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movies
Section B • Page 5
The University Daily Kansan
Titans predictable, entertaining
Review
By Michael Riga
sports@kansan.com
Kansan sportswriter
Take one part Disney and add one part football and one part Denzel Washington.
Remember the Titans, starring Denzel Washington, is based on the story of a high school football team's struggles during integration. Contributed photo.
The end result, undoubtedly, is Remember the Titans, a predictable and memorable — yet forgivingly short — movie about the trials of a high school football team in the age of integration.
Remember the Titans is set in Alexandria, Va., just outside of Washington, D.C. It begins before the start of the football season of the first year the local high school — T.C. Williams — was fully integrated.
The controversy starts whentenured coach Bill Yoast (Will Patton) is replaced by younger Herman Boone (Washington), who happens to be African-American. Off the bat, the gaping differences between Yoast's and Boone's styles become apparent, as does the cultural differences between the town's Caucasian and African-American communities.
While the team is undeniably divided at the film's start, it quickly gels when it goes through Boone's preseason boot camp.
On one of the last days of camps, Boone calls the entire team out of its residence halls at 3 a.m. to go jogging. The team runs, fittingly, to Gettysburg, where Boone delivers a speech that suddenly makes the kids forget about the racial barriers and instantly become a team. It is a beautiful speech, but I
couldn't help but feel disappointed that it didn't start with "Four score and seven years ago."
After the Titans return from camp, they get on with the business of playing football. First of all, I love football movies — even bad ones, such as The Replacements — so I am a little biased. The only problem I have with football movies is that the filmmakers obviously know little about football, and that is the case here.
Every tackle is a highlight-reel collision. All of the touchdowns are scored off big plays. And all of the games are close.
But the football scenes are watchable and entertaining, and Titans would go down as one of the greatest football movies ever made if it weren't for one problem — the little girl.
The little girl I am taking about is Sheryl Yoast, the daughter of Bill Yeost played by 9-year-old Hayden Panettiere, otherwise known as the most annoying character ever portrayed on film.
For some reason, director Boaz Yokin made Sheryl know everything about football. she watches film with Boone, goes to the locker
Remember the Titans
Acting ●●●○○
Cinematography ●●●○○
Writing ●●●○○
toom during games and screams to the team about obscure football references such as "44 stack, 50 monster." That's a defense, I think.
But overall, Remember the Titans is an enjoyable movie, and Washington delivers his usual strong performance, and producer Jerry Bruckheime makes the movie visually pleasing.
Like all sports movies, the plot is predictable, and you can tell liberties were taken with the "true story" on which the film is supposed to be based.
But Remember The Titans is an entertaining way to spend an evening, and its short running time
entertaining way to spend an evening, and its short running time — less than two hours — means you can watch the movie and still have time to hang out with your date or in my case, drive her home.
But please, do yourself a favor. Ignore Sheryl.
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Community Blood Center and the KU Athletic Department presents the KU Blood Drive In memory of Laura Lettwich, Sigma Delta Lau
Oct. 2-6, 2000
*Mon., Tues., Wed.-KS Union Ballroom 10a.m.-5p.m.
*Wed.-GSP Lobby 10a.m.-6p.m.
*Thure-McCollum Lobby 12p.m-6p.m.
*Thures, and Fri.-Alien Fieldhouse 10a.m.-5p.m.
The fraternity, secrity, residence hall floor, and scholarship hall with the highest % of participation, will win a Chiplette burrito party and a Kriepe Kreme party!
839 Gateway Drive 843-6383
www.donatingblood.org
Event Sponsors: Chiplectic, Krispy Kreme Doughnuts, Verizon Wireless and KY Bookstore
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