, but it was a solid movie.

Having said that, I will definitely check out FNL, but Billy Bob might be a distraction from the story.