In Reply to: The book is much better and there are significant differences between the real story and the movie. posted by sjb on February 16, 2005 at 11:28:16:
He was on the D.V.D., as were approximately four other players. The players, including Boobie, stated that in reality he was arrogant, did not work very hard, did not study, and was sometimes hard to deal with. I think that came through in the film.There was one very poignant scene when Boobie is sitting on his porch, nursing his injury, and he sees garbage men collecting garbage. He looked at them with urgency because he, at that moment, saw his future, and it did not include football, or even a profession. Rather, it included menial, mindless, unglamorous labor. Everyday. In Odessa. For the rest of his life. I do not know whether that event actually happened. But it certainly added to the point of the story, and succinctly sums up the underlying theme of the film. I thought that scene added to the appeal of the film. Whether it actually took place makes no difference to me. Because it should take place, everywhere stories like this occur.
I have no doubt that the there were some pertinent facts that were changed, enhanced, etc. for dramatic effect. Believe me, I do not recall ever watching a film, from any source, thinking that it is 100% accurate. But based upon the interviews with the former players, and from a columnist with the local paper, I was left with the impression that most of the film is accurate.
I think that the point of the film remains intact. Which is that a high school sport consumes these smaller, depressed towns, such that the sport is more important than the player's health and education, their families, and the coaches. Most people assume those things take place at the college level. But I think that most assume High School sports are immune from the zealousness that pervades college athletics.
I think that this film, more so than any film I have seen since "Hoop Dreams", brought this reality into my living room. I have no doubt that the book was better. But then, is it not that way with most films that are developed from a book? To compare a book with a film is not fair, because a writer has two hundred plus pages to tell a story.
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Follow Ups
- Re: The book is much better and there are significant differences between the real story and the movie. - jamesgarvin 14:58:19 02/16/05 (1)
- Re: The book is much better and there are significant differences between the real story and the movie. - sjb 07:37:12 02/17/05 (0)