The story of NFL MVP and Hall of Fame quarterback, Kurt Warner, who went from stocking shelves at a supermarket to becoming an American Football star.
“American Underdog,” which is based on a true story, has tried and true elements that evoke a string of emotions that follow one tear-jerking event after another. I am not certain though, whether it was Kirk Warner, (Zachary Levi) his wife Brenda (Anna Paquin), or his stepchildren, Zack (Hayden Zaller) and Jesse (Cora Wilkerson), who most deserved a medal for drawing you in mercilessly with their own personal set of circumstances weighing in throughout the film. When the movie opens, Kirk is just a small-town boy who loves football and wants it to be all he ever does in life. The title pretty much sets the stage for all the obstacles he has to overcome before being truly appreciated for his exhaustive energy and raw talent.
Growing up, Zack and his buddy, Mike Hudnutt (Ser’Darius Blain), seemed to be the perfect match for one another as they shared many of the same pitfalls, and were there to motivate each other through many phases of their lives. As Kurt tries to chase his dream of becoming a professional football player, he endures a series of setbacks with his family, his coach, his girlfriend, and the community that doesn’t believe he will ever amount to anything. As he makes strides to tackle each barrier at a time, he is given the ultimatum by his girlfriend to choose between his career aspirations and her, and when she makes it easier for him by pulling away, he realizes that she and the kids are more important than anything else in life and eventually they get back together and get married. When all his options for a football career seem to have been exhausted, he decides to take a job as a stocker at a local grocery store so he can take care of his family while Brenda finishes school.
Kurt’s career starts to take a turn for the better when he is offered a position playing arena football with The Barnstormers. While he at first rejects the offer, he later changes his mind and realizes that the training for this position puts him in a better place emotionally and physically for the ultimate journey that catapults him to being a Hall of Fame Quarterback, two-time NFL MVP, and a Superbowl Champion. As he comes to grips with the changing demands of his career, his family and friends rally behind him and give him the motivation to continue to overcome obstacles and setbacks that continue to attempt to derail him. In the end, he becomes a better man, a better husband, a better father, and one of the best players in the league.
The Erwin Brothers, who directed this film as well as “I Can Only Imagine” back in 2018, did an excellent job of presenting every angle of Kirk’s story to prove how difficult a time he had in trying to achieve his life’s goals. The added ruggedness of Dick Vermeil (Dennis Quaid) and Jim Foster (Bruce McGill) as coaches, brought value to the reality of sports competitiveness and societal misconceptions. In addition, Zachary Levi and Anna Paquin were outstanding in their roles as a volatile couple who after many failed attempts with their relationship, finally got on the same page and made it work. While we’ve seen this type of story many times on the big screen, we can never really get enough of any true story in which the appeal of the underdog silencing the naysayers, never seems to run its course.
In Theaters Saturday, December 25th
