The real coaches, Boone and Yoast, truly did end up becoming best friends and hung out together every day (they sadly both passed away in 2019). They even provided their own commentary track for the DVD release. Ryan Hurst (Gary) became popularly known for playing Opie on Sons of Anarchy and was more recently the voice of Thor in God of War: Ragnarok.

The Orange Julius joke at the end was good, but Simone's reaction is what made it truly epic.

The AA vs AAA team thing was a way to classify schools based off their student body size. At that time in Virginia, Group A schools had fewer than 700 students, Group AA schools had between 700 and 1500 students, and Group AAA schools had 1500+ students. It's mostly done for sportsmanship to prevent tiny schools where a single student might play 2 or even 3 positions (because their team just doesn't have enough players) from being pitted against schools where they can have 4-5 students per position, since the larger team would be able to just rotate through rested players while the smaller team is constantly playing and therefore becomes completely exhausted. The shotgun they're referring to is a play structure, where the quarterback and running back start a few yards behind the offensive line, instead of right up against it. The point is to give the quarterback more space to move in, and thus more time to do whatever the play calls for; if it's a pass, the tight ends and wide receivers (the guys catching the ball) have more time to get further down the field and to get away from defenders, while the quarterback has more time to see which receiver is the best option to throw to; if the play is a run, the shotgun gives the offensive line more time to hopefully open a hole in the defense for the running back to take the ball through to get some good yardage, as well as enough room to build up some speed (or in the case of a fullback, enough momentum to push through the line).

This movie took some dramatic liberties, as movies do. The Titans were in fact such a dominant team that they shut out their opponents seven times in their 10-game season. Their last game wasn't remotely close either: They won by a score of 26-8.

Middle school through High School my best friend was Gary Bertier's nephew. Gary had already passed, but his family has a foundation in his name that still holds events every year. Gary was the life of the party, based on the stories I heard. If there was a dance floor, he was out there in his wheelchair, with a crowd of people around him.

I'm from the deep south (Alabama) and the part where they play the racist coach and referees where they come back and win had the entire theater erupting in cheers, one of my favorite movie going memories

Glad you two enjoyed this one! A casting that you didn’t point out was a young Hayden Panettiere as Cheryl. An amazing breakout role for her as far as I’m concerned!

Normally the Quarterback is directly behind the Center at the start of a play and the center snaps the ball to him, basically handing him the ball through his legs. But when the Quarterback is in the Shotgun it means that he stands like 7 yards behind the Center and the Center has to snap it all the way back to him. This basically allows the Quarterback have more time and see more of the field to find an open guy to throw to. So the shotgun formation is used mostly to pass and not to run that much.

Shotgun formation is when the quarterback backs up from the front line before the play begins

Somethings you have to remember when watching this movie is the time setting, not just about race, but about how sports was coached back then. It was much harsher than now, and they did things that would be considered abusive, if not actually criminal, like the "Water is for Sissies" philosophy. That was a common belief/practice back then, when players were much smaller than now. That changed only as recently as 2001, after the Minnesota Vikings Korey Stringer died of heat stroke in training camp. After that, proper hydration and cooling became part of coaching.

This film rocks. It does a lot to realize all the characters and its just incredible.

I love the part at the end where Gerry Bertier talks about finding out that the Paralympics or Olympics for disabled people exists. Gerry did go on to set records at the Paralympic level in track and field events (wheelchair racing and shot put I believe) and wheelchair basketball.

I’ve been to plenty Seahawks games over the years up here in Seattle, and there’s nothing quite like feeling the stadium rumble because of the fans cheers. It’s a special feeling you can only get just from being there. American football might not be for everyone, but the people who love it are some of the craziest, passionate, and most fun people you could ever be around. Unfortunately there’s also a lot of toxic, agro, or even racist fans that can’t stand losing and decide to take their frustrations out on players personally, especially on social media these days.

Seeing Simone and George being SO shocked that this movie was made by Disney really just provides stunningly clear evidence of how far Disney has degenerated form their former glory. The fact that they can't believe that Disney would be controversial or tackle (pun intended) a tough topic like integration of the races in the 1970s means that it has been a long time since Disney was much of any good.

