Forever Strong

Last updated
Forever Strong
Forever strong.jpg
Theatrical release poster
Directed by Ryan Little
Written byDavid Pliler
Produced byAdam Abel
Ryan Little
Steven A. Lee
Brian Peck
Brad Pelo
Starring Sean Faris
Gary Cole
Penn Badgley
Arielle Kebbel
Sean Astin
Yolanda Wood
Neal McDonough
Julie Warner
Olesya Rulin
Larry Bagby
CinematographyT.C. Christensen
Music byJ Bateman, Bart Hendrickson, Pieter Schlosser, Clay Duncan
Production
companies
Picture Rock Entertainment
Go Films
Distributed by Crane Movie Company
Release date
  • September 26, 2008 (2008-09-26)
Running time
112 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Box office$719,556 [1]

Forever Strong is a 2008 American sports drama film directed by Ryan Little, written by David Pliler and released on September 26, 2008. The film stars Sean Faris, Gary Cole, Neal McDonough, Sean Astin, Penn Badgley and Arielle Kebbel. The film is about a troubled rugby union player who must play against the team his father coaches at the national championships. Forever Strong is based on a compilation of individual true stories.

Contents

Plot

Rick Penning (Sean Faris) is captain of his high school rugby team whose coach Richard Penning (Neal McDonough) is his father, and whose players indulge in drugs and alcohol. After losing the championship to their rivals the Highland Rugby Team, Rick drinks and drives, resulting in a crash that seriously injures his girlfriend, Tammy (Tyler Kain).

He is sentenced to a boys' Juvenile Detention Center in Salt Lake City. [2] The manager of the center, Marcus (Sean Astin) puts him on the Highland rugby team much to his chagrin, coached by Larry Gelwix (Gary Cole). He struggles to adapt to this new team's ways. A friend sends him a rugby ball with drugs hidden in the stitching. He uses the drugs until influenced by something one of his new teammates tells him, he throws the drugs away. He works hard and finds the strength to become a member of the widely admired Highland team. Each day when he arrives at team practice he criticizes the coach for sitting around chatting with different team members and not doing any real coaching. Then it is his turn to sit with the coach and find himself confessing to the drugs hidden in the rugby ball. The coach deals with it and tells him his teammates want him to be a captain. He is influenced by brotherhood and can cope with his homesickness.

Driving home after a celebration meal, the team is helping a mother and two children with a flat tire when a passing car clips one of the boys. Rick now must deal with the death of his first true friend Kurt (Michael J. Pagan). Rick is released and returns to live with his parents. His father wants him to tell about the Highland team's moves and plays but Rick resists and they argue. His father makes it up by lending Rick the keys to his sports car, and Rick drives to meet up with Tammy and his old friends. They too become angry that Rick won't reveal the Highland team's secrets and a fight breaks out. They plant drugs and alcohol in the sports car and Rick is arrested when the police show up. Tammy tells the police what really happened and Rick is released. Rick finds himself again in the national championship, this time against the former friends on his old team coached by his estranged father. The game is hard-fought. Players from his old team try to hurt Rick through cheap shots to collect the bounty on his head. Coach Penning tells Rick if he stays down Rick will end up like him. Rick gets back up and, in the final seconds, scores the winning try for Highland. As the film ends it is shown that in real life, under Coach Gelwix, Highland has been winning almost every year.

Cast

Production

The movie was filmed in Salt Lake City beginning in July 2006 at three local high schools. [3] Sean Faris ran six miles twice a day to get in shape for the film. [4] During filming, Faris sprained his ankle, but had the ankle taped, and continued filming. [4] Several All-American rugby players, predominantly from the University of Utah and Brigham Young University, played in the film. Some Highland Rugby alumni and current players also played roles in the film.

The name of the film is based on a phrase that Gelwix often shares with his team members, "kia kaha" which in the Maori language means Stay strong. The longer version: "Be forever strong on the field, so that you will be forever strong off the field." The players call them "Gelwixism". [5]

Forever Strong is based on an amalgam of true stories about the Highland Rugby high school team. [3] The character Rick Penning is based on a real member of the rugby team who played in Flagstaff, Arizona, and was sent to a group home in Salt Lake City. [3] The story attracted the production company Go Films. [3] "Forever Strong" was the first sports-themed film Go Films had made. Producer Adam Abel and Director Ryan Little were attracted to the story because of Highland Rugby's tradition of winning both on and off the field. The film name "Forever Strong" is taken from the team motto of the Highland High School rugby team. [6]

Forever Strong was released in the fall of 2008 and distributed by Crane Movie Co., a short-lived division of Excel Entertainment Group.

