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In a sport like football—as in life—there are no take-backs. There are no do-overs. Once a play is over, it’s over—and the players (and the fans) are forced to live with the results. Some spend the rest of their lives replaying that fateful moment—that fumbled pass or that tackle that could have been avoided—wishing they could get just one chance to do it over. But that only happens in the movies—as in writer/director Dan Handfield’s Touchback, in which a former player gets a chance to replay his glory days.
Back in 1991, Scott Murphy (Brian Presley) had a promising career ahead of him. The star quarterback of his high school football team, he was eager to lead his small-town team to the state championship before going on to college—and, eventually, to a pro career. But then, as the seconds ticked down on that final game, a serious injury changed everything.
Today, instead of living the fabulous, big-city life of a pro football player, he’s still stuck in the tiny town of Coldwater, Ohio, living with his wife and two daughters and working the land on a farm he’s about to lose.
At the end of his rope, Scott decides to end it all. But then he suddenly finds himself transported back to 1991—and given the opportunity to change his destiny.
Touchback is a pickup trucks and Friday night football kind of movie—a quaint, feel-good drama, with just the right touches of sports action for the guys and romance for the girls. The small-town, rural setting—in which most of the characters live in shacks and mobile homes in various states of disorder and disrepair—makes it feel genuine and unpretentious, while the endless farmlands give it a kind of down-home warmth.
The characters, meanwhile, may be clichéd, but they’re charming nonetheless. From Melanie Lynskey’s Macy, the lovable band geek turned dependable wife and mother, to Presley’s Scott, the popular jock who gets to go back and be a nicer guy the second time around, they may look way too old for high school, but they’re still cute and lovable—and you’ll enjoy watching their story unfold. And when it comes to the football scenes at the end of the film, you’ll find it hard to resist getting caught up in the game and cheering the characters on.
At the same time, though, you might be a bit perplexed by the film’s rather melodramatic message. Despite the fact that Scott gets his chance to go back in time—to be a better person and maybe even build a better life for himself and his family—the film seems to suggest that there’s something wrong and ultimately selfish about trying to take advantage of the opportunity. Instead, it preaches that contentment is the way to go—though, considering the character’s disability and financial distress, it feels like a naïve and overly romanticized notion.
Sweet and sincere yet not entirely satisfying, Touchback is still a worthwhile off-season substitution for your regular Friday night football game. Is may not be an exhilarating sports movie, but it’s as cozy as your favorite old chair.
