Angelo Pizzo’s by-the-book docudrama introduces us to Freddie Steinmark (Finn Wittrock), a talented, hard-working football player who wins a scholarship to the University of Texas in the late 1960s. There he’s mentored by the equally hard-working coach Darrell Royal (Aaron Eckhart). What follows is a winning season, solid friendships, a chaste sweetheart, the Game of the Century — it’s simply the All-American Dream until Steinmark’s leg starts to hurt. There are no surprises in this tale — though, as always, the archival footage shown during the credits packs more emotional punch than the rather plodding movie version. The actors struggle to rise above such hackneyed dialogue as, “Steinmark wasn’t All-American, but he was my All-American,” with Eckhart and Wittrock leaning in hard. Only fans of weepy stories about football, Texas and God will give it any points. Starts Fri., Nov. 13
.My All-American
This true-life sports inspirational has it all: football, Texas, God and tragic illness.
