Nerds That Geek Movie Review: 'North Dallas Forty'

Written by John Edward Betancourt

There was a time when football didn't dominate the landscape of sports. There were no scandals like DeflateGate, no round the clock discussions on whether or not a player would retire, or who would be drafted where, there was simply the game. A game where men with extraordinary talents came together to leave aggression and their skills out on the field. 

It is a time that is in many ways lost to history since the sport has become something more entirely, but thanks to the wonder of film those lost moments can always be resurrected courtesy of a motion picture that looks back at a time when football wasn't so glamorous in North Dallas Forty.

Phil Elliott has incredible hands, and his gift when it comes to catching the ball has brought him a solid career as a football player. But as the years and injuries begin to mount, Phil finds himself on the outside looking in. Sure, he has a fine contract with the North Dallas Bulls, but his job is to ride the bench until needed, denying him the one thing he loves the most...playing the game. As the season continues on, Phil begins to see that the world of football is changing as it begins to go from fun game to full time business and Phil must make a decision, stay with what he loves and adapt in ways that will compromise his love of the game, or simply walk away.

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This is one of those motion pictures that I had heard of years ago but only stumbled upon recently courtesy of the wonder that is cable and well, this is one that quickly sucked me in. One way it accomplished that feat was that it managed to portray football in a way I had never seen. The film is designed to resemble pro football in the 1970's, an era that I never knew, and as I mentioned before, an era now forgotten, and the players represented here are so vastly different from the ones we see now.  

After all, it's a game to the guys in this film, especially to Phil. He knows he is a grown man making a ton of money just playing ball and his and his teammates lifestyles show it. They live life loose and drunk and full of painkillers from an era when medicine wasn't quite as advanced, which makes the characters equally as entertaining simply because they are so vibrant and violent at times. A chop block today is deemed controversial but here...it's business as usual. All of these elements make for an intriguing showdown between Phil and the team as you literally watch the league evolve into modern football. The coaches truly see it as a business, not just fun time and the players are treated as employees.
 
It's a fun little satire to watch and one that raises your eyebrows when you see players doing things that are frowned upon today. For example, while these players do both medical and recreational drugs without a care in the world, use of the latter in today's era gets you suspended. It's one to watch for sure, not only because of its excellent story, production values and acting, but because it gives the modern fan of the sport a look back at how the game used to be, and how it evolved into the polished competition it is now. 

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