“These are not the best of times, and nothing comes easy anymore.”
With the Super Bowl looming, I thought I would do a football movie for this Wayback. There were a lot of films to pick from and truth be told, I seriously considered Brian’s Song. But with the recent tragic events in sports, I thought as great as a film as it is, it was just too sad. So I went off the beaten path and picked a whimsical film which tells the story of a man whose only wish in life is to redo his biggest failure. I proudly present: 1986’s The Best of Times.
The Best of Times
Directed by Roger Spottiswoode, and written by Ron Shelton (of Bull Durham fame), The Best of Times stars Robin Williams and Kurt Russell as two friends attempting to relive a high school football game. Why? Because that game proved to the single biggest failure of Jack Dundee’s (Robin Williams) life. It was 1972. The last play of the biggest high school game of the year. Bakersfield High vs. Taft.
The Past
In a scoreless game, Taft star QB Reno Hightower (Kurt Russell) throws long to an open Dundee…and he dropped the damn ball. The game ended in a tie. What’s worse for Jack, no one will let him forget it. Especially his father-in-law, The Colonel (Donald Moffat), who is Bakersfield’s biggest supporter. If that isn’t bad enough, he is also Jack’s boss at the Bank that he works at. Because of this he takes every opportunity to remind him of the event almost daily. Even though it was thirteen years ago.
Living with Failure
However, as bad as it seems that everyone still remembers, no one agonizes over it more than Jack. And while others might go see a therapist to get over their issues, Jack goes a different route. He goes to see a prostitute (Margaret Whitton) once a week. But only to discuss “The Game!” Pretty soon even SHE is tired of hearing about it. So she suggests that he should just replay the game.
The Plan
While it seems crazy, the more Jack thinks about it, the more he starts to warm up to the possibility. The problem is, how to convince others that it is a good idea, especially his old QB Reno Hightower. It first, he had to convince his wife and daughter. His daughter really could care less. But his wife (Holly Palance) had heard all she could stand about the “game.” She eventually told Jack he could choose her or the game. Obsession can cause a man to make stupid choices. So he found himself at a hotel.
Meanwhile, Reno is having his own problems. His auto repair business is struggling and staying in Taft is placing tension on his marriage. His wife Gigi (Pamela Reed) is ready to leave Taft and give her singing career a chance. She knows Reno will not leave so she moves out. When added to the fact that he is also behind on his mortgage, replaying a football game from 13 years ago is far down on Reno’s list of priorities.
Playing Dirty
Regardless, Jack was undaunted and reminded Reno that his bank held the note on his house. Not exactly playing fair but Jack is desperate to redeem himself. To his town, his father-in-law, and his wife. She has heard everyday from her Dad that she could have done so much better than Jack. In truth, she never thought it, never said it. But Jack believed this game could fix it. Fix EVERYTHING. He challenged the Colonel to replay the game and he jumped at the chance. One more chance to rub Taft’s nose in the dirt.
Revitalizing Taft
So because of Jack’s threat, he has Reno reluctantly on board, but he needed the town to support it. Unfortunately, the leaders of Taft had gotten used to their lethargy. Ever since 1912 when their hometown boxing hopeful Kid Lester had been defeated and left Taft, the town had settled into a funk that it couldn’t recover from. Especially since their rivals at Bakersfield utterly destroyed them every year in football. The “72” game was their last chance to stand tall and we know how THAT worked out. So the city members had NO interest in getting beaten once again. The town needed a Push.
Tiger Vandalism
Jack decided to give them that push. Dressed up as the Bakersfield mascot, he trashed the moose lodge, spraying graffiti on the walls. He then went to the local bowling alley where Gigi was performing and splashed Bakersfield orange paint all over Gigi and her backup singers. It had the desired effect as the town elders now wanted to beat Bakersfield, badly. Now all Jack needed was to gather the rest of the old team and get them in shape. Easier said than done. And of course Jack and Reno have their wives to win back. After the game of course.
Taft vs. Bakersfield 2.0
So the big game arrives and as the crowd files in, amongst their number is an elderly gentleman. As the game proceeds, the first half was as bad as Reno feared. The Bakersfield team was better prepared and in better physical shape and it showed. But then, at the half, a sudden torrential rain storm appeared. It muddied the field to the point that the odds were evened.
Slowly but surely Taft got closer and it came to the final play. Just as you would have expected it came down to a final pass. Taft star QB Reno Hightower throws long to an open Jack Dundee and he catches it for the last second win. The crowd goes crazy, Jack and Reno get their wives back and all is right with the world. It’s MILLER TIME!
Continuity? Who needs that?
The Best of Times was received with mixed reviews upon its release. The reasons for this was obvious. The film had its issues especially in the areas of continuity. Usually a studio will have a team go over the film to clean up any such issues. But in this case, they dropped the ball (pun intended) on some of these. For example, on the final pass, Dundee is lined up on the left of the QB. But when the pass is thrown, he is shown going down the right sideline. When the ball leaves Reno’s hand, the pass is fluttering badly. It was one of those Billy Kilmer option throws where you have the option of catching either end. (You may have to look him up, kids.) But when they cut to Dundee as the ball approaches, it is a perfect spiral. Uniforms go from dirty to clean…those kind of things.
Thoughts
But did it interfere with my enjoyment of the film? Not really. As I have gotten older, I have stopped agonizing over the minutiae, and accepted some movies for what they are. In this case a guilty pleasure and another chance to admire Robin Williams work. It was not his best by any means. But it was still him. I miss that. For that reason alone, I give it 2 1/2 out of 5.
Have you seen The Best of Times? What were your impressions? If you haven’t, you should just so you get another glimpse of the manic talent that was Robin Williams. Share your thoughts with us at Geek Vibes Nation.
Senior Writer at GeekVibesNation – I am a 50 something child of the 70’s who admits to being a Star Trek/Star Wars/Comic Book junkie who once dove head first over a cliff (Ok, it was a small hill) to try to rescue his Fantastic Four comic from a watery grave. I am married to a lovely woman who is as crazy as I am and the proud parent of a 18 year old boy with autism. My wife and son are my real heroes.
