Search - Friday Nights in America on DVD

Not worth it

vjm | Minneapolis, MN | 03/01/2005

(1 out of 5 stars)

"This is the worst documentary I've ever seen and is truly not worth the money. The main point is not argued well and it is generally not well done. I was expecting to find out why "more people attend high school football games than all pro and college games combined" because that is the very first statement presented to the audience. However, the film is more about old-time rivals and how great it is to win than about why communities give greater support to high school teams over pro and college teams. Furthermore, only a handful of teams are presented, and I wasn't convinced that they represent American high school football as a whole, especially because every team ends up winning. The documentary fails to capture the excitement and tension of high school football games. In addition, I was disgusted by the fact that there were spelling errors. "Coach" is misspelled "Caoch" on two different occasions, and "Receiver" is misspelled "Reciever."

Overall, I was not entertained and did not learn anything new about high school football by watching this documentary. If you want to watch a film that truly captures the essence of high school football and wonderfully portrays a sense of tradition and excitement on a Friday night, buy "Friday Night Lights," or even "Varsity Blues."
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Friday Nights In America

Ina Ross | Villanova, PA | 04/21/2005

(4 out of 5 stars)

"I was taken on a magical journey inside the phenomenon of high school football in our country. I loved the segment on "The Muck Bowl" in the Everglades of S. Florida. I was truly impressed with the story on De La Salle High School and their articulate and compassionate head coach.
I was saddened, yet enlghtened, by the closing of so many high schools in western PA due to the loss of their steel mills. It really hit home when I saw towns that had lost their local prep team, also lose their identities. This was a revealing contrast. All in all, it taught me that millions of people invest large portions of themselves in the fate of their H.S. teams every friday night in the fall. A wonderful documentary. Well told."