Disney bit with the clapping and singing, the team really did enter the field that way. Some of the footage of them entering the field is the actual team.

One thing you didn't seem to pick up on(although you might be a little young to remember her star-making role) is that the football crazy daughter of the white coach was an 11 year old Hayden Pannetiere, who would become wildly famous as Claire Bennet, the cheerleader 6 years later on Heroes("Save the cheerleader, save the world."), and then become the co-lead on Nashville 2012-18. Her career has slowed down significantly since then since suffering from post-partum depression in 2015 and missing multiple episodes of Nashville. It's not clear to me if she put the brakes on herself, or if she developed a reputation for being unreliable/difficult but she has only worked once since 2018 according to IMDB.

Jerry Lewis and Dean Martin were a vaudeville duo who became two of the biggest stars on the planet. Their films probably wouldn’t do numbers, but they’re worth checking out. I personally prefer Lewis’ solo work. The Bellboy, The Errand Boy, The Geisha Boy (just noticed the pattern) are all great.

A friend of mine was an extra in this movie - one of the Titans' players. He's in a bunch of shots and we all went to see the movie together and can't stop laughing whenever he shows up on the screen.

The dance they did before the games, they actually did in real life. It wasn't choreographed by Disney. It was actual history.

The "big guy" was played by Ethan Suplee, a very underrated actor known for his comedic and dramatic roles. One of his most well known roles is Randy Hickey in the sit-com "My Name Is Earl", but he also features in the movie "Evolution" as well as "American History X", as you mentioned. He's actually lost a lot of weight over the last couple of decades. The little girl you loved so much was played by Hayden Panettiere, who you might know better as Claire from "Heroes".

If you like the theme of this one, I think you guys would really like “Lean On Me” starring Morgan Freeman. It’s one people have forgotten about but is among his best performances. “They don’t call me Mr. Clark, they call me bat man!” Classic!

Interesting note: Election night, 2008. When Obama gave his victory speech, they used the music from this movie. When McCain gave his concession speech, they used the music from Crimson Tide (which also stars Denzel Washington). The actress who played the little girl you liked so much is Hayden Panettiere, who got very big about 5 years later. She did a lot of teen movies, but is probably still most recognized from the series “Heroes.”

The daughter of the white coach is played by a young Hayden Panettiere!

🔔 GEORGE & SIMONE: According to the screenwriter the movie script was "about 80%" historically accurate. For example: #1) A TOILET (not a brick) was thrown through Coach Boone's window in real life (something he said he never got over). #2) There was NO "Coach's Hall Of Fame" (at that time, although one was created later). #3) Gary Bertier did NOT get seriously injured in a car crash during the season. (It happened AFTER the season was over.)

Re: “Left side! Strong side!” Football offenses put five “big guys” up front, which would be symmetrical, except they often add a sixth player to act as a hybrid that can either block or attempt to catch a pass-whatever the play calls for (the “tight end”). The offensive line, however, is now asymmetrical, so to differentiate between sides when discussing a play, teams began calling the side with the tight end the “strong side” (because there’s one more player) and the other side the “weak side.” Gary and Julius play on opposite sides of the defense and, because of their leadership qualities, serve as the de facto captains for their half of the field. The “Left side! /Strong side!” bit is a way to psych themselves and their teammates up by going “My side of the defense is better than yours! / “Nuh uh! My side’s better!”

So glad you did this movie. This is a movie I watch whenever I see it on TV. A "remote drop" movie. It is so good.

Flight: I believe it was one of Denzel's best and he definitely should have won an Oscar for it.

At 21:30 you seemed to think the team entered with the dance because it was a disney movie. I think it was more inspired by the entrances and bands of HBCU schools. Check out some of their marching bands I'm guessing you haven't seen them perform before. Everyone make suggestions for which schools to watch.

