Racing to get their biography of long-distance Steve Prefontaine to the big screen, the makers of "Prefontaine" left something behind. Unfortunately, it wasn't a competing project from Tom Cruise's production company: It was a lot of substance.
As far as filmed biographies go, "Prefontaine" isn't quite as shallow as some superficial TV-movies-of-the-week. And it does boast some very appealing performances, particularly young hunk Jared Leto as the late athlete and R. Lee Ermey as his flamboyant coach Bill Bowerman.
But ultimately, the script (co-written by award-winning "Hoop Dreams" filmmaker Steve James, who also directed) doesn't give us any real insights into Prefontaine's prickly personality or show us why he needed to prove himself.
The film picks up his story at a very young age, where the Little League athlete is told he is too short and that he isn't fast enough to overcome that liability. Determined to prove his naysayers wrong, Prefontaine begins running daily to build his stamina, and ends up a credible high-school runner.
And while he's still far from being really fast, he does manage to get into the world-class track program at the University of Oregon, where Coach Bowerman basically relegates him to second team. However, with hard work, "Pre" gathers steam, building up a following and becoming the program's star, breaking several U.S. distance records in the process.
Finally getting his chance to shine in the international spotlight, he heads to the 1972 Munich Summer Games with the U.S. Olympic Team, hoping to race the world's top 5,000-meter runners. But the Games are interrupted by the kidnapping and massacre of Israeli athletes, and though the race is eventually held, his heart just isn't in it (he finishes a disappointing fourth, out of medal contention).
Returning to the United States, he becomes disillusioned with the state of amateur sports and, as the charismatic spokesman for his fellow athletes, lobbies for athletes' rights three years prior to his death in an automobile accident.
As depicted in the script, Prefontaine did change gears from selfish athlete to crusader in the last years of his life. But the change of heart is so abrupt that it rings untrue (even though it's a true story!), and some unsavory elements are glossed over (including the fact that the fatal wreck may have been alcohol induced).
Adding some depth and helping in places is the mock documentary footage, with actors (including Amy Locane as one of Prefontaine's girlfriends, Ed O'Neill as an assistant coach and Lindsay Crouse as his mother) relating experiences that couldn't be shown, and real footage from the 1972 Olympics. And as noted, both Leto (from TV's "My So-Called Life") and Ermey are fine.
"Prefontaine" is rated PG-13 for profanity and some violent scenes (including re-creations of the Munich kidnapping tragedy, most of which are heard but not seen).