Take me away, I don't mind but you better promise we get back in time for another Frank Capra like Football Classic with Touchback.
Touchback flashes back to the biggest game of the year of the Ohio State Football Championship of 1991. Scott Murphy (Brian Presley) is Coldwater High School's next best thing to Tom Brady leading the school to what could become the biggest upset in High School history against the rival town. However, a shattering knee injury smashes his college hopes and dreams away .
We then cut to the present where Scott is tending to the Murphy Farm alongside his wife Macy (Melanie Lynskey) and their children. Hard times have fallen upon the Murphy household and as a result Scott must bring in a good crop of beans before the end of the fall harvest. When frost spreads rampant through the field and all hope is lost Scott sticks a rag into his exhaust and waits for the Grim Reaper to come only he doesn't come a knocking.
Instead , as if by magic he jumps into Doc Brown's DeLorean and re-arrives back in 1991 just a week before his big high school championship game. He seems quite out of place at first but when he is back on the football field again re-training himself to re-learn his football plays he's figured he's been given another shot at redemption.
Now this movie plays from the same "if you could re-live your past how would you do it differently" formulas that made It's A Wonderful Life, Back To The Future, and even the Family Man memorable classics. So it's nothing you haven't seen before it just adds a touching sports element into the mix.
Scott has been granted a second chance to be reunite with his mother (Christine Lahti) and re-live and appreciate the romance shared that brought him and his wife together.
At first he doesn't for he is back to his old self again dating the prettiest gal in school (Sarah Wright) and thinks of his future wife as nothing more than a band geek. However, a startling turn of events causes Scott to perform a good dead to think not of his athletic glory but of others when he reaches out to petition signatures to save Marcy's High School Band.
Even his coach (Kurt Russell) notices some changes in him when he appears to be wise beyond his years. However Scott is faced with difficult decisions leading up to the big game with pressures to sit out the game by Ohio State University or his friend who wants him to make him look good in the game.
In the end , the Frank Capra like magic that causes Scott Murphy's character arc to risk it all by playing is his realization that he would never had met his loving wife and family had not been for this big event of his life.
He gets a new perspective on life on giving back in helping out others such as the nerdy kid (Kevin Covais) he once despised. Overall he looks at his town of Coldwater and feels blessed to live in such a close knit community surrounded by a strong group of loving and supportive people.
His wife Marcy is a positive person in his life. She loves the town of Coldwater and the people in it and wouldn't dream of raising her family anywhere else. When the crops freeze and they are on the brink of financial ruin she reaffirms her belief in miracles mentioning to him "You'll find a way to win you always do".
When Scott asks his Mom if she had to do it all over again would she still remarrying his Dad knowing it lead to a divorce. She answers she would because had it not been for that Scott would never be born and even though she was never regularly available to watch his game just hearing about his accomplishments brought her much joy and happiness. This is a key turning point in the movie that allows Scott to look back on his life and make an amend to change.
Even Coach Hand is a wonderful example of a mentor who encourages Scott and his teammates to take what they have learned on the football field about teamwork,, persistence, and passion and apply those same principles in their own lives. "I want you to be a man who's good for more than one night a week," he tells Scott. Coach Hand places a strong importance on education and warns his teammates the consequences of not suiting up when they don't put any solid effort into their studies. Lastly, he places a strong importance on family values and encourages all of his players to "Go home. Tell your parents you love 'em, and get some sleep." Afterall, it is right to give thanks and praise for those who gave us life , a roof, and a house, and a opportunity to fly in this world and should never be taken for granted. In the end who knows what the future holds for us all tomorrow.
Touchback certainly is touching and is another example of the triumph of the human spirit reaffirming the old saying that "It is never too late to turn your life around". However, second chance movies such as Back To The Future, A Christmas Carol, and It's A Wonderful Life have been around since the test of time so this type of film is nothing new.
In the end the protagonist always has a reaffirmation about his life due to his second chance experience and realizes his life was never as bad as he had thought. Even the title of the film Touchback suggests that in our lives we fumble and go through many setbacks that we think our life is worth more dead than alive. However, if we take the time to pause, think, and reevaluate our life's decision we can therefore find a way through the obstacles that stem to bring us down. We can huddle around the strong support of those around us to help us confront diversity in this grand game we call life.
FINAL RATING: 5/5
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