Shotgun is a formation where instead of the Quarterback lining up where the Center can directly hand him the ball between his legs, he lines up about 5-7 yards back and the Center snaps the ball back to him. With modern offensive strategies, it's much more common nowadays. In fact, there are many teams at many different levels that run out of Shotgun formations almost inclusively. But back in those days, you really only saw Shotgun formations at the professional level. Hell, I remember going to a college football game in the late 90s and the home team came out for the first play and lined up in a traditional formation. But then, the Quarterback took a few steps backwards to create a Shotgun formation and there was an audible gasp from the 50,000 people in attendance. And again, that was during a high-level college game in the 90s. So yes, seeing a high school team in the 70s do it would have would have been very unexpected.

When I was in 8th grade, I saw this movie in class when my class subject was about racism and discrimination. I absolutely loved the story and how emotionally satisfying it was towards the end. Years later after my graduation, I saw the movie again for the second time by myself and I enjoyed it twice as much

According to the interviews I have read, the situation wasn't as racially charged as depicted in this movie. TC Williams wasn't the only integrated school as implied, so being integrated was fairly accepted by the time TC Williams came around. Also, the whole "Sunshine kisses Gerry" thing never happened. They took a bunch of different liberties for the movie. I still enjoy it for the movie that it is, it's just not that close to what happened other than the Titans going undefeated that year.

This movie is actually about my old high school TC Williams high school , which is now renamed to Alexandra city high school…. and the coach that Denzel Washington is playing was actually my driver’s ed teacher in that school…. I remember he told us in class that Hollywood was going to make a movie about him and I didn’t know anything about the whole football thing and that he coached and I was saying to myself why are they going to make a movie about a driver’s ed teacher and then two years later I’m at the movie theaters and I see the trailer for the Titans and I was just blown away because they were chanting. We are the Titans, the mighty mighty Titans, which is the same school chant that we chant.

This is one of my all time favorite movies. The scene with Julius coming to see Bertier in the Hospital always chokes me up. They did such a good job at portraying what real, deep friendship between men looks like. And the ending? Perfection. "Before we reach for hate, always, ALWAYS we remember the titans."

So, a lot of this movie is dramatized to create more conflict, not less. Schools were integrated years before the events of this movie and the TC Williams HS football team was actually much better than depicted in the movie. That state championship that TC Williams barely won in the movie was actually a huge blowout in favor of TC Williams in real life (final score: 27-0). They were such a good team because 2 other schools combined with TC Williams HS before the season started allowing the 3 schools to pool their best players together for an undefeated season with 9 shutouts (which means their opponents didn't score at all in those 9 games, including the state championship game). Also, Gerry wasn't in that accident until after the season was over. Apparently, the scene where Coach Boone pairs a white player with a black player on the buses before camp did actually happen. Also, Sheryl Yoast (the crazy white girl 🤣🤣🤣) was not an only child as depicted in the movie as she had 3 sisters. Apparently, Sheryl died when she was only 34 in 1996 😢😢😢

2:45 the difference between divisions in American football is actually a lot bigger than you'd expect. For example, in college, whenever an FCS team plays an FBS opponent, the FBS team will be favored significantly, perhaps 7+ touchdown favorites over the FCS opponents, that's how big a difference between divisions can make. Sometimes Vegas doesn't even produce lines and spreads for those games because the two teams simply do not compare on the field. The higher division will always be significant favorites, even some of the worst FBS teams will destroy the best of the FCS. This movie is based on high schools, though, so there may not be as big a difference between them as it is in colleges, however. But the point is, the difference between divisions is actually huge in American football.

"3 a.m. in the morning is funny to me." Right there with you Simone. It always cracks me up when someone says a.m. and morning, as if there's another possible a.m. besides morning. 😂😂 P.S. George with the win for Orange Julius!! 🤣🤣

I really like this movie. It’s wholesome and hopeful and has some great acting in it, especially from the younger actors. But the best thing about it is the soundtrack; it really captures the feeling of the early Seventies. It’s one of the few movie soundtracks I still own a hard copy of.

