On B List of Movie Reviews

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The Best of Times (1986)

Rate: 4
Viewed: 6/25

6/25: I don't like Ron Shelton's stuff.

His writing is often bland and talky, resulting in mediocre sports films like Bull Durham, White Men Can't Jump, Tin Cup, and Play It to the Bone. Sure, they have strong characters and a memorable scene or two, but that's it. For some reason, Ron Shelton likes to feature white athletes past their prime trying to have one last chance at glory. Hence, his blueprint is there for the taking in The Best of Times.

Because of Robin Williams, I had hoped the movie would be funny, but no dice. That's because of what I said earlier. Sure, it's happened to guys like Cowboys' Jackie Smith during the third quarter of Super Bowl XIII against Pittsburgh, Red Sox's Bill Buckner in Game 6 of the 1986 World Series, and Bills' Scott Norwood during Super Bowl XXV against the Giants. But this is high school...nobody cares.

The first half is tedious: too much talking about nothing. When the all-important football game begins, it's when I finally paid attention. Everything that happened beforehand explains why the film was such a huge box-office stinker. At least, Kurt Russell saves the day by giving a classy performance. He's believable for a former high school football great and almost looks like Joe Namath from a uniform standpoint.

All in all, you're better off fast-forwarding The Best of Times until the game starts than sitting through the slog from start to finish.

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