Very well executed

A Brilliant Conflict

Very interesting film. Was caught on the premise when seeing the trailer but unsure as to what the outcome would be for the showing. As it turns out, it was a very good film.

The film makes a home in your brain and the only cure is to see it again.

Is your life really so bad? If you could change one decision you made 20 years ago that will affect the direction of the rest of your life but probably away from the people you now cherish, what would you do? This film has some similarities to four films I enjoyed: the James Stewart Christmas classic from 1946 "It's a Wonderful Life;" two films with Nicholas Gage: "When Peggy Sue Got Married" with Kathleen Turner, and "The Family Man" with Tea Leoni; and "13 going on 30" with Jennifer Garner and Mark Ruffalo. I'm sure there are other movies with similar themes about introspection to pivotal moments in one's life and the effects they have ultimately. But if you also enjoyed any 2 of those 4 films then you will enjoy this heart-warming flick about a high school football hero whose life seemed to change on a bad twist of fate. And despite his efforts to make the best of it, fate deals him another bad break before he reaches a point of one last pivotal decision. The story is the critical element here - not the acting, or subplots, or cinematography, or directing, etc. Just enjoy the story.

The original idea may have been sound: if you had a chance to go back in time and change your life, and the people in it, would you? You may have posed this question to your friends, and had to keep raising the stakes to make it interesting, and ridiculous (yes, you still have your kids, but your wife is Michelle Pfeiffer).This movie poses that question, and unfortunately, the stakes get just as ridiculous. Our subject, the former football star, wasn't just a football player, he was "Mr. Football," so much so that everyone reminds him about the "big game" he played in twenty years earlier. And the thick gets laid on from there. He's broke. The truck's rusty. The crops are dying. And if that isn't enough, his high school teammate, now living the life-that-should've-been-his, shows up with a gorgeous wife in an Aren't-You-Jealous Mobile, played, as usual, by a red Porsche 911.Scott Murphy, the former star quarterback, bemoaning what's become of his life after football, tries to kill himself with carbon monoxide. After passing out, he either dreams, or actually travels back in time (the movie doesn't seem to know which) to the week of the "big game" that changes his life forever. He's back in high school, with healthy knees, the popular girlfriend, and a chance to do it all over again. Or do it ALL over again and end up right where he is (or isn't) in the same small town, same injured leg, same sweet wife and kids who love him, same problems. Hmmm.Any time someone "travels back in time," I keep thinking of Doc Brown's rules, and our hero Scott Murphy seems to break all of them. Once, he even confronts his future wife, telling her about their future, proving it with intimate knowledge of her no one could possibly know, and after a short "how'd you know about that?" she brushes him off! But wait a minute, HOW'D HE KNOW ABOUT THAT? If someone showed up and did this to me, I'd either have to believe they were actually from the future, or I'd file a restraining order.Then the big game. Does he repeat the winning play, the one that results with him being injured and giving up his dream to play college football and ending up stuck in this one-horse hick town? Or does he change things and take the path he missed the first time around, including a full scholarship to Ohio State, and, more stake-raising, a guaranteed road to NFL stardom? (side note: the OSU coach actually encourages him to quit his team on the day of the game so as not to get hurt?? They actually do this?)Murphy realizes that if he changes the final play, like throw the ball to the wide open guy waving his arms for instance, or does anything to avoid having his knee blown up, (like I don't know, duck?) he'll lose his future wife, which is a baffling equation! Just because he doesn't get hurt? Couldn't he even have made the same decisions as before, stayed in the small town, married the small town girl, but with two healthy legs?? Or did they cut the scene where she tells him she'll marry him because she digs bitter guys with knee braces? And more baffling stuff during the game. Yes it's refreshing to watch movie football where people actually seem to get hit, but why does the coach send "Mr. Football" back to return the kickoff? And why does Murphy then call a timeout after he's tackled and as anyone knows, the clock stops anyway? And why then, as he's contemplating his fateful decision, do we see the clock TICKING DOWN (7..6..5..)? And as he then takes 20 seconds or so to change the play, stare at his "wife," while anyone who can count to four knows the game would've ended fifteen seconds ago? Why, playing against a team we were told had the best pass defense in football, are the receivers all "wide open?" And WHY DOESN'T HE DUCK??When he returns to the present, of course he has a new attitude, and everything works out Capra-nice. Of course it does. I can hear the writers saying "and the twist will be he DECIDES to do it just the same way! Yeah! It's a wonderful life, isn't it?" when the twist would've been "you know, all things considered, I'll take the blonde and the car!"And when he returns, everything in his life is exactly the same, so I'm leaning towards the dream theory. A really really lucid dream. That carbon monoxide must be good stuff.