My brother is an extra in this movie. The first and only time anyone in my family got on the big screen. Of course, he’s covered in football gear during the games…

I did not get football at first either. But once you understand the game, and the rules, it is an addicting sport to follow! It is truly a Chess game where territorial and time dominion is what matters at the end. I grew to absolutely LOVE IT‼

One of my favorites! I grew up in Virginia close to Alexandria and actually never heard the story before seeing the movie. Another Disney sports movie I would recommend is Miracle. It's the story of the 1980 US Olympic Hockey team and it's fantastic! Always love watching you guys.♥

A classic movie that holds a special place in my heart because I knew all the real people the movie depicts. I was a senior at T.C. when those events happened. Some old-timers don’t like the movie because it takes great liberties with the facts, but most of us love it because it is great drama with an important lesson. Julius died just a year or two ago after spending many years traveling around the country, giving inspirational talks on race relations. Some truths and untruths: Alexandria was not a southern hick town but a cosmopolitan, metropolitan suburb of 110,000. T.C. had been integrated since 1965 and at the time of the events (1971) was 30% Black. Hammond (Yoast’s school) had just two Black students because it was in the rich end of town, and G.W., in the poor end, was 60% Black. Race was not the main issue at T.C.; school rivalry was the issue, due to the merging of the three schools. Boone was not new to the school. He had been assistant coach at T.C. for two years preceding the events, and he was my P.E. teacher in his first year, when I was a sophomore. I liked Boone a lot and had a good relationship with him even though I was not a football player (I was varsity cross-country and track). As most people know, Bertier’s first car accident was not as shown. It actually occurred in the post season, but the movie changed it for dramatic purposes. T.C.’s hardest game was not in the State Championship, but in the regular season, 21-16 versus Marshall. T.C. had 9 shutouts in 13 games. I saw all the regular season games. Oddly, the team’s best star was not in the movie; he was a running back who led the state in yards and touchdowns. Yoast was one of the best coaches in the state at the time, and there was widespread resentment over Boone’s selection as head coach. It is true that the training camp at Gettysburg transformed the team, and students were marveling over it when they came back. Boone was a hard-driving coach as depicted, but he had a great heart for the game and for his athletes. Singing among the Black athletes (including some basketball players) was a longtime tradition at T.C, usually done in the locker room. The players were allowed to wear their jerseys in school at any time, and they actually acted as a calming influence as depicted briefly in the film. I witnessed an incident where a player used moral suasion and school spirit to stop a fight that was starting. My favorite true thing in the movie is an event I witnessed: Ron Bass’s arrival. It actually occurred at T.C. in the first week after training camp. I was with the cross-country team, warming up at the end of the track straightaway. At the other end, a fancy car drove up the ramp from the parking lot and onto the track. Everyone was amazed; cars weren’t supposed to do that. Ron (with very long hair) and a military officer in uniform (his father) got out of the car and talked to Boone, who had stopped practice and came over to them to see what was going on. Later we learned that he was a hippie quarterback from California. He was terrific, both a fine passer and a great runner. It always kept our opponents guessing.

In a broad summary, two teams, one team has possession of the ball. They have four tries to move the ball down the field ten yards by passing or running. If one effort moves along more than ten yards, the four count starts over again. Their teammates are blocking the other team or making opportunities for the team to get down the field. The other team, simultaneously is trying to stop them from moving forward and also get possession of the ball making it their turn to move the opposite way down the field. Getting the ball to their end zone is 6 points after which they can kick for a goal for an extra point or run it into the end zone again for 2. After each completion in the end zone, possession changes to the other team. Alternatively, team can kick for a field goal on their fourth try to get 3 points. Game goes for four 15 minute quarters at which time whichever team has the most points wins. This is my loose understanding of the game. There’s lots of other intricate rules that come into play, but that’s it in a nutshell.

🔔 FUN FACT: The author of the screenplay had gone into a barber shop of an area that was not his home. While there he heard them very enthusiastically talking about the "great Titans team season of '71". That got his attention and he took the time to research it and... A great movie was born! 🏈

It's endlessly rewatchable. Ryan Hurst and Hayden Panetierre make it for me. And I love reactions to it. Yours was so fun. Love you guys.

