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Film Review: Undefeated – Directed by Daniel Lindsay and T.J. Martin

Film Review: Undefeated
Directed by Daniel Lindsay and T.J. Martin.
Zipper Bros. Studios

An underdog story that rivals the best of them: above anything else, the one ingredient that qualifies Undefeated as a must-watch sports documentary

Undefeated tells the story of Manassas Tigers’ 2009 high school football season as they try to win the first playoff game in their 110-year history. Located in the rundown inner-city of Memphis, Tennessee, Manassas has always been a bottom-rung team; in recent decades, they were even hired as practice cannon-fodder for richer, more talented schools.

Enter Bill Courtney, former high school football coach turned lumber salesman turned volunteer high school football coach for Manassas. He was the key that started a turnaround for the school’s football program in 2004 and our guide into the world of Undefeated. Courtney is the classic father figure for his young players; throughout the movie he espouses on the importance of character and discipline in between breaking up fights and nursing bruised egos.

We also get to meet three players with interesting, desperate stories: O.C. Brown, a fleet-footed giant whose promising future in college is jeopardized by poor grades; Montrail (Money) Brown, an academically strong player who wants to go to college but can’t afford it; and Chavis Daniels, who spent a year in juvenile detention and struggles to deal with anger issues while getting football and life back in order.

While entertaining, Undefeated is nothing that you haven’t seen before in a documentary (do all underdog stories involve rough upbringings?). Some critics were even surprised when it took home the Oscar for Best Documentary at the recent Academy Awards. However, Undefeated does a fine job at weaving the various story lines together and keeping the audience rooting for the protagonists. You can’t help but keep your fingers crossed as you witness O.C. studying in between games, Money battling back from a major injury, and Chavis maturing from a suspended player to star of the show. And Courtney is the real star of the show. It’s very easy for viewers to connect to his natural charm and his very real love for the players.

And well, sometimes cliches exist because they’re true. I don’t want to spoil the story for anyone, but the Manassas Tigers’ season goes very well, though the ending is one you don’t see coming. And when the big burly football players and their surrogate father hug it out at the end of the film, you really can’t help but get a lump in your throat. Who doesn’t appreciate a documentary that can do that?

Rating: 3 / 4 stars

PS: The rapper and media mogul Sean “P. Diddy” Combs signed on as an executive producer of Undefeated after watching the film and “crying like a baby.” There are rumours of a possible Hollywood remake in the future.

Opens March 16th Nationwide

By Daniel Chai

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