Under the Stadium Lights

source: Under the Stadium Lights

This is another "Cinderella" type sports story that has become very popular. Running short on good stories, they shift to a team that was a powerhouse the year before in Abilene, Texas. Rather than focus on the football aspect, they look at the issues the main players have in their family life. Actors played all the real players and outtakes from the real games were used as filler. The religious aspect was comparatively light and Laurence Fishburne played a guy who owns a restaurant and not a coach. Guide: No swearing, sex, or nudity.

Love inspirational sports movies with messages of hope and overcoming obstacles, especially when they are true. Tried to watch this on a flight, but gave up after 30 minutes. Other than being introduced to kids from difficult situations, no plot unfolded during that time. Winning scores randomly flashed across the screen periodaclly to show that they were having success as underdogs, but no unfolding storyline was evident other than hard times in a rough town.

I can't speak for everyone but I actually really enjoyed this movie! There were a lot of great actors, and several scenes really provoked emotion. All in all, I loved it. I think they did a really great job!

As an Abilene resident, and an Abilene High alum, I had many chances to be apart of this film. I'm glad I wasn't. While I've definitely seen worse films, and there are some moments of good. Both Abilene and this Story deserve better. I'm all for indie movies but for first time directors and writers, I feel more extensive research needed to be done for this film. Abilene may also have rough places but there is a lot of beauty here and I think the filmmakers chose not to focus on that. While Laurence Fishburne and Milo Gibson are fine actors, the direction is completely off and the entire movie feels like a needless copy pandering to the crowd who enjoyed "Friday Night Lights" further evidenced by the films title change from Brother's Keeper to Under the Stadium Lights. Which is not a fair title considering that all games filmed in this movie take place during the DAY! I had many friends as extras in the film and two of my brothers are even in this as extras. This film could have been something very special and open up the country to Abilene, TX. But it seems the filmmakers didn't truly care about telling a good story and only about making a quick buck and stretching their talents for the future. Who knows maybe there will be better films in the future one bad film doesn't make a person a bad storyteller. But for a city who really care for this team and the personal stories it highlights deserve a shot at something a whole lot bigger.

Don't waste your time. The story was worth about 15 minutes of footage. It was like the Director went to the cutting room floor and added an hour and a half of footage just so they could call it a movie instead of a trailer. That footage should have stayed on the cutting room floor.

Under the Stadium Lights