Gridiron Gang
| Gridiron Gang | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Directed by | Phil Joanou |
| Written by | Jeff Maguire Lee Stanley Linda Stanley |
| Produced by | Ryan Kavanaugh Lynwood Spinks Shane Stanley Michael I. Rachmil |
| Starring | Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson Xzibit L. Scott Caldwell Kevin Dunn Danny Martinez Maurice McRae Jade Yorker |
| Distributed by | Sony Pictures |
Release dates | September 15, 2006 |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $30 million |
Gridiron Gang is a 2006 film starring Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson, Xzibit, L. Scott Caldwell, and Kevin Dunn. It was filmed in California at Camp Kilpatrick, a Los Angeles County Probation Department facility. It is loosely based on the true story of the Kilpatrick Mustangs during the 1990 season, the very first in which they played eleven man football. Kilpatrick is a facility located in Malibu, California for juvenile delinquents with multiple offenses, such as murder and gang violence. The overall moral is that even though people deal with difficulties in their lives, these young teenagers overcome their fears and frustrations using self-discipline and learn to leave their problems on the football field.
Synopsis
The movie starts during an evening at the Kilpatrick detention center. The teenagers are all sleeping in a big room without restraints and there is a small cubicle in the center, with a supervisor sitting in it. The supervisor is Malcolm Moore (Xzibit), and he is minding his own business when a kid named Roger (Michael J. Pagan) wraps his fist in a pillow case, gets up and starts throwing punches at the kid sleeping next to him. Roger is immediately taken to another building, called "The Box", where they lock up kids with behavior problems.
Next a man named Sean Porter (The Rock) walks into Roger's cell and starts beating Roger with a rolled-up magazine. Roger pleads that the guy he beat up was disrespecting his gang. Sean gives him a lecture and tells him that he will only end up dead out on the street if he stays this way once he gets out. Roger cools down, seems to understand what Sean is telling him, and promises to be good.
Roger walks down a street with his cousin Willie Weathers (Jade Yorker). Willie has his girlfriend Danyelle (Jurnee Smollett) by his side as they are approached by two teenage members of their gang on bikes. The two kids inform Willie and Roger that a rival gang has stolen one of thier little brother's bikes and that they needed to get it back using force. Roger and Willie just want to chill but one of the gang members keeps forcing the gun into Roger's hand, and they decide to go with their gang. Danielle becomes furious at such a crazy act and walks away. Just when the four teenagers are heading towards the other gang's territory, a car drives by and the passengers start to shoot at the kids. One of them on the bike gets shot, Willie and Roger try to help him and the other on the bike rides away on the bike. Roger and Willie start to run as the car chases after them. They run up against a fence and Willie climbs over it, but Roger is too late and is run over by the car. He dies instantly. Willie cries and the police and Roger's mother (Marcia Jeffries) arrive at the scene later crying as well.
While Willie is crying, his gangmates approach him and ask Willie to get revenge for his cousin. Free (Omari Hardwick) hands Willie a gun and tells him where to find a brother of the person behind the attack. Willie walks towards a grocery store and sees the target with his family. As Willie pulls out the gun, he is startled by the clerk, and shoots at a window as he runs home.
Back home, Willie's little brother is on the couch watching TV. When Willie's mother comes in, Willie sees that she has black eyes and bruises all over her. Willie tells his mom to leave the man she is with and stop letting him do that to her. She tells Willie to keep it down as a man is in the kitchen and Willie continues to tell his mother to leave him and don't let him back in. The man gets physical with Willie because Willie refuses to back down. When Willie is pushed to the floor, he pulls out a gun and shoots the man dead. The mother cries and police come and arrest Willie.
Back at the juvie, Malcolm tells Sean the bad news about Roger's death. Sean is furious, knowing that he could do very little for the kids out there. Sean figures he needs a new method to help keep these kids from getting killed on the street. Sean visits his sick mother (L. Scott Caldwell) in the hospital and they talk about how much he used to love football. So Sean decides to install football into their correction center program, and is granted permission by his supervisors.
He picks out a few kids in the room that he feels will benefit from this program and requires that they practice with him tomorrow. The next day Sean explains his rules about being on the football field. They will obey all orders and they will have to learn to like one another, even if they are from different gangs. Willie and Kelvin (David Thomas[disambiguation needed]) cannot get along, as their gangs killed each others' loved ones. They never really fight, but they give each other the stare. The kids practice daily under the hot sun, and some quit but they decide to join again. This is where Sean forms a bond with the kids.
