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Lacrosse Movies: Warrior’s Heart vs Crooked Arrows vs Varsity Blues

Adam Sandler water boy sports movies
Sports Movies!

This week’s Hot Pot is all about the movies!  I’m comparing A Warrior’s Heart and Crooked Arrows to one of the greatest high school sports movies of all time, Varsity Blues.  Don’t think VB is a great flick?  Well, we’re just going to have to agree to disagree on that one.

Sure, there were requisite moments of preposterous movie-only behavior in Varsity Blues, and the line “I don’t want… you life” will always make me laugh, even if that was supposed to be serious, but I’m not quite as sold on A Warrior’s Heart just yet.  Crooked Arrows on the other hand seems to have some potential still!  Varsity Blues’ biggest selling-point was that it was pure entertainment.  The football scenes were great, ridiculous as they were, and the overall vibe was one of taking it just a little too far, which really made for great satire and parody, even if it wasn’t intentional.  It wasn’t a perfect movie, but it was very watchable.

So who knows, maybe A Warrior’s Heart will deliver in a similar vein for lacrosse players?  Maybe we’ll watch it and laugh along and remember how high school lax was actually NOTHING like that… but I don’t think that’s the route AWH took.  To be fair, I haven’t seen the movie yet, but from the reviews, trailer, and the story line I’m starting to have some serious concerns.

The story goes that the main character’s father is killed while serving in the Army.  The main character starts acting out, loses his way, and then with the help of one of his dad’s Native American friends (who may or may not kidnap him), and the head coach’s daughter (seriously), he makes a miraculous transformation and comeback.  And there’s where my concern lies…  Unless this is a REALLY well done movie, it runs the risk of trivializing some pretty serious issues.

Varsity Blues certainly trivialized football a little bit.  It showed how the culture associated with all-out football towns can be a bad thing, and how stepping back a bit can be a great move.  The people who were the most serious became the biggest jokes.  It was an admittedly silly movie at many points, but that was ok, because it was about HS football.  Being able to watch and laugh at that is fine.

But if A Warrior’s Heart isn’t actually an awesome movie, and it simply follows in the vein of other “teen” flicks, it will fall flat.  Losing a parent isn’t something to be trivialized, or fixed with more sports.  It’s not something kids need to just “get over”.  And if AWH isn’t stellar, I’m just concerned with how they’re going to handle the set up.  So far, the movie has NOT been getting great reviews and Philadelphia Weekly gave it a D where they pretty much confirmed all of my concerns as definite possibilities.  I’ll withhold judgment until I see it, but those are my concerns.

Right now I have a lot more hope for Crooked Arrows, which seems to be taking a much more Varsity Blues approach to things.  There’s supposedly a lot more lax, more Native Americans playing the game, less Native Americans being used as vehicles for troubled white people to grow, and fewer blatant emotional ploys.  I might actually go see that in the theater!  Got to support the lax movement! Although there is an actor in A Warrior’s Heart named Chord Overstreet.  So there’s that.

Check out a trailer from each movie and decide for yourself!

Yes, the character is named Connor. Damn it.

Ok, I don’t know about you… but I’m sold.

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LACROSSE IN OTHER NEWS:

– Orlando Lacrosse Player collapses on the field and later dies.  Our thoughts, prayers, and most sincere condolences go out to the entire Orlando Lacrosse Community as well as the greater University High School Community.  Our thoughts will be with parents, family, friends, teammates and coaches of Daniel Valenson.  | Orlando Sentinel

– Notre Dame releases 2012 Men’s Lacrosse Schedule | LaxPower

– Army releases 2012 Men’s Lacrosse Schedule | Laxpower

– NLL NOT coming back to Vancouver anytime soon.  Bummer. | Vancouver Sun

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LACROSSE VIDEO OF THE WEEK:

If you want IMLCA coverage, you need to check out 412’s IMLCA Coverage.  It’s top notch.  To whet your appetite we have Dave Pietramala talking about zone defenses and how Hopkins prepares for one.  Note to teams playing Hop, USE ZONE!