Starring: James Caan, Craig Sheffer, Omar Epps, Halle Berry, Kristy
Swanson
Director: David S. Ward
Producer: Samuel Goldwyn Jr.
Screenplay: David S. Ward and Aaron Latham
Music: Michael Colombier
Released by Touchstone Pictures
ESU's football program is in trouble. Following two disappointing seasons, Coach Winters (James Caan) faces an uncertain future. 1993 gives him a talented team loaded with problem players. His star quarterback, Joe Kane (Craig Sheffer), is a Heisman Trophy-candidate, but his self-destructive impulses could end more than his chances of turning pro. Freshman running back Darnell Jefferson has speed, but little academic ability, and is unable to pass the competency tests. Then there's a defensive back who takes steroids and tries to date rape a girl, and another player who gets caught having someone take an exam for him (that "someone" just happens to be Coach Winters' daughter).
The Program is a mish-mash of cliches. It takes a little from every sports drama that's out there, adds a dash of controversy gleaned from local headlines, and churns them all together. The result, while possibly passably entertaining for football aficionados, won't be hailed as great, or even good, drama. There's far too little in this movie that doesn't feel artificial.
We've seen all these characters before. Most of their problems are wrapped up in nice, neat packages by the final act. In general, we don't feel much for these football players -- arrogance appears to be their chief trait, and it isn't an endearing one. Sometimes it's nice to see them slip up, just to get a moment's worth of humility.
Writer/director David S. Ward tries for three-dimensional characters, but ends up with regurgitated types. The jocks are little kids in big bodies with a bunch of typical problems, and the girlfriends are token roles added because college football players are supposed to have good-looking female companions. Most surprising of all is Coach Winters, who has about as much personality as a rock. Hoosiers worked because Gene Hackman's basketball coach was a dynamic individual. One of The Program's greatest faults is that it develops Winters so poorly.
The on-field side of things is more interesting. Of course, we know what's going to happen in the big game, and it all goes according to expectations, so there's little suspense, but the filming and staging of the games is accomplished with flair and proficiency. These have the look and feel of real football contests, and we get an undiluted sense of some of the antics that go on between players as they face each other at the line of scrimmage.
James Caan is miscast as Coach Winters, as is evident by his horribly flat peformance. Craig Sheffer and Omar Epps do better jobs with their characters, but the writing limits them. Halle Berry is perhaps The Program's most underutilized strength. She's the best thing in the picture, but has little to do, and certainly nothing that stretches her abilities. Likewise, Kristy Swanson (sporting black hair) has a thankless role.
The Program has its high points, but there are too few of them, and I suspect that many of the film's "insider's touches" are a combination of fact and fiction. Principally, this a formula football movie. Those hoping to see a hard-hitting drama about life off the field should instead prepare to be inundated by a load of feeble, unimaginative material that's almost impossible to take seriously.
© 1993, 1996 James Berardinelli