The Substitute 3: Winner Takes All

The Substitute 3: Winner Takes All
Promotional poster
Directed by	Robert Radler
Written by	Roy Frumkes Rocco Simonelli
Based on	Characters by Roy Frumkes Rocco Simonelli Alan Ormsby
Produced by	Terry Spazek
Starring	Treat Williams Rebecca Staab Claudia Christian James R. Black
Cinematography	Barry M. Wilson
Edited by	Florent Retz
Music by	Tor Hyams
Distributed by	Artisan Entertainment
Release date	August 14, 1999 (1999-08-14)
Running time	90 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English

The Substitute 3: Winner Takes All is a 1999 action thriller film directed by Robert Radler and starring Treat Williams as a mercenary who goes undercover as a teacher in order to expose a college football team's steroid-abuse scandal. ^{[1] [2]} It is the second sequel to The Substitute (1996). ^[3] The film aired on HBO and was later released on DVD and in 2000 where it was bundled with the first film. ^{[4] [5]}

Plot

Students at a local college have become unusually antagonistic, and when a teacher is attacked by a gang of steroid-pumped students, Karl Thomasson—having earned a teacher's degree to facilitate his actions in the previous film—returns to the classroom to uncover the truth.

What he finds is shocking: the college's football coach is involved in a steroid-doping scandal, and his 'juiced' students were responsible for the attack on the teacher. Thomasson recruits his old team, planting surveillance equipment in a jukebox inside a local sports-bar that hosts a number of the coach's football players.

It turns out that the coach was doping his players, and rigging football games, to pay off his backers—a local crime syndicate. When the audio equipment draws the attention of the syndicate's thugs, one of Karl's team is killed in the van, and Karl's calm and collected mask begins to slip.

When one of Thomasson's students dies from a steroid overdose, Thomasson finally loses his jovial nature, confronting the coach and telling him that he knows how the student died, that he knows the coach is responsible, and that he has videotape to prove his allegations.

In one last showdown, Karl defeats the syndicate and reveals the doping scandal—as he leaves, and the credits roll, a radio news report reveals that the football coach committed suicide in disgrace.

Cast

• Treat Williams as Karl Thomasson ^[6]
• Rebecca Staab as Professor Nicole Stewart ^[2]
• Claudia Christian as Andrea 'Andy' ^[2]
• James R. Black as Rahmel
• Frank Gerrish as Ed Lincoln
• David H. Stevens as Tony Lo Russo
• Richard Portnow as Vincent 'The Brick' Lo Russo
• George Fisher as Sylvio
• Maxx Payne as 'Muscle'
• Dane Stevens as Jerry Sundheim
• Richard Humphreys as Kirby
• David Jenson as Mason 'Macy' Stewart ^[6]
• Spencer Ashby as Professor Wayne McMurdo
• Barbara Jane Reams as Albanian Girl
• Brian Simpsons as Soldier #1
• Jeff Jenson as Soldier #2
• Erin Chambers as Terri
• Scott Wilkinson as Coach Bill Braden
• Michael Shane Davis as Josh Silver
• Ed Cameron as Bo Robinson
• Christian Jenson as Thad
• Danny Hansen as Jeremy Phillips
• Robert Harvey as Counterman

References

1. Caputo, Matt (2022-02-06). "The Best and Worst Football Movies of All-Time". SPIN. Retrieved 2025-06-27.
2. "The Substitute 3: Winner Takes All". The Palm Beach Post. 1999-08-14. p. 59. Retrieved 2025-06-27.
3. Steinberg, Shirley R. (2010). 19 Urban Questions: Teaching in the City. Peter Lang. p. 3. ISBN   978-1-4331-0886-0.
4. "Artisan Home Entertainment for the Newest on DVD". Billboard. 1999-11-12. p. 89 – via Google Books.
5. Frumkes, Roy; Simonelli, Rocco (2002-11-01). Shoot Me: Independent Filmmaking from Creative Concept to Rousing Release. Simon and Schuster. ISBN   978-1-62153-121-0.
6. Wood, Leon. "Review of Substitute 3, The". Apollo Movie Guide. Archived from the original on 2002-07-20. Retrieved 2025-06-27.

External links

• The Substitute 3: Winner Takes All at IMDb