Friday Night Lights (2004)
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A high school football team in Texas faces intense pressure and high expectations as they strive for a state championship.
The story
As preseason practice begins for the Permian High School football team in August 1988, the football-crazed town of Odessa, Texas, has high expectations for the players and their coach Gary Gaines to win a state championship with their blue chip running back James "Boobie" Miles. The quarterback, Mike Winchell, runs under the expectation of handing off the ball to Miles on most plays. Fullback Don Billingsley struggles with his ball handling and is abused by his alcoholic father, Charles, who won a state championship with Permian in his youth. The players frequently party as a way of coping with the pressures of Odessa's high expectations.
Full plot (contains spoilers)
In 1988, the Permian High School football team in Odessa, Texas, aims for a state championship. During the season opener, star running back Boobie Miles suffers a severe knee injury. Despite the injury, Miles lies about its severity to continue playing, leading to further injury in a critical game. The team eventually reaches the state championship against Dallas Carter High School. In a grueling final game, the team overcomes a significant deficit but ultimately loses the championship. The film concludes by showing the lives of the players after their careers and noting that the team won the championship the following year.
- First release year
- 2004
- Runtime (minutes)
- 118
- Production countries
- United States
- Original languages
- English
- Directors
- Peter Berg
- Cast and characters
- Billy Bob Thornton · Coach Gary Gaines; Derek Luke · James "Boobie" Miles; Jay Hernandez · Brian Chávez; Lucas Black · Michael "Mike" Winchell; Garrett Hedlund · Donald "Donny" Billingsley; Tim McGraw · Charles Billingsley; Connie Britton · Sharon Gaines; Lee Thompson Young · Christopher "Chris" Comer
- Genres
- sports drama
- Themes
- pressure of expectations; sacrifice of youth; impact of sports on identity
- Tone and mood
- dramatic; inspiring
- Premise and plot tags
- sports; high school; based on true events
- Source material / true-story basis
- 1990 book by H. G. Bissinger
- Reception
- The film received positive reviews from critics and was praised as a stirring drama and a rousing sports movie.
- Reported review scores
- Rotten Tomatoes · score: 82% · scale: percentage · review count: 173; Metacritic · score: 70 · scale: 100 · review count: 35; CinemaScore · score: B+ · scale: A+ to F
- Awards and nominations
- Best Sports Movie · ESPY Award · Won
- Production trivia
- The film features a cameo by the real Boobie Miles.; The film features a cameo by former NFL player Roy Williams.
Film metadata comes from the open sources listed in Credits & Contact. Catalogue details may be incomplete.
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