everything you have heard about this movie is true.

It's a mild crowd pleaser for people who are exhausted by blockbusters.

In other words,this film is a surreal ride.

It's funny, it's tense, it features two great performances from two actors and the director expertly creates a web of odd tension where you actually don't know what is happening for the majority of the run time.

If you can ever wrap your mind around the concept of Robin Williams as a high school jock I think you might enjoy The Best Of Times. What this is not is a film using the hit song from La Cage Aux Folles as a theme.Instead Robin Williams plays a guy with a reputation of blowing a long pass from quarterback Kurt Russell in a final game with Bakersfield that blew the state championship for the best high school team that Taft, California ever produced. In fact the opening narrative makes it quite clear that Taft, California is one loser of a town throughout its history. Still living in a small town and married to Holly Palance, daughter of Donald Moffat who was a booster of the Bakersfield team has made life pretty miserable.No more miserable than it was for Kurt Russell who blew out a knee when the entire Bakersfield line nailed him just as he got off the pass that Williams dropped thereby losing a possible pro career. So Williams who's had 15 years of taunts decides to challenge his father-in-law to replay the game and maybe history won't repeat itself. It's going to take a lot though to motivate the rest of the team, especially Russell, but Williams has a bag of tricks.I guess there's nothing sillier then old men trying to act young again. As Bill Holden said to Gloria Swanson, there's nothing wrong with being 50 unless you try to act like you're 25. That forms the basis for most of the comedy in The Best Of Times.Both Williams and Russell have done better work, but this one will provide a few laughs. Still Williams as a jock does not compute.

i had low hopes for this movie,having recently seen another so called football/comedy movie.this one wasn't bad however.there were some moments were i chuckled,and there is one dinner scene which is absolutely hysterical.Robin Williams is one of the stars,so you can expect some manic energy.the dialogue was okay for the most part,but there was one scene(the dinner scene again)where it rises above okay and into near brilliance Kurt Russel also turns in a good performance he and Robin Willinam work wheel off each other..there is a lot of character development in this film-almost too much,to the detriment of other aspects of the film.however the film does end up redeeming itself before the end.The basic premise is:Robin Willima plays Jack Dundee a small town man living in the past,specifiably 13years earlier.you see in 1972 Jack was thrown a pass which would have tied the football game with his town's arch rivals.instead Jack bobbles the catch,losing the game.he has been a laughingstock for the past 13 years.Kurt Russel is Reno Hightower,the quarterback who threw the pass, and still Jack's friend.in order to finally make peace with his demons,Jack convinces Reno and the whole town to replay the 1972 game against Bakersfield-with the same players.i won't reveal any more but you can probably figure out the rest.that is this movies biggest weakness-its predictability.but it manages to rise above it. 6*/10

I guess that everyone has to make a comeback at some point. And that's exactly what embarrassed Taft resident Jack Dundee (Robin Williams) intends to do in "The Best of Times". Yep, the man who went all crazy with the radio in "Good Morning, Vietnam" is playing football. In this case, he seeks to replay a game that cost his high school a prestigious title. But ex-teammate Reno Hightower (Kurt Russell) isn't just going to go along with it so easily.Granted, it's not the best movie for either man. But Williams and Russell are actually a pretty good comedy team. And some of the names in this movie are likely to give you the giggles (to say the least). Check it out.

For all of the Has-Beens or Never Was's or for the curious, this film is for you....Ever played a sport, or wondered what it felt like after the lights went down and the crowd left..this film explores that and more.Robin Williams(Jack Dundee) is a small town assistant banker in Taft CA., whose life has been plagued, by a miscue in a BIG rival high school football game 13 years ago, when he dropped the pass that would have won over Bakersfield, their Arch-Rival, that takes great pleasure in pounding the Taft Rockets, season after season . Kurt Russell(Reno Hightower) was the Quarterback in that famous game, and is the local legend, that now is a van repair specialist, whose life is fading into lethargy, like the town of Taft itself.Williams gets an idea to remake history, by replaying the GAME ! He meets with skeptical resistance, so he goes on a one man terror spree, and literally paints the town , orange, yellow and black , to raise the ire of the residents to recreate THE game . After succeeding, the players from that 1972 team reunite, and try to get in shape to practice, which is hysterical . The game is on , Bakesfield is loaded with all of the high tech gadgets, game strategies, and sophisticated training routines . Taft is drawing plays in the mud, with sticks, stones, and bottle caps, what a riot ! Does Taft overcome the odds, does Robin Willians purge the demons from his bowels, does Kurt Russell rise from lethargy, watch "The Best of Times" for one of the BEST viewing experiences ever!One of Robin Williams best UNDERSTATED performances, the chemistry between Robin and Russell is magic . And who is Kid Lester ???Holly Palance and Pamela Reed give memorable performances as the wives of Williams and Russell. Succeeds on Many Levels. A 10 !