The real-life story behind "The Game of Their Lives" cries out for full-blown Hollywood movie treatment from a major studio and a major filmmaker.
That's how dramatic the story is of the 1950 World Cup Soccer upset of the U.S. Men's Soccer Team over the heavily favored English team.
Unfortunately, what we've got here is a glorified independent film from David Anspaugh, who directed both "Rudy" and "Hoosiers," but who really hasn't done anything of consequence since those films.
Sadly, this flat-footed soccer drama doesn't stack up with either one.
Also, "The Game of Their Lives" attempts to deliver messages about American patriotism would ring truer if they weren't being conveyed by an international cast. It's like watching the BBC mount a production of last year's hockey drama "Miracle."
This film's attempts to make the 1950 soccer match into a bigger deal than the 1980 miracle on ice seems a bit transparent — as if the film was sponsored by Major League Soccer, so the sport could kick the National Hockey League while it's down.
Worse, this movie makes the story of the 1950 World Cup seem less interesting than it should, especially when you consider how quickly the U.S. team came together. U.S. officials did so by combining players from the disciplined East Coast team, led by Walter Bahr (Wes Bentley), with flashier players from a St. Louis-based squad, captained by goalie Frank Borghi (Scottish actor Gerard Butler).
The different styles of playing led to several skirmishes between the would-be teammates, as did the addition of Haitian-born dishwasher Joe Gatjaens (Jimmy Jean-Louis). This seemingly unworkable combination has just weeks to prepare to face the English players on a neutral field in Brazil. And they've already had one scrimmage with an international team, which ended in an embarrassing loss.
Angelo Pizzo's screenplay is rife with the expected sports and gamesmanship cliches, and he and Anspaugh take forever just to get to the game action, which is the only really worthwhile material.
Also padding things out are the ridiculous wraparound sequences and narration that feature Patrick Stewart, attempting a disastrous, faux-Midwest accent. (Although it's better than John Rhys-Davies' New Yawk accent.)
"The Game of Their Lives" is rated PG for sports-related violence (violent soccer tackles), use of ethnic slurs and racial epithets, and some brief drug content (sedative use). Running time: 101 minutes.
E-MAIL: jeff@desnews.com