"Remember the Titans," though based on true events, has the distinct feel of a typical Hollywood "underdogs coming out on top" film. But even if it is somewhat cliched, it's a highly enjoyable ride.
The true story is based on the historic 1971 decision to integrate Alexandria, Va., high schools. Black and white students from George Washington and Hammond high schools merged together amid a flood of controversy and racial tension at T.C. Williams High School.
With the school integrated, Alexandria's beloved football team, the Titans, must follow suit. Veteran coach and potential Hall of Famer Bill Yoast (Will Patton) expects to be instated as head coach for the new team after his years of service at Hammond. But the school board, as a concession to the integration effort, decides to bring in South Carolina coach Herman Boone (Denzel Washington). Yoast reluctantly accepts an assistant coach position below Boone.
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Tensions mount when the racially mixed team is first thrown together near the end of the summer to go to a two-week football camp. The divisiveness continues upon arrival until Boone uses a number of creative, sometimes cruel, ways to force them to respect each other. He takes his entire team on a marathon run at three in the morning, for instance.
The Titans proceed to have a season laden with turbulence and triumph, although some racial tension continues to tear at the group's unity. Corrupt administrators throw another obstacle in the team's path with their cunning yet unsuccessful attempts to fire Boone.
"Titans" director Boaz Yakin frames its story with a tragic epilogue but still manages to be a highly uplifting story. It's not as sugarcoated as a standard Disney drama, perhaps because of the involvement of action producer Jerry Bruckheimer ("Con Air," "Armageddon").
But the film's rough edge is still muted. Writer Gregory Allen Howard tells a brutal story with strong emotions on both sides of the issue and there is a great deal of implied violence. But he never uses the "n" word, and scenes with humorous or triumphant moments generally follow any scene involving serious conflict or anti-black sentiment.
This makes for an unrealistically positive portrayal of an intense time in American history. Although some harsh events are depicted, they are presented too briefly to register much emotional impact. It also feels somewhat forced that the players become so tightly knit so quickly in football camp.
But "Titans" also has some very funny moments. One unforgettable scene features cocky team captain Gerry Bertier (Ryan Hurst) threatening Boone. After Bertier talks some trash, Boone retorts by repeatedly asking him "Who's your daddy?" demonstrating beyond a shadow of a doubt who is in charge. Yoast's strong-willed nine-year-old daughter, Sheryl (Hayden Panettiere), also gets in some great one-liners.
On the other hand, some of Howard's characters and situations are painfully clichŠd. There's the strange outsider who gradually becomes accepted, the racist running back with the racist girlfriend, the white guy with a black soul and the team comedian. One player, "the Rev" (Craig Kirkwood), breaks into triumphant song at random moments and leads the team into happy sing-a-longs.
Washington's outstanding performance is what really makes the film. As a formerstudent at T.C. Williams, I can attest that Washington has Boone's mannerisms and speaking patterns nailed down. For instance, when he taught my driver's ed course, he never failed to amuse us by substituting clean words for vulgar ones when he got upset. He was fond of saying: "Shut your John Brown mouth, boy!" Washington does this repeatedly and to good effect in "Titans." His performance is "Titans'" main attraction.
The 70s period setting is very subtle and effective, with only a few cars and items of clothing evoking that era. However, the actual T.C. Williams looks nothing like the one presented in the film and the town in which it was filmed looks much more rural than Alexandria. Some actual location footage or at least a cameo by the charismatic real-life Coach Boone would have given the film a real boost, but these are small quibbles.
"Titans" is not a wildly original film, but it is well worth watching because it strives to be inspirational and succeeds despite its flaws. "Titans" never fumbles the ball.
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