Billy Bob lights it up in 'Friday Night'

With the persistent influx of football movies, it will not be long before the American Film Institute sets aside a genre for these films, and they will probably be called football movies. In this up-and-coming genre there have been some notables ("Knute Rockne: All American," with Ronald Reagan's famous line "Win one for the Gipper," and "Rudy"), and some that will probably not span the test of time ("The Replacements" and "Little Giants," not to take away from a strong performance by Rick Moranis).\n"Friday Night Lights" will certainly go down as one of the more notable. Along with another amazing performance from Billy Bob Thornton as coach Gary Gaines, this film does an excellent job of getting the audience hooked not only on the game, but on the lives of the coach and several of his key players. \nThe film, based on a true story of the 1988 Odessa, Texas high school football team, is set in a town full of obsessive local football fans where winning is everything. When the coach or his players run into one of these townspeople they are constantly asked, almost menacingly, if they are going to bring home the state title. "Yes, sir," they reply. An enormous amount of pressure is placed on the young players, and especially the coach, to win.\nWhile the main storyline is the football team, we are given background stories on a few of the senior players. Boobie Miles (Derek Luke) is the arrogant star of the team who can do it all: run for three plus touchdowns a game, throw the ball 50 yards and even kick field goals. Luke does an excellent job as the virtuoso athlete struck by misfortune. Lucas Black, who was Thornton's young sidekick in "Sling Blade," plays the quiet-yet-tough-as-nails quarterback. Another side plot focuses on receiver Don Billingsley (Garrett Hedlund) and the troubled relationship between he and his ex-high-school-football-star-turned-alcoholic father (country singer Tim McGraw, who does the role justice). \nA large part of this film takes place in the action of various games, but this is a very dramatic movie about the fears and hardships surrounding a football team attempting to triumph against huge odds. With brilliant acting, a well-written story and a lot of handheld camera shots, this film will keep even those of you who do not like football hooked. The final championship game, which ends in a last-second desperation play, will turn even the most reluctant football fan into an instant lover of the game.