Opening Friday, December 22: We Are Marshall

A while back, my friend Hot Mama Jen suggested that I review the trailer for We Are Marshall. Jen wrote to me, “[My husband] Mark and his family are eagerly awaiting this movie because it’s the true story of the Marshall University football team. Marshall is in Huntington, West Virginia, where Mark grew up, and he and his entire family went to school. They spent about 3 weeks filming in Huntington, so his parents really got into the whole movie. They met Matthew McConaughey, and Matthew Fox, etc., and are in some scenes in Huntington, and then they actually caravanned down to Atlanta with a bunch of other people from Huntington to be in the football stadium scenes. The whole production took over the town (which is just a little university town) and was a really big deal, so we’re eager to see how it plays out on the big screen.”

Well, Jen, from the looks of the trailer, all of Huntington is going to be very happy with the way We Are Marshall turned out. Above all, We Are Marshall is not just another football movie; it is a story about rising above the pain of a tremendous loss of their entire football team in a plane crash. Director McG (he of Charlie’s Angels fame) and screenwriters Jamie Linden and Cory Helms must walk the line between cliché, sappiness, and testosterone, and they appear to strike the right balance. Warner Brothers assembled a first rate cast of Matthew McConaughey, Matthew Fox, Ian McShane, Kate Mara, and David Strathairn. (Even though Matthew Fox has been back in prime time for the past three seasons of Lost, this is his first major studio movie. Good for him.)

My one concern is that Warner Brothers, in crafting a compelling trailer, has given away a large chunk of the film. By witnessing the students chanting “We Are…Marshall!” are we witnessing the most dramatic moment of the film? Will Matthew McConaughey’s character have more inspiring pre-game speeches, or are those the best ones? I am betting that much of the cat is out of the bag, but the movie will still be good.

Try to watch that trailer and not have the “We are…Marshall!” chant running through your head. If you’re anything like me, you’ll get choked up at least three times during the preview. I vote to SEE IT, but bring the whole box of tissues with you to the cinema.

Thoughts?

We Are Marshall is rated PG and opens on December 22. (Official Site)