Touchback is one of those "reflection" movies that mystically reverse the hands of time in order to give the antagonist, Scott Murphy (Brian Priestly), a new perspective on life. We the viewer love these movies, especially if we're middle aged and often reflecting on our own lives wondering "what might have been"; if only we had done things, or even one thing, differently. It also leaves us with the question, "If we could change the past, would we?" We see this sort of genre work well in Hollywood, as it did with "Peggy Sue Got Married". The overall theme of Touchback is very reminiscent of Peggy Sue. That is to say, mid-life characters playing them selves as they were in high school. That being said, it barley worked in Peggy Sue. Kathleen Turner was 32, playing a 42-year-old housewife, going back to age eighteen. Nicholas Cage was 22, playing ages 42 and 18. The numbers were off no doubt, however it was an A list of skilled actors/actresses for the day easily taking up the slack for the sloppiness of numbers. Regrettably, the similar attempt in Touchback unquestionably does NOT work, to the point that all the touchy-feely stuff that makes us feel so good is completely lost in thoughts of "You've got to be kidding!" 40-year old (at the time) Marc Blucas is playing an 18-year-old for the better part of the movie. And poor (still very handsome) Kurt Russell's "aging" process simply made him look like he had leprosy. I'm not making fun of the disease of leprosy or those who endure it, but Kurt Russell does not have leprosy. Unfortunately, that's just the start, and if you can't get past that, the rest of the movie doesn't matter.We see this sort of thing work great for those actors who are thirty and who look young or in those quick flashbacks of a character's life where they use lots of make-up and dewy filters to give the character the appearance of youth. But the make-up department for this movie didn't carry off what they intended, and how could they in the first place?

This is not a good movie, but....it has many lovely qualities. That comment supports my theory that just because a movie is bad overall, does not mean you will waste your time watching it. I take note of setting, photography, acting, and any aspects of plot that jar significant thoughts in me.I'll go the next step...this movie is terrible, but I had a good time. I don't regret my Red Box purchase at all. It cost 4 dollars less than it would have at Blockbuster too.Before I go any further, let me call this a cross between Peggy Sue Got Married, It's a Wonderful Life, and Dancer, Texas.The movie takes place at the end of a high school football season in Ohio. I am not a Meteorologist, but wouldn't it be kind of cold? There is no indication of cold weather.The main character is one of the top football quarterbacks in the state, heading for a scholarship at Ohio State University, a football powerhouse. But he is only 5'10 and one half, according to IMDb's bio. of the actor who played him. That is clear throughout the film, as he looks up, literally, to his coach and teammates. Elite quarterbacks are never that height, with the exception of Doug Flutie. They are usually between 6'2 and 6'7. So I had to try to ignore that.The character goes back in time, but there is exactly ZERO explanation for how that happened. A 10-year-old could come up with that plot device without explanation. Just have a character fall asleep or pass out, and wake up in the past. It's like not doing your math homework, but expecting a passing grade anyways. It was too hard to think of some kind of Science Fiction explanation, so they just said, "Forget about it." The characters were around 35 in real life, while playing high school students. Perhaps it would have been wiser to have young actors play the youthful versions of our protagonists.Almost every cliché of a film about a broke farmer and/or small town football, is exploited in this film: loan problems, crop failure,corny locker room speeches, buddies, jocks, nerds, shallow cheerleaders, you name it.OK. Enough criticism. What I loved about the picture, was the emphasis on the unity and subtle delights of a small rural town. I also loved the fact that a couple winds up together due to happenstance, because that is true to life. Often we plan for one thing, but life happens while we are making those other plans, as the saying goes. Unlikely couples are more common than we realize.The acting is decent. Kurt Russell's character is clichéd, but he has a few good moments, when he explains the value of a small town. The girl from the T.V. show Two and a half Men was excellent. She looked the part and pulled off the role with commitment. Christine Lahti's role was not super demanding, but she gave it some soul, and the main guy, Brian Presley, whom I have never heard of, did an adequate job, considering the fact that jocks are not known for a range of emotions.I would have liked to see him show more emotion, but perhaps the writers and Director did not ask for that.Overall, a film worth watching, for its' basic message of appreciation for the life and love you have, mild football action, and a quaint setting.