Reviews

I was unexpectedly moved and also quite shocked by this fine documentary about the potential for CTE in contact sports at all levels.

The film moves far beyond the now widely-known phenomenon of concussions in the NFL to focus on the potential for serious damage to younger kids who play football, hockey, lacrosse and even soccer. The anguish of those parents and coaches who both understand the risks yet love sports and want to support their children is heartbreaking. And, due to interlacing footage of a fantastic inner-city pee-wee game, the viewer experiences much of the same conflict.

I can see why people might give this film a low rating. It runs long, and covers material that, frankly, is unpleasant to view or think about. Nevertheless, this is an extremely important and well constructed film. If you're a parent of a younger athlete, you need to see it, today.

The commercial for this movie (which I saw in a shopping mall in, yes, Hicksville, N.Y.) was a kid magnet. We made someone's mom take us in a station wagon. It was double-featured with an older film that had some of the same players.

Little Richard and Chuck Berry's performances were UNREAL. This movie came out at a time when such music seemed completely irrelevant, yet it changed the way I looked at music forever.

cf. American Hot Wax (1978), which has been playing on cable lately.