That was an excellent one.

From my favorite movies..

Although it has its amusing moments, in eneral the plot does not convince.

I think this is a new genre that they're all sort of working their way through it and haven't got all the kinks worked out yet but it's a genre that works for me.

The nice thing about this down-to-earth-hosed-over-qb-wins-the-big-one film is that your wife doesn't walk into the room just as a very foul word comes pouring out of the tv set. In fact, she'll enjoy it with you because there are no drugs, outrageous sex, or make-me-sick-and-shudder bone crunching neck snapping hits ala "Any Given Sunday" happening here. Jon Voight starts off as the despicable coach one can't help but detest (pompous control freak), but he then surprises you by confessing his shortcomings to the miracle game winning 4th string qb he cut from a previous team, realizing that loose cannon (improvising) qbs CAN win games, ala Johnny Unitas, Fran Tarkenton, and Doug Flutie. It is not deep, but definitely predictable, and is still a watchable, easy going, low-paid-guys-with-heart-DO-win, kind of dvd rental. This NOT Ben Hur! A good rainy day at home or drivein (good luck) film. Don't think so hard. Relax.

We just got "Second String" on video today, and I always the sucker for underdog movies, and after reading the synopsis on the box, decided to check it out. I was rather impressed by this small release (we only got two copies in). Now, I too, got the whole "Replacements-wannabe" vibe that several of the other reviewers may have had. However, I really got into this one a lot more. I thought it had a much better, and more importantly, believable story to it than the "Replacements" did. I thought Voight did a much better job than Hackman ever did as the old coach. Bellows was great as the QB, and since his 5-year stint on TV, its great to see he's making a comeback. I particularly liked when Bellows helped out his teammates with their physical and mental aspects of their game. While other movies have done this several times over, "Second String" doesn't have that corny feeling that is left over for the viewer to digest. Instead, it adds a little humor into it. I chuckled a few times as the players were counting up how much their running-back would pay up for the Superbowl party everytime he dropped the football. If you manage to find this treasure somewhere in the back of our store and are trying to avoid some of the more recent blockbusters that have been released, try giving it a chance. I'm sure you'll be quite impressed.

** mild spoilers within **Your level of enjoyment in watching this film will depend to a large degree on how you watch it. The casual football fan who has not seen too many underdog sports films will probably find it enjoyable. As someone who has seen many of the countless similarly-themed films, I thought it was OK, but nothing new (and nothing that had not been done better elsewhere).Someone who follows the Bills and knows their history of snatching defeat from the jaws of victory may be amused by the way the plot line overlaps with some of the more angst-ridden moments in Bills history (everything but O.J.). Scott Norwood and the Music City Miracle both come in to play.One ironic component of the film is that the Bills (and Doug Flutie) qualify to play the Chargers in the playoffs. In the off-season after the movie was shot, Flutie left the Bills for the Chargers, and a lot of bad blood flowed between the teams as the result of some back-office dealings.The script contained holes that were obvious to someone with a more than casual interest in the game. There were some subtle and not-so-subtle flaws in the way the games played out--some decisions just would not have been made as they were in the film. There was also a shocking lack of media hype surrounding the NFL post-season (not that there's anything wrong with that, but it takes away from the realism). Any athlete in Heller's shoes would be surrounded by reporters at every turn (which would have provided an opportunity to explore his ambivalence and growth through the film).My main problem with the film is that the story line reflects a less than thorough understanding of the game. The subtle flaws and relentless plays on Bills historical references pulled me out of the mood and flow of the story. There was very little original content, and since the plot was pretty predictable, the way the story moves from point A to point B should be cleaner.Overall, the film was watchable, but nothing special. I saw it in the middle of a sports film marathon on cable, though, and I found most of the other movies more compelling.

i'm not a bills fan, but this fact did not cloud my judgement. it's just a bad movie. why is it bad? totally unrealistic. first off, the movie started off in the playoffs, that's too short a time. the next thing is referring to the last two games in this movie, the afc championship game and the super bowl. in both games the bills are down 21-0 and win. i know that's not impossible, but here what is: the touchdowns scored by the bills offense. an offensive tackle on a REVERSE throwing a PASS? huh? except for the punt return that won the first game(unlikely in the way that happened too) all the bills scores looked stupid. then there's the old footage of the real nfl throughout the movie. on one clip i saw andre reed, #83, on the field before a game. if you're not going to have the real players in this game, don't show the footage. it ruins the atmosphere of the film. oh, yeah, look at randy moss and terrance shaw of the vikings walk out of the tunnel before the super bowl, then five minutes later see cris cater on the sideline. also, for a super bowl that is played in new orleans, it looked like the h h h metrodome. the one plus was the actual actors acted well. it's just that this movie had too many holes in it. c'mon, the bills and vikings in the super bowl? why, so two super bowl bum win one? please. i also wish they would have mentioned the year this stuper season was taking place in. andre reed hasn't played for the bills since '99, so i'll say '99. doug flutie was ok, gil bellows was cool, jon voight did good(but why is he in this turkey?) but this movie is awful