This is the most out of place movie in my list of favorites. Great characters and great moments. In reality, every school had already been integrated and a lot of the racial stuff was overblown as it often is in movies.

In American Football, shotgun is not a play in itself, but a way to align the offensive team (the team that starts with the ball in their hands) to favor certain plays.

"I don't know what's going on, but the music sounds hopeful." That summed up how I felt while watching it as a new immigrant coming to the US! 🤣🤣🤣

My middle school gym teacher showed us this movie after it hit VHS release (Kids, a VHS is what we had movies on before 4k discs and internet streaming). It left a lasting impression on me and is one my favorite Disney films. The big white guy who would break into song is played by Ethan Suplee. The actor went a long time struggling with his weight, not to mention drugs and alcohol, but has since turned himself around and gotten absolutely Jacked.

28:25 "Shotgun" is just play formation where the center snaps the ball to the quarterback between his legs but through the air with the QB standing 3 or so yards away. This formation is more dangerous, since the center typically just snaps the ball between his legs and directly hands the ball to the quarterback, whereas a shotgun play is more susceptible to potential fumbling...however, if completed successfully, shotgun formations allow the QB more time in the pocket to decide what to do, as he is 3 yards further away from the defensive line than usual, allowing him more time to navigate away from the D if necessary. Nowadays shotgun formations are commonplace but this was a fairly new, unknown procedure back in the 70's when this takes place.

Simone's "angry" face is SO adorable!!! To the joke, I say "Well done, George!" 😂😂😂

Jerry Lewis and Dean Martin were around during "the rat pack" era of las Vegas 😊

Football is huge especially in the south. Some towns completely shut down on Friday nights for high school games.

17:42 - There was a cut scene after this that I WISHED they would have left in. Where Sunshine's father (the military guy) comes in and puts the owner of the restaurant in his place. Was so satisfying.

Love the channel soo much and when Simone told George to F off when the Julius “joke” happened it might have been my favorite show moment 😂

Only 2 of the speaking high school kids were actually teenagers when it opened Sep 29, 2000. Denzel Washington as Herman Boone 1954 46 Will Patton as Bill Yoast 1954 46 Wood Harris as Julius Campbell 1969 31 Burgess Jenkins as Ray Budds 1973 27 Donald Faison as Petey Jones 1974 26 Craig Kirkwood as Jerry "Rev" Harris 1974 26 Earl C. Poitier as Darryl "Blue" Stanton 1974 26 Kip Pardue as Ronnie "Sunshine" Bass 1975 25 Ryan Hurst as Gerry Bertier 1976 24 Ethan Suplee as Louie Lastik 1976 24 Ryan Gosling as Alan Bosley 1980 19 Kate Bosworth as Emma Hoyt 1983 17 Hayden Panettiere as Sheryl Yoast 1989 11

In US High School sports, the letters identify groupings by school size. Larger schools have larger school bodies and athletic resources compared to small schools so they compete only against other schools in their category.

That little girl is Hayden Panettiere from heroes, I believe this film was her first role.

The fact Simone kinda understood and explained the winnning play is impressive af!

0:52 Simone: "Not all Disney movies have singing." Me who knows this movie actually has alot of singing.

22:29 Tai chi is waterbending though.

Yesss such a good movie! Not sure if you did already but you should definitely check out "Rudy", "Radio", and "The Blind Side".

I think so many times people dismiss sports as just a bunch of dumb jocks and our energy could be used in so many other areas where it is needed . But above everything, sports bring people together and that is always a good thing to me.

Seriously, you’ve never heard about this movie! Soooo glad y’all will watch this!! You will absolutely LOVE IT!!! A classic. I watch it usually a few times a year. Such a great message!! Get ready for some tears 😊😊

Disney went on a tear with sports movies in the early 2000s with Remember The Titans," "Glory Road," and "Miracle." You should definitely watch the other two.

