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Simply Perfect

Great visuals, story delivers no surprises

The movie is wildly uneven but lively and timely - in its own surreal way

By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.

during the game in which "Western" is blowing out the visitors, the camera pans the crowd, who look bored. I was picked to be one of the "early leavers" and I think it's because I coincidentally (I didn't know what the mythical U would be called) was wearing my WESTERN track shirt.Also amusing, is that the crowd shots for the games were shot at CSU (Ft. Collins, Colorado) basketball auditorium in the winter. Since we were supposed to be in sunny southern California, we had to HIDE all our winter clothing -- hats, scarves, gloves, parkas. Quite a feat to get all the thousands in attendance to hide all that stuff.

What was there about Robbie Benson? To a lot of fans back then, I guess it was mostly that he was cute. But I always thought he was a very good actor...good in that he seemed "real". This is hardly my favorite Benson movie (I much prefer "Tribute" with Jack Lemmon). But here, Benson is perfect because he seems to be just what the main character is -- a clean cut and remarkably naive small town boy who goes to a powerhouse university on a basketball scholarship. What an eye-opener it is for the boy...and for the viewer as he/she begins to learn how college athletics worked.When I watched this film again after all these years, I was sad...sad that Benson didn't remain in front of the camera, instead of going behind the camera. There was a lot of potential there, and I think he could have maintained an impressive presence in film.In the film, Benson's character screws up at the university because in his small town high school he was the star basketball player -- and a bit of a hot dog -- and at university he is just a freshman who is extremely immature. Eventually his hard-nosed coach wants him to resign his scholarship...which he refuses to do. The film works for Benson, but the outstanding performance was by G.D. Spradlin, the sadistic coach who, to a large extent, has mismanaged Benson but in some ways is right about Benson not fitting in with the team. I usually don't like him as an actor, but here he is excellent. The scenes where Benson and the coach have it out are very strong.The problem with this film is a rather predictable ending. I guess that's the only way it could end. And the ultimate end -- when Benson tells off the coach, well, that is rather weak, seemingly because Benson didn't want to say a bad word. Ah well, otherwise, it was a very good movie.It was difficult watching this film on TCM because the sound was not synced perfectly with the visuals. Not sure what happened at TCM. They're usually so perfect.I'm not much on sports movies, but this is a good one!

I saw this movie the year it came out, and loved it. It was a great "underdog prevails" story, but the romance was what gave it its warmth and charm. It was sort of in the same style as "Vision Quest", which came nearly a decade later. The soundtrack was wonderful too.However, I re-rented it in 2006, and it was so dated...it was really corny and funny. It's true that it was a timely topic in the late 70's when athletes were offered ridiculously extravagant packages to entice them to play for certain colleges. Now, not so much...Still, even after all these years, corny or not, it is a charming movie.

I watched this when I was at Uni. I was going through a negative patch and found that this film gave me a great lift. It taught me that it is much more fun doing things together than on your own. It also taught me that you can succeed if you really have the desire.The music was great and was added to my collection of soundtracks. It also turned me on to the talents of the leading lady.A good feeling film.