Soundtrack

  1. "Ready Or Not" – Manbreak
  2. "Pimpin Hard" – B.A.S.K.O.
  3. "Nothing Less" – The Travezty
  4. "Mele Kalikimaka" – Mugsy
  5. "Corporate Logic" – Stereoliza
  6. "Don't Make Me Dance" – Joshua Creek
  7. "The Deal" – Clay Duncan & Allday
  8. "Forever Strong" – Sink To See

Maori culture

Forever Strong contains use of the haka (traditional Maori dance and song) "Ka Mate". The iwi (tribal grouping) Ngāti Toa chief Te Rauparaha is credited with composing this particular haka. The film contains a scene in which one player translates the lyrics of "Ka Mate" for his teammate.

Critical reception

The review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes reported that 29% of critics gave the film positive reviews based on 14 reviews. [7] Metacritic reported the film had an average score of 37 out of 100 based on 9 reviews, indicating "generally unfavorable reviews". [8] According to CinemaScore, audiences gave the film an average grade of "A-" on an A+ to F scale.

See also

Related Research Articles

<i>Rudy</i> (film) 1993 film by David Anspaugh

Rudy is a 1993 American biographical sports film directed by David Anspaugh. It is an account of the life of Daniel "Rudy" Ruettiger, who harbored dreams of playing football at the University of Notre Dame despite significant obstacles. It was the first film that the Notre Dame administration allowed to be shot on campus since Knute Rockne, All American in 1940.

<i>The Final Season</i> 2007 film by David M. Evans

The Final Season is a 2007 baseball film starring Sean Astin, Rachael Leigh Cook, Tom Arnold, Powers Boothe, Larry Miller, Brett Claywell, Michael Angarano, and Marshall Bell and directed by David Mickey Evans. The film wrapped production in 2006 in Shellsburg, Iowa, and Cedar Rapids, Iowa, and was released in the United States and Canada on October 12, 2007, by Yari Film Group.

Sean Faris is an American actor. He is known for his roles as Jake Tyler in Never Back Down, Kyo Kusanagi in The King of Fighters, and Rick Penning in Forever Strong. He also played Tom in Ghost Machine.

<i>North Dallas Forty</i> 1979 film by Ted Kotcheff

North Dallas Forty is a 1979 American sports film starring Nick Nolte, Mac Davis, and G. D. Spradlin set in the decadent world of American professional football in the late 1970s. It was directed by Ted Kotcheff and based on the best-selling 1973 novel by Peter Gent. The screenplay was by Kotcheff, Gent, Frank Yablans, and Nancy Dowd (uncredited). This was the first film role for Davis, a popular country music recording artist.

<i>The Basketball Diaries</i> (film) 1995 film by Scott Kalvert

The Basketball Diaries is a 1995 American biographical crime drama film. The movie deals with drug addiction and its unfavorable outcome in lives of common people. Directed by Scott Kalvert in his feature directorial debut and based on an autobiographical novel by the same name written by Jim Carroll. It tells the story of Carroll's teenage years as a promising high school basketball player and writer who develops an addiction to heroin. Distributed by New Line Cinema, The Basketball Diaries stars Leonardo DiCaprio as Carroll, along with Bruno Kirby, Lorraine Bracco, Ernie Hudson, Patrick McGaw, James Madio, Michael Imperioli, and Mark Wahlberg in supporting roles.

<i>Eddie</i> (film) 1996 American film

Eddie is a 1996 American sports comedy film starring Whoopi Goldberg and Frank Langella. The film was directed by Steve Rash.

<i>Smiley Face</i> (film) 2007 American film

Smiley Face is a 2007 German-American stoner comedy film directed and co-produced by Gregg Araki. Written by Dylan Haggerty, it stars Anna Faris as a young woman who has a series of misadventures after eating cupcakes laced with cannabis. The supporting cast includes Danny Masterson, Adam Brody, Rick Hoffman, Jane Lynch, John Krasinski, Marion Ross, Michael Hitchcock, John Cho, Danny Trejo, and Roscoe Lee Browne in his final film appearance. Smiley Face was the ninth feature film directed by Araki.

<i>Young Doctors in Love</i> 1982 film by Garry Marshall

Young Doctors in Love is a 1982 American comedy film directed by Garry Marshall. It spoofs a variety of medical shows and has many guest stars from ABC soap operas.

<i>Right Cross</i> 1950 film by John Sturges

Right Cross is a 1950 American sports drama film released by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, directed by John Sturges, written by Charles Schnee and starring June Allyson, Ricardo Montalbán, Dick Powell, Lionel Barrymore and Marilyn Monroe.

<i>Hurlyburly</i> (film) 1998 American film

Hurlyburly is a 1998 independent comedy-drama film directed by Anthony Drazan and based on the 1984 play by David Rabe, who adapted the screenplay. The film is about the intersecting lives of several Hollywood players and wannabes. Rabe condensed the action of his three-hour plus play into two hours and updated the setting from the mid-1980s to the late 1990s.

