There have been some excellent 30 for 30 films (i.e. Unbelievable Lies), but unfortunately, this is not one of them. This documentary offers an uncritical look at the events that lead to the downfall of USC after the 2005 season, offering half-hearted excuses and rose colored reflections from those closest to the program. The film painstaking details and highlights the games from that season, but brushes over the complete lack of institutional oversight by anyone in the program. No one on camera acknowledges that this program was out of control, and that what happened at USC was wrong, and should have never happened. Instead, the underlying thesis here is that that the program and players were very young and got "caught up" in the celerity and hype Hollywood, and in the end, it was all perfectly understandable and the loss to Texas was the saddest thing that ever happened in all of college football. These disingenuous explanations, mixed with the "rah rah" enthusiasm of those interviewed, leave one to conclude that the cozy relationships between filmmakers and USC continues unabated to this day.
This is a one sided puff piece, with an interesting subject, but terrible execution. If you are a fan of USC, you will enjoy it, but if you don't care for or about USC, you will be left scratching your head and asking yourself "why is the guy from the Graduate on here?"
This is a one sided puff piece, with an interesting subject, but terrible execution. If you are a fan of USC, you will enjoy it, but if you don't care for or about USC, you will be left scratching your head and asking yourself "why is the guy from the Graduate on here?"