Kate Bosworth was 16 and Gosling was 17 when filming. There is a quote from her on the 21st anniversary of the opening that Gosling was a "real sweetheart, but everyone already knows that.". In 1970 it mattered if someone accused you of being gay.

Every time I see that big guy from American History X I just think of his character the 90s series Boy Meets World.

Favorite line “he’s getting beat like he stole something “

Jerry Lewis is one of the biggest comedians in film history. Dean Martin was his partner in the fifties and he was a big singer. They broke up in the late fifties and became big on their own.

Single A, double A and triple A ( A, AA, AAA ) were just ways of showing the size of the student body. generally thinking was the larger schools had better teams because it had a larger potential player pool to choose from and usually the larger cities would fall into the higher A rating system because they had larger schools with more student body.

2A 3A 4A 5A ect football just means the more A's the bigger the school/population. More students= more A's. They're basically saying if you have a bigger pool of people to get talented athletes from, you should have a better team. So a school with 6,000 students should theoretically always be better than a school with 1200 students, and they will be classified accordingly.

Hayden Panettiere was basically 95% hair in this movie. 😂

No, they really did that dance coming on to the field! It was on the national news networks -ALL OF THEM!

🔔 I never understood why: #1) The deleted scene where the players return to the racist restaurant and give its owner his well-deserved comeuppance was not included in the original. #2) The woman who does the nice voiceovers which bookend this amazing movie wasn't listed in its credits.

Not a comment on the reaction, but doesn’t everyone just LOVE Simone? She’s gotta be the sweetest, prettiest, funniest of all the KZfaqrs. I really find myself hoping she loves whatever movie they’re watching. 🤷 And George is good, too. 😉

My highschool was in this district but it opened the year after this takes place. I never knew this history until seeing this movie. I do remember TC Williams didn't have lights so they only had day games.

Always loved this movie and movies like it that changed peoples views of other people through sports. “Radio” is another great football movie that you guys have to check out…and when you get around to it “42” with Chadwick Boseman. “Pride” with Terrance Howard and Bernie Mac is another. Love when movies break barriers… Oh and I almost forgot, the slept on “Gridiron Gang” with The Rock

It’s been a long time since I’ve seen this and I forgot how good it is! Your reaction to the crash scene brought tears to my eyes, for some reason it hits harder watching it years later. Thanks for reacting to this, it’s great to see it getting attention!

This was a totally rad reaction as always! This is my favorite sports movie, I've legit lost count of how many times I've seen it and it never gets old! This movie really hits (pun intended) all the feels and takes a few surprising twists along the way. The soundtrack and the score are top notch and really add to the overall enjoyment of the movie. Y'all's observations and commentary are always fun and interesting so keep up the great work! Many blessings to you and yours.

This was the movie that I discovered Hayden Panettiere; later she was in Heroes.

The cop being nice to Julius shows the impact the team is having on the town, it's not that it's Disney nor is it unrealistic

That clean-cut Gerry Bertier is Ryan effing Hurst, Opie from Sons of Anarchy and Beta from Walking Dead.

Back in the day, that "water is weakness" thing was legit, as far as I heard. Obviously if you drink too much while exercising, it's a problem, but no water is just as bad.

"Yay sportsball" - Simone. She is the absolute best. 😊 Edit: 7/10 "woo"

A couple of replies/comments 1.Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis were a comedy team in the 40-50's. Dean was the straight man and Jerry the comedian. Dean is/was a well known singer (think Frank Sinatra, etc.) 2. Football is a physical game but so is hockey. In fact, hockey is probably a tougher game. Players going faster, and when a player is knocked down they land on cold hard ice not grass. Aren't you two Canadian? I'm surprised I even have to comment on this. LOL! 3. I also was curious about the Hollywood vs fact and from what I remember there was plenty liberties taken with the movie.

2:47 AA, AAA, is a system based on how many student are in the school; it’s a way to set divisions for sports and other activities. 2A and 3A are rather small schools. I went to a busy inner city school and we were 5A but it has since grown to be a 6A school.

