Despite having a mission as mixed-up as its characters, “The Gridiron Gang” packs a punch.
As advertised, the film serves as a vehicle for ex-wrestler Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, a more attractive strongman than, say, Arnold Schwarzenegger, and with a better command of English.
But Johnson plays a coach, not a player; he mostly leaves his shirt on; and he’s one of the most sensitive, not most action-oriented, characters in the cast.
Based on a true-life reformatory project to enlist delinquents for a football team as a legitimate channel for aggression, the movie would seem to have all the goals of standard-issue Disney flicks — bad things go good through pluck, luck, dedication, etc.
But as a “where they are now” sequence at the end admits, most of these kids change only their addresses — from one jail cell to another, or to a cemetery.
Making that “Longest Yard” setup even more familiar is that you may have seen the original 1993 TV show on which it is based. In that epic, Louis Gossett Jr. hosted a Lee Stanley documentary that featured real-life Coach Sean Porter and his team of “4th and Life” convicts.
And while we do get some personal story insights for Porter (Johnson), a misguided thug named Willie (Jade Yorker) and an abused youth named Bates (Trever O’Brien), those stories don’t budge the viewer satisfaction needle by much.
But what does hold this mismatch together (other than its reform-school setting and the eventually soft-hearted administrator, played by Kevin Dunn) is director Phil Joanou.
You may remember Joanou as a whiz-kid protégé of filmmaker Steven Spielberg in the 1980s. Joanou made a splash with two terrific genre films, the teen drama “Twelve O’Clock High” and the rock classic “U2: Rattle and Hum.”
But his follow-ups, “State of Grace” and “Heaven’s Prisoners,” flopped, and he retreated into another unsuccessful project, “Entropy,” before closing out the ’90s making videos for his old U2 pals. “The Gridiron Gang” marks Joanou’s return to major features, and he may have a big future ahead (he’s only 45).
So while The Rock is dishing out tough love, Dunn is scowling dark predictions and the kids are floundering without hope, keep an eye on the direction of this movie.
The framing is thoughtful. The action is quick-hitting and sure. The characters get good chances to define themselves.
The direction is so good, in fact, that it projects the possibility that The Rock can actually interpret a mature role in a way that transcends the taut T-shirt bulges that invariably distract anyone watching the guy.
Whether those talents will be noticeable to anyone drawn to “The Gridiron Gang” by its rough-and-tumble imagery is completely open to question. But for film fans, the return of a once-heralded director is something worth noticing.
Stars Dwayne Johnson, Kevin Dunn and Jade Yorker. Written by Jeff Maguire. Directed by Phil Joanou. 100 min. Rated PG-13.
Grade: B+
