Gridiron Gang
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''Gridiron Gang'' is a 2006 American
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drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super ...
directed by
Phil Joanou Phil Joanou (born November 20, 1961) is an American director of film, music videos, and television programs, known in part for his ongoing relationship to the band U2. Biography Joanou was born in La Cañada Flintridge, California, and began m ...
, and starring
Dwayne Johnson Dwayne Douglas Johnson (born May 2, 1972), also known by his ring name The Rock, is an American actor and former professional wrestler. Widely regarded as one of the greatest professional wrestlers of all time, he was integral to the develop ...
,
Xzibit Alvin Nathaniel Joiner (born September 18, 1974), better known by his stage name Xzibit (pronounced "exhibit"), is an American rapper, actor, television presenter, and radio personality. Xzibit began his musical career after the release of his ...
, L. Scott Caldwell and Kevin Dunn. It is loosely based on the true story of the Kilpatrick Mustangs during the 1990 season. The film was released in the United States on September 15, 2006. It was distributed by Sony Pictures Releasing and
Columbia Pictures Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc. is an American film production studio that is a member of the Sony Pictures Motion Picture Group, a division of Sony Pictures Entertainment, which is one of the Big Five studios and a subsidiary of the mu ...
.


Plot

Sean Porter (
Dwayne Johnson Dwayne Douglas Johnson (born May 2, 1972), also known by his ring name The Rock, is an American actor and former professional wrestler. Widely regarded as one of the greatest professional wrestlers of all time, he was integral to the develop ...
) works at Kilpatrick Detention Center in
Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...
. He becomes frustrated at not being able to help the kids get away from their problems in life when they are released from the center, such as
street gangs A gang is a group or society of associates, friends or members of a family with a defined leadership and internal organization that identifies with or claims control over territory in a community and engages, either individually or collectivel ...
and drug dealings. He decides to create a football team so the kids can feel like they're part of something. Porter believes that football will teach the teenage inmates what it takes to be responsible, mature, and disciplined winners. He picks out a few kids in the room that he feels will benefit from this program and requires that they practice with him the following day. He states to his new team, the Kilpatrick Mustangs, "You do it my way, not your way. Your way got you here and you're here because you lost. Right now you are all losers, but if you accept this challenge and stick with the program, you are all going to be winners at the end." Two of the teens do not get along because they are from rival gangs. William "Willie" Weathers ( Jade Yorker) is from the 88's and Kelvin Owens (David Thomas) is from the 95's (also why you will notice Willie wears the number 13 and Kelvin wears the number 31). The first game is against one of the best teams in the league, Barrington Panthers. The game starts out somewhat positive for the Mustangs, as they recover a fumble on the first drive, but things quickly turn. They are demolished by Barrington, losing by 38 points. After starting 0–2, the Mustangs start winning games as they learn to work together. Kelvin and Willie finally shake hands when they win a game by one
touchdown A touchdown (abbreviated as TD) is a scoring play in gridiron football. Whether running, passing, returning a kickoff or punt, or recovering a turnover, a team scores a touchdown by advancing the ball into the opponent's end zone. In Amer ...
after Kelvin makes a big block for Willie. Near the end of the season, the Mustangs are headed for the
playoff The playoffs, play-offs, postseason or finals of a sports league are a competition played after the regular season by the top competitors to determine the league champion or a similar accolade. Depending on the league, the playoffs may be eithe ...
s. They are getting more publicity and more fans along the way. One of Willie's 88 gang mates, Free, stops by the field. He realizes that Kelvin is a 95. Free and Kelvin get into a fight, and Free shoots Kelvin in the shoulder. As Free prepares to put another bullet in Kelvin's head, Willie runs toward Free and tackles him to the ground to save Kelvin. Free is shocked that Willie helped Kelvin and not him. The police show up, and Free runs off. He fires at the responding officers who fire in return, killing him. Although Kelvin survives the attack, he will not be able to play in the finals. Kilpatrick is almost forced to forfeit the playoff game due to concerns about further gang violence, but Porter's boss steps in to prevent it by arranging for volunteers from neighboring police departments to patrol the game. The County Sheriff's spokesperson states that "We will do whatever it takes to ensure that gangs do not take over the lives of our youth". In the playoff game, a rematch against Barrington, the Mustangs go into the half down 14–0. Willie gives a motivational speech, and they go out and beat Barrington on the last play of the game. It is revealed in the narration that they lost the championship game 17–14, but no one called them losers. A few months later, Sean's football method is officially made part of the program. Nearly all the former members of the Mustangs are doing well in their new lives outside the detention center: Willie Weathers is playing football at a top boarding school. Kelvin Owens is playing football for Washington High. Kenny Bates is going to school in Redondo Beach and living with his mother. Junior Palaita got a job working for a furniture company and Leon Hayes is playing football for Dorsey High. However, Miguel Perez and Donald Madlock went back to their old gangs and are now in California youth authority prisons, and Bug Wendal was killed in a
drive-by shooting A drive-by shooting is a type of assault that usually involves the perpetrator(s) firing a weapon from within a motor vehicle and then fleeing. Drive-by shootings allow the perpetrator(s) to quickly strike their target and flee the scene before ...
in Compton, California. In all, 24 of the players are continuing their educations, three are working full-time jobs, and only five are back in jail. The movie ends with a new group of Mustangs training for the next season. Some footage of the 1993 '' Gridiron Gang'' documentary is shown during the end credits.


