Touchback Review
What if? People tend to question whether they’ve made the right choices in their lives; and that was a constant concern for Scott Murphy (Brian Presley). Living in a small, blue collar farm town in Ohio, Scott thought he had it all. In high school he was athletic, popular, and very good looking ; he even had a college football scholarship already lined up. However, his life dramatically changed in the football state finals during his senior year. Scott’s leg was crushed in the last seconds of the game. Twenty years later; he’s married with 2 kids, and still limping with a leg brace, and often wondered, what if he hadn’t run that last play? Touchback is a wonderful heartfelt story about hard work, and the true meaning of life.
Rating: 3 out of 5 buckets
Release Date: January 8, 2013
MPAA Rating: PG13
Best Age Group: 12+
Sexual Content: Mild
Violent Content: Mild
Crude or Profane Language: Mild
Drugs and Alcohol Content: Mild
See a clip of my review here, along with reviews of Bully and The Lucky One!
Talking Points:
I couldn’t help but think of It’s a Wonderful Life. Scott, like George Bailey, was going through a very rough time in his life. He was continuously faced with difficult challenges; he even got to the point where he attempted suicide. Scott eventually realized how truly blessed he was with his wonderful family and friends. A lesson which was laced throughout the film: it’s not the “things,” that make you happy, it’s people in your life. Great parent/child conversation.
Scott’s football coach, Coach Hand (Kurt Russell) was a wonderful influence on the team. He encouraged his players to work hard, on and off the field. He even told the players to “Go home, and tell your parents that you love them.” The constant lessons he brought to the team will spark great parent/child conversations as well.
Scott’s wife was very optimistic and loving. When we saw flashbacks of Scott in high school, we learn that his goal was to leave their small town. She was always content with her life, as a teen, and as an adult.
As I mentioned there were some wonderful messages woven throughout the film, however one frustrating thing about the film was the poor acting, (except for Kurt Russell).
The movie was partially filmed in Grand Rapids and Coopersville, Mi, which was fun to see, since I’m from Grand Rapids.
Sexual Content: Mild
- The scenes with Scott in high school show his cute blond girlfriend climbing on his lap, and kissing him…and wanting more. She stated that she wanted to reduce his pre-game stress, and have some fun!
- We see girls wearing low cut shirts and short shorts.
- In one scene characters are shown skinny dipping. We see them from a distance taking off their clothes and jumping in the water, they’re shown from their shoulders up.
Violent Content: Moderate
- We see some rough, hard-hitting football plays.
- We see Scott trying to commit suicide by plugging the tailpipe of his truck, while hoping to get carbon monoxide poisoning.
Crude or Profane Language: Mild
- “H–,” is said about a dozen times, and “d–n,” and “a–,” are said a few times.
Overall this is a wonderful film with inspirational messages for kids to hear. The deep subject matter may be too much for younger kids, so I recommend this for kids ages 12 and up.
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