On W List of Movie Reviews
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Wildcats (1986)
Rate:
5
Viewed:
6/18
6/18:
Do you know what's one of the most abused themes in cinema?
It's the story of a sports coach who's down on his luck and decides to take over a team of misfits and losers and they become
champions at the end. Wildcats is such that, but only this time, it features a female for high school football
which is, I believe, a rarity.
Goldie Hawn is okay, but she isn't funny. Neither is the film for the most part. The family situation takes too much away from
the momentum when it should be episodic with stupid 80's pranks. Like the characters of Grease,
the football players are simply too old to be in high school. In fact, the squad makes it look like junior college or maybe
penal league based on their black/gray uniform.
Bruce McGill is more impressive than Goldie Hawn by playing a bully whose actions border on sexual harassment. He had a
memorable performance as Hank Weldon in one episode during Season Two of Miami Vice. It was called "Out Where
the Buses Don't Run" which is frequently voted as one of the greatest TV episodes of all time.
There are debut performances for several actors: Wesley Snipes (who's better in Major League
given the same theme), Woody Harrelson, and LL Cool J who only has less than ten seconds of screen time. The first two went on
to pair up in three more films: White Men Can't Jump,
Money Train, and Play It to the Bone.
One of the most memorable actors of Wildcats is Tab Thacker who plays the black fat guy Finch. In his time, he
was the greatest wrestler ever to come out of North Carolina State University, winning the NCAA heavyweight title in 1984 and
earning All-American honors three times with an overall record of 92-11-1.
Thacker weighed over 450 pounds and wrestled in a weight class that was deemed "unlimited." The rules were finally
changed in 1987 with a cap of 275 pounds. It may seem unfair to hold a 200-pound advantage over opponents, but he was pinned
by a legendary 218-pounder named Lou Banach of Iowa University. The former Wolfpack wrestler died in 2007 at age 45 from
complications of diabetes.
All in all, Wildcats may have worked well as a comedy football picture during the 80's, but today, it's dated and not
funny.