Gridiron Gang

Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson
Xzibit
L. Scott Caldwell
Leon Rippy

Directed by: Phil Joanou


Since his stint on WWF, Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson has been relegated to the bulky muscle of the films he has played. Eventually, he began to see roles like The Rundown where he was allowed to show off that big goofy grin and his comic timing that was just as important to his wrestling career as his wrestling ability. In Gridiron Gang, he plays the manager of a youth detention facility. He soon realizes that his facility is a revolving door for gang violence and a practice facility for eventual hardcore criminals. His solution is to create a football team and play this team against other local high school teams, hopefully giving the players a sense of self and responsibility they can carry with them on the outside.

Dwayne Johnson was made for this role. His charm and enthusiasm is infectious and it quickly spreads through the cast and overflows into the audience. Because of this, you can’t help but find something likeable about each one of the characters in this film. You can’t help but root for each of their little triumphs. This film does what all of these “inspirational” films should do. Because of the infectiousness of “The Rock’s” performance, it is easier for the audience to ride along with the emotions and feel the highs and lows of everyone. This film is an emotional rollercoaster that makes you feel ill and exuberant at the same time. The audience can’t help but care. Gridiron Gang spreads a warm glow over its audience that is only heightened with video of the real life people the audience just invested 2 hours of emotion to empathize with. This is a wonderful film that stands heads above recent “inspirational” films that seem to be only hollow versions their real life counterparts. You should see this movie. First for the performance of its charismatic star and then for the incredible story that will stick with you after you’ve left the theater.


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