Themes: Sibling Relationships, Success is the Best Revenge, Underdogs
Main Cast: Rick Moranis, Ed O'Neill, John Madden, Shawna Waldron, Mary Ellen Trainor
Release Year: 1994
Country: US
Run Time: 105 minutes
MPAA Rating: PG
Plot
A successful retired jock and his geeky younger brother play out their sibling rivalry by coaching rival little league football teams in this family comedy. Ed O'Neill plays the older brother, Kevin O'Shea, a former Heisman Trophy winner whose gridiron exploits have made him a local hero in his small Illinois hometown. Kevin is the almost unanimous choice to head up the town's Pop Warner football team, and he happily builds an imposing team from the best local players. One of the few objectors is Kevin's young brother Danny (Rick Moranis), an awkward, bespectacled gas station owner who empathizes with the kids rejected from the team, including his own athletic daughter Becky (Shawna Waldron). As revenge, Danny starts his own competing team of misfits, taking on the coaching duties himself. Naturally, despite the total ineptitude of Danny and his players, they eventually find themselves major underdogs in a climactic battle against Kevin's well-trained juggernaut. Director Duwayne Dunham and a team of four screenwriters hit all the expected sports film conventions, throwing in a few innocent romantic subplots and cameos by real football players for good measure. ~ Judd Blaise, All Movie Guide
Matthew McCurley - Nubie; Susanna Thompson - Patty; Brian Haley - Mike Hammersmith; Sam Horrigan - Spike Hammersmith; Todd Bosley - Jake Berman; Eddie Derham - Fast Eddie; Danny Pritchett - Tad Simpson; Devon Sawa - Junior; Troy Simmons - Hanon; Joe Paul Steuer; Marcus Toji - Marcus; Christopher Walberg - Timmy Moore; Michael Zwiener - Rudy Zolteck; Michael Blackburn - Mr. Vennaro; Pat Crawford Brown - Louise; Timothy Brown - Himself; Willie C. Carpenter - Ref #1; Dabbs Greer - Wilbur; DeJuan Guy - Hoyt; Myron Healey - Doctor; Bonnie Hellman - Mrs. Zolteck; Mark Holton - Mr. Zolteck; Rance Howard - Priest; Michael Monks - Mr. Moore; F. William Parker - Mayor Kelly; Courtney Peldon - Debbie O'Shea; Joey Simmrin - Murphy; Gene Whittington - Mr. Hanon; Harry Shearer - Announcer; Frank Welker - Animation Vocal Sound Effects; Richard E. Butler - Ref #2; Michael P. Byrne - Mr. Simpson; Janna Michaels - Young Patty; Joe Bays - Butz; Harry Fleer - Orville; Bruce Smith - Himself; Justin Jon Ross - Young Danny
Credit
April Ferry - Costume Designer, David McGiffert - First Assistant Director, Duwayne Dunham - Director, D. Michael Moore - Second Unit Director, Donn Cambern - Editor, Jerry Molen - Executive Producer, Walter Parkes - Executive Producer, John Debney - Composer (Music Score), J.Paul Huntsman - Musical Direction/Supervision, Bill Kenney - Production Designer, Janusz Kaminski - Cinematographer, Gerald R. Molen - Producer, Arne Schmidt - Producer, Tommy Swerdlow - Screenwriter, Michael Goldberg - Screenwriter, Robert Shallcross - Screenwriter, James Ferguson - Screenwriter
