American Underdog (2021)

(On Cable TV, August 2022) My biggest problem with football movies is that I’m not an American, I don’t like football and let’s face it, I don’t even understand the rules of the game. So, there’s this entire subgenre of movies that I don’t really care for, even when they jump up and down to be more than the standard underdog story. (On the other hand? I really liked Friday Night Lights and Any Given Sunday.)  With a title like American Underdog, at least this 2021 film wears its allegiances proudly. It revolves around the true-life story of Kurt Warner, an unlikely football star who followed a very unusual path to sports stardom. As a piece of Americana, this film is more evocative than most—it combines dreams of an unattainable ideal as measured against crushing disappointment, dead-end jobs, hard work and a fairytale ending. Most football fans will learn nothing new from Warner’s well-known story—although considering that it’s more than twenty years old at this point, some newer fans may pick up a few things. There’s little to say about the execution by directors Jon Erwin and Andrew Erwin—it’s up to the standards of the moment in nearly every technical aspect, with the screenwriting trending toward the tried-and-true formula. Even I could feel the rush of excitement at improbable success.