Sean and Malcolm travel around town to look for teams to play against. Not many schools are willing to have their students play against criminals, so it is difficult to begin with. Then Sean finds a league that is willing to accept the kids, and he takes out funds from the program to get his kids equipment and gear. He names his team the Mustangs.
The first game is against the best team in the league, Barrington. The game starts out somewhat positive for the Mustangs as they recover a fumble on the first drive, but things quickly turn around. They get demolished by Barrington, losing by 38 points. During the game, Sean keeps on yelling at his kids, making them feel small and useless. After the game, Sean realizes he has not only lost the game, but also the trust of his team. Sean goes to visit his mother and tells her about how he sounded just the way his father used to be. After his mother gives him some guidance, Sean goes back and apologizes to his kids.
Sean slowly gains the trust of his team back, as each day the kids start to have a better relationship with each other -- all except for Willie and Kelvin. The Mustangs start to win games as they learn to play well together and work together. Kelvin and Willie finally shake each others' hands when they win a game by one touchdown after Kelvin makes a big block for Willie.
Near the end of the season, the Mustangs are headed for the playoffs. They are getting more publicity and more fans along the way. Even Willie's gangmate Free is in the crowd. Free flashes some gang signs at Kelvin, a member of the rival gang, and the two vow to kill each other. After one game, as the players and families walk onto the field, Free intentionally bumps into Kelvin. When Kelvin pushes back, Free shoots Kelvin, hitting him in the shoulder. As Free prepares to put another bullet in Kelvin's head, Willie runs toward Free and knocks him over. Free is stunned, but then the police arrive and Free takes off running. He is shot dead by the police after he first shoots at them. Although Kelvin survives the attack, he will not be able to play in the finals.
The kids discover that Sean's mother has died, so they tell him they will dedicate the next game to his mother.
The Mustangs now face Barrington, the team that beat them by 38 points at the beginning of the season. This time, although the Mustangs are a different team, they are still intimidated by Barrington. During halftime, while the Mustangs are trailing, Sean and Malcolm hide in a room, allowing the kids to sort themselves out in the locker room. The kids pump each other up and come out of the locker room a different team. They beat Barrington and celebrate. Porter reveals in the narration that they lost the championship game, but no one called them losers.
A few months later, Sean's football method is officially made part of the program. Nearly all the kids who were on the Mustangs are now somewhere doing good things. 24 of Porter's kids went back to school, 3 work full-time jobs, and only 5 are back in jail. Junior Palauita got a job at a furniture company and lives with his family. Kelvin Owens recovered from his wound and is going to play for Washington High the next season. Miguel Perez and Donald Madlock went back to their old gangs, and are now in California Youth Authority Prison. Kenny Bates (whose real name is Jason Lamb) is going to school at Redondo Beach and living with his mom. Leon Hayes is trying to stop dealing crack and is going to play for Dorsey High the next season. Bug Wyndall was killed in a drive-by shooting in Compton. And Willie Weathers (whose real name is Michael Black) got a full scholarship to play football for a top boarding school.
Cast
| Actors/Actresses | Role |
|---|---|
| Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson | Sean Porter |
| Xzibit | Malcolm Moore |
| L. Scott Caldwell | Bobbi Porter |
| Kevin Dunn | Dexter |
| Danny Martinez | Miguel Perez |
| Maurice McRae | Leon Hayes |
Box Office
The film earned $14,414,630 at the domestic box office during its opening weekend. As of June 12, 2007, it has grossed $41,480,851 worldwide.[1]
Trivia
 | This article contains a list of miscellaneous information. (May 2007) |
- The Mustangs' logo is the same one used by both the Calgary Stampeders of the Canadian Football League and the Southern Methodist University (SMU) Mustangs. Coincidentally, The Rock tried out for and was subsequently cut by the Stampeders in 1994 while he was still better known by his given name, Dwayne Johnson.
- During a practice scene, The Rock can be seen paying tribute to his college career by wearing the number 94, the same number he wore during his time with the Miami Hurricanes.
- Soundtrack music was written by Donnacha Costello.