The Challenge – Die Herausforderung (1993)

The Challenge – Die Herausforderung: Directed by David S. Ward. With James Caan, Halle Berry, Omar Epps, Craig Sheffer. Several players from different backgrounds try to cope with the pressures of playing football at a major university. Each deals with the pressure differently, some turn to drinking, others to drugs, and some to studying.

“Iu0026#39;m not a football fan, although itu0026#39;s not like I havenu0026#39;t enjoyed football films from the past…. such as u0026quot;North Dallas Forty,u0026quot; u0026quot;Semi-Tough,u0026quot; and u0026quot;The Longest Yard.u0026quot; Not that any of those were pure football movies, but maybe thatu0026#39;s why I enjoyed them. So I didnu0026#39;t look at u0026quot;The Programu0026quot; from the eyes of a football fan, but from the perspective of whether itu0026#39;s a good movie or not. Certainly itu0026#39;s very professionally made and acted, and the football scenes are pretty exciting. (The point-of-view shots with the football helmetu0026#39;s bars in the foreground made you feel like you were there, as in any self-respecting shoot u0026#39;em up video game.)u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eThe main reason why I was attracted to give u0026quot;The Programu0026quot; a peek was that I was in a James Caan state of mind… having recently seen him in u0026quot;Warden of Red Rock,u0026quot; and rediscovering what a fine actor he can be. My first disappointment is that Caan, as the coach, is present mainly as a vehicle to keep the film moving along. He fixes things when the boys screw up, acts tough, makes appropriate facial expressions… and is basically a one-dimensional character with no depth. Naturally, the film has decided to focus on the lives of the football players, as youth sells.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eBasically, we pursue the love lives of two jocks. Joe makes a play for Camille (played by the original Buffy, Kristy Swanson), while Darnell zeroes in on Autumn (Halle Berry… who helps make the movie come alive), after suckering her to tutor him. In both instances, both women are vehemently against dating these guys. (Camille, in fact, flat out states that she does not go out with football players; she ultimately does so by losing a bet.) Now, itu0026#39;s nothing new in movies… as sometimes in real life… for a fellow to court a reluctant girl only to win her over at the end. I know we like to see that sort of thing. However, neither of these young men had the kinds of characteristics that would turn these girlsu0026#39; pretty heads in the manner that they did. Darnellu0026#39;s sweet, but not educated enough to hold a sharp gal like Autumn for long; and Joe can be a smarty-pants, smirking jerk at times, especially for a hard-nosed and demanding sort that Camille is initially established to be.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eHowever, not only do the girls fall for these guys (and, granted, some women have been known to fall in love for no good reason)… but they do so in a totally devoted and nearly altruistic way. I could have bought one of the female characters doing so, but both? How very unrealistic; in real life, unless a woman feels that immediate click… before surrendering so completely… usually she will make a man jump through many more hoops than what these lucky b******s go through. Weu0026#39;re just moving the plot along, folks.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eThis is a great display of how Hollywood movies are made… I can imagine the screenplay being discussed by the marketing whizzes at Disney, where the committee of account executives decided that everything should safely and neatly fall into place. All the predictable cliches have that neat, happy ending… Darnell finally bonds with his rival, for example; Joeu0026#39;s neglectful father is shown tuning into to his sonu0026#39;s big game. Yes, the movie pushes the right buttons, but there is no soul within; like in so many Hollywood cookie-cutter films… films that are, too often, hard to distinguish one from the next.”