Cast


Production

It is set and filmed at
Agoura Hills Agoura Hills () is a city in the Santa Monica Mountains region of Los Angeles County, California, United States. Its population was 20,330 at the 2010 census, which decreased to 20,299 in 2020. It is in the eastern Conejo Valley between the S ...
,
Camp Kilpatrick Camp Kilpatrick is a juvenile detention camp located in the Santa Monica Mountains of western Los Angeles County, California. The camp is known for its sports program. Most notable is the camp's American football team, the Kilpatrick Mustangs. The ...
,
Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...
, San Fernando and
Westlake Village, California Westlake Village is a city in Los Angeles County on its western border with Ventura County. The City of Westlake Village incorporated in 1981 becoming the 82nd municipality of Los Angeles County.Baker, Pam (2002). ''Thousand Oaks Westlake Vil ...
, in 92 days between May 23 and August 23, 2005.


Reception

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...
reports a 43% approval rating with an average rating of 5.65/10 based on 101 reviews. The website's consensus reads, "The role of probation officer Sean Porter fits Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson like a glove; however, the execution is so clichéd, the youths' stories (based on real events), fail to inspire."


Home media

DVD was released in Region 1 in the United States on January 16, 2007, and also Region 2 in the United Kingdom on 4 June 2007, it was distributed by Newvideo Home Entertainment.


See also

* List of American football films *
List of teachers portrayed in films The following real-life inspirational/motivational instructors/mentors have been portrayed in popular films: * W. H. Balgarnie, inspiration for Mr Chipping, in James Hilton's ''Goodbye, Mr Chips'' and the three movie (1939, 1969, 2002) adaptati ...
*
List of hood films This is a list of hood films – films focusing on the culture and life of African-Americans, Hispanic Americans, and/or in some cases, Asian Americans living in segregated, low-income urban communities, as well as comparably deprived and crime-ri ...


References


External links

* * *
Visual Arts Ent. Official site
{{Webarchive, url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050313044838/http://www.visualartsentertainment.com/ , date=2005-03-13
Gridiron Gang on americanfootballfilms
2006 films 2006 crime drama films American coming-of-age drama films American crime drama films American football films Columbia Pictures films Films set in California Films set in Los Angeles Hood films Sports films based on actual events Original Film films Biographical films about educators Biographical films about sportspeople Cultural depictions of players of American football 2000s coming-of-age drama films 2000s English-language films 2000s American films