Review by Bob
Ignizio
People love to
whine and moan about how such and such a movie is “just a rip-off”
of another film. We've seen this recently with THE HUNGER GAMES
and BATTLE ROYALE. The truth is, though, there are only so
many basic stories and they get recycled all the time. And as long as
the recycling is done well enough, everybody is happy. Case in point:
how often have you heard anyone complain that STAR WARS EPISODE
IV: A NEW HOPE is “just a rip-off” of Akira Kurosawa's THE
HIDDEN FORTRESS? If you've never seen THE HIDDEN
FORTRESS, check it out and you'll see I'm not kidding. So it's
not really an issue for me that the plot of TOUCHBACK is one
we've seen variations on in countless movies and TV shows; it's what
writer/director Don Handfield does with the premise that matters.
In a nutshell,
TOUCHBACK combines elements of IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE
and PEGGY SUE GOT MARRIED, to name just two prominent
films with similar plots. Scott (Brian Presley) was the star
quarterback at a small southern Ohio school in his high school years.
During the final minutes of “the big game”, Scott chose to ignore
his coach (Kurt Russell) and run a different play. His decision results in victory
for the team, but Scott winds up with a debilitating injury that
dashes any hopes for a future in the sport.