It’s fun watching people who know nothing about football try to figure out what’s happening during the football parts of this movie. Thanks for that. The football in this movie was handled decently, imo. The rest of the movie was fantastic. Great cast, wonderful acting and directing, and good take on a tough and controversial subject matter. P.S. “Shotgun” isn’t part of the play, it’s part of a formation (how the players line up before the play starts). Quarterbacks can typically be in two positions prior to the play: under center and shotgun. Under center is when the qb is right behind the center (the person holding the ball prior to the snap) and his hands are basically under the center’s butt. Shotgun is when the qb is several steps behind the center and the ball has to be kind of thrown to him by the center.

Disney was not afraid back in the day! They made a movie called The Color of Friendship, another true story and it touched on apartheid South Africa and racism! Would love for you to see that one and Cool Runnings!

there's so many movies that fit into my favorites cateorgy, this being one of them. i can honestly say the number of times i've watched it from the last 20 years has probably been too many to even count. it's absolutely one of my favorites. the characters just stick with you.

Differences is population of students body. AA is certain students and AAA is large number of students. Varies from state to state. Basically call it lower class of football. In real life the accident happened after the championship. He got play in it. They beat the crap out of them was not as close as movie portrayed it . The shotgun this formation that qb is five yards back and ball is hike to qb. It slows down the defense pass rush , giving the ol more time to block and qb more time to throw. They never seen it against anyone they play that why they thrown off

This is movie they play endlessly on "Movie Day" in Middle & High school. Everyone got a half slice of pizza and a small cup of off-brand soda.

Ethan Suplee is the big guy, the dude looks amazing nowadays lost a ton of weight turned it all into muscle lol

Some great solo Jerry Lewis films are: Rock A Bye Baby, Cinderfella, Bell Boy, Geisha Boy, Disorderly Orderly, The Big Mouth, Who's Minding The Store, The Ladies Man, Nutty Professor. Some Martin/Lewis films are Hollywood Or Bust, Artists and Models, The Caddy, Sailor Beware. A good film with Jerry Lewis and Robert Deniro is "The King Of Comedy".

Blood in Blood out is hands down the best Disney movie

This should be a completely forgettable movie, but a really tight script and great performances elevate it into a brilliant movie. They completely missed Hayden Panettiere as the memorable little girl :D . What a stacked cast, overall.

About the amping up the sounds for impact. I played american football in France, believe it or not, and my father came to pick me up at practice. He always said he was shocked by the sound of the impacts resonnating from the other side of the parking lot. I think being protected allows you to hit hard, maybe too hard (rugby is much more civilized, even though it's rough). And the plastic of the armor amplifies the sounds

Jerry Lewis and Dean Martin were one of the first comedy duos on both film and television. Like Abbott and Costello or Cheech and Chong. You must know those names.

FYI: that fiery young girl, the daughter of the coach, is played by a very young Hayden Panettiere.

Jerry Lewis was a famous comedian, Dean Martin was a famous jazz singer.

It occurs to me there is a lot of pop culture from the 60s and 70s US that Canadians en masse are probably not privy to. For example, the raised fist Gary Bertier raises was a reference to the raised fist on Campbell's poster that Bertier fought him over. The poster was a photograph of US Olympians Tommie Smith and John Carlos when they raised their fists in protest while being awarded the Gold and Bronze medals in their event. That gesture, which had been associated with Workers' Movements across Europe, was subsequently adopted by Black civil rights activists. (Compare to today at the outrage some Americans when football players kneel during the National Anthem. Even liberal Judge Ruth Bader Ginsburg called that form of protest unpatriotic, so you can imagine the rage that many Americans in 1968 responded to that moment with.) I remember that my Mom teared up the first time she saw that scene, when Bertier raised his fist from his hospital bed. She explained to me what the gesture meant because I did not recognize the poster from earlier in the movie or know about the protests at the 1968 Olympics. Just one of several moments in this movie that are really authentic, but that if you don't know the history it doesn't hit as hard.

You should see the actor who plays Louie Lastik now (Ethan Suplee). Y'all will be surprised.