Larry Gelwix has been the coach of the Highland Rugby team since its founding in Salt Lake City in 1976. The movie Forever Strong (2008) was inspired by him and his team's history. The Highland rugby team has compiled an unrivaled winning record since its founding in 1976. He also hosts a weekend travel show, heard on KNRS and KNRS-FM in Salt Lake City and syndicated to other radio stations.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Arielle Kebbel</span> American actress and model

Arielle Kebbel is an American actress and model. She has appeared in various television series, including Gilmore Girls (2003–2004), The Vampire Diaries (2009–2017), Life Unexpected (2010), 90210 (2011–2013), Ballers, Midnight Texas (2017–2018), and Lincoln Rhyme: Hunt for the Bone Collector (2019–2020). Kebbel has also appeared in films such as American Pie Presents: Band Camp (2005), John Tucker Must Die (2006), The Grudge 2 (2006), Forever Strong (2008), The Uninvited (2009), Think Like a Man (2012), Fifty Shades Freed (2018), After We Fell (2021), After Ever Happy (2022), and After Everything (2023).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Marcus Mailei</span> American football player (born 1986)

Marcus Anthony Mailei is a former American football fullback. After playing college football for Weber State, he was signed by the Philadelphia Eagles as an undrafted free agent in 2009. He was a member of the New Orleans Saints from 2009–2010.

Freakdog is a 2008 British horror film directed by Paddy Breathnach, that originally went under the title Red Mist.

<i>Staying Together</i> (film) 1989 film by Lee Grant

Staying Together is a 1989 American comedy-drama film directed by Lee Grant and produced by Joseph Feury and Milton Justice. The film stars Sean Astin, Stockard Channing, Melinda Dillon, Levon Helm, Dermot Mulroney, Tim Quill, and Daphne Zuniga. Grant's daughter, Dinah Manoff makes a brief appearance. Channing and Manoff previously appeared together in Grease, released 11 years earlier. This is the last film directed by Lee Grant. Staying Together was released in the United States on November 10, 1989, and released in Japan on October 1, 1990.

Highland High School is a high school in Salt Lake City, in the U.S. state of Utah, that opened in 1956 and has a student body of 1,546. It is located at 2166 South 1700 East, next to Sugar House Park, and is part of the Salt Lake City School District. The current principal is Jeremy Chatterton.

<i>Woodlawn</i> (film) 2015 American film

Woodlawn is a 2015 American Christian sports drama film directed by the Erwin Brothers. Based on the true story of Tandy Gerelds and Tony Nathan, it stars Sean Astin, Nic Bishop, Caleb Castille, Sherri Shepherd, Jon Voight, and C. Thomas Howell. It was produced by Kevin Downes and Daryl Lefever with Crescent City Pictures and Red Sky Studios and was released on October 16, 2015, by Pure Flix Entertainment.

<i>Greater</i> (film) 2016 sports film by David Hunt

Greater is a 2016 American biographical sports film directed by David Hunt and starring Christopher Severio as American football player Brandon Burlsworth, a walk-on college player who became an All-American, dying in a car crash 11 days after being drafted high in the 3rd round to the National Football League. The film was released on August 26, 2016. It was the last film featuring Michael Parks to be released within his lifetime.

Hero Mode, also known as Mayfield's Game in Australia and the United Kingdom, is a 2021 American independent comedy film directed by A.J. Tesler and written by Jeff Carpenter. Produced by Marcy Carpenter, E.J. Kavounas, and Tesler, the film was released in American theaters on June 4, 2021, distributed by Blue Fox Entertainment. followed by video on demand on June 11, 2021. It received mixed to negative reviews from critics.

<i>Acidman</i> (film) 2022 film by Alex Lehmann

Acidman is a 2022 American science fiction drama film directed by Alex Lehmann and written by Lehmann and Chris Dowling. It stars Thomas Haden Church and Dianna Agron.

References

  1. ↑ Forever Strong at Box Office Mojo
  2. ↑ "Sean Faris in Forever Strong!". IMTA. 2006-08-07. Archived from the original on 2011-07-08. Retrieved 2007-04-25.
  3. 1 2 3 4 Missy Thompson (2006-08-10). "GHS turned into movie set for rugby film". Tooele Transcript-Bulletin. Retrieved 2007-04-25.
  4. 1 2 "Forever Strong (2007) - Trivia". IMDb . Retrieved 2007-04-25.
  5. ↑ Sullivan, Bryan (October 7, 2008). "Larry Gelwix "The Real Forever Strong Coach"" . Retrieved 16 October 2011.[ permanent dead link ]
  6. ↑ "Highland High's Larry Gelwix". Rugbymag.com. Archived from the original on 2007-01-03. Retrieved 2007-04-25.
  7. ↑ "Forever Strong Movie Reviews, Pictures - Rotten Tomatoes". Rotten Tomatoes . Retrieved 2008-10-10.
  8. ↑ "Forever Strong (2008): Reviews". Metacritic . Retrieved 2008-10-10.[ permanent dead link ]
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.