Wildcats (film)

Last updated
Wildcats
Wildcats moviePoster.jpg
Theatrical release poster
Directed by Michael Ritchie
Written byEzra Sacks
Produced by Anthea Sylbert
Starring
Cinematography Donald E. Thorin
Edited by Richard A. Harris
Music by James Newton Howard
Production
companies
Hawn/Sylbert Movie Company
Warner Bros.
Distributed byWarner Bros.
Release date
  • February 14, 1986 (1986-02-14)
Running time
106 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Box office$26,285,544 (United States) [1]

Wildcats is a 1986 American sports comedy film directed by Michael Ritchie and starring Goldie Hawn, James Keach and Swoosie Kurtz. It is the film debut of Wesley Snipes and Woody Harrelson.

Contents

Plot

Molly McGrath is the daughter of a famed football coach who is dying to head her own team. When her wish is finally granted, Molly leaves her job coaching girls' track at an affluent high school (Prescott High School) to take over a football team at an inner-city Chicago high school (Central High School)—the kind of place where guard dogs are needed to patrol the campus. At first the new coach's idealism and optimism are suffocated with racial and gender prejudice, but eventually her overriding spirit begins to whip her unruly team into shape. After noticing him at every practice and game, Molly hustles teenage criminal and former star football player Levander ‘Bird’ Williams into rejoining the team which helps build rapport among the team. She also adds the massive and comedic Phillip Finch to the team. At the same time, she must also struggle to win a battle for the custody of her two young daughters. The real test for Molly comes when her Central High team faces Prescott in the city championship.

Cast

Production

Filming

The film used Lane Technical College Prep High School football stadium for some of their shots.

Reception

Box office

The film debuted at No. 4. [2]

Critical response

The film holds a score of 26% on Rotten Tomatoes based on 19 reviews. [3]

Roger Ebert gave the film 1.5 stars out of 4 and wrote, "The filmmakers, the producers and Hawn herself bought the premise instead of looking for the plot. The problem with the movie is that they started with a character description instead of with a story. The fact that Hawn plays a boys' football coach is not in itself interesting. Her relationship with the team would have been interesting, if they'd developed one." [4] Gene Siskel of the Chicago Tribune awarded 1 star out of 4 and called it a "pathetic sports comedy" that represented "another attempt to duplicate the success of Hawn's genuinely funny, monster hit, Private Benjamin." [5] Janet Maslin of The New York Times wrote of Hawn that "[t]he film isn't truly a waste of her talents, but neither does it give her a chance to do much more than repeat some familiar tricks." [6]

Variety wrote that Hawn had by now been "reduced to a type" of "the adorable but goofy independent woman," but she "is the least of the problems amid cardboard characters with cardboard conflicts ... Football footage is also surprisingly dull, filmed mostly at close range making it look more like bodies bouncing off each other than a sport." [7] Patrick Goldstein of the Los Angeles Times called it "a good-natured but superficial comedy—sort of a 'Bad News Bears Goes to the Ghetto' ... The movie is such a well-oiled dream machine that it would have been nice if the story, for all its corny charm, had veered off in a more adventuresome or unpredictable direction." [8] Roger Piantadosi of The Washington Post called it "a slick, fitfully charming little comedy that does nothing to deter those of us bent on being fond of Goldie Hawn forever. However, she is pushing her luck." [9]

In 2014, the movie was mentioned by Keli Goff in The Daily Beast in an article concerning white savior narratives in film. [10]

See also

Related Research Articles

<i>Everyone Says I Love You</i> 1996 film by Woody Allen

Everyone Says I Love You is a 1996 American musical romantic comedy film written and directed by Woody Allen. It stars Alan Alda, Allen, Drew Barrymore, Lukas Haas, Goldie Hawn, Gaby Hoffmann, Natasha Lyonne, Edward Norton, Natalie Portman, Julia Roberts, Tim Roth, and David Ogden Stiers. Set in New York City, Venice, and Paris, it features singing by actors not usually known for musical roles. The film was a commercial failure, but is among the more critically successful of Allen's films, with Chicago Sun-Times critic Roger Ebert even ranking it as one of Allen's best.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Goldie Hawn</span> American actress (born 1945)

Goldie Jeanne Hawn is an American actress. She rose to fame on the NBC sketch comedy program Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In (1968–1970), before going on to receive the Academy Award and Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress for her performance in Cactus Flower (1969).

<i>Private Benjamin</i> (1980 film) 1980 film by Howard Zieff

Private Benjamin is a 1980 American comedy film directed by Howard Zieff, written by Nancy Meyers, Charles Shyer, and Harvey Miller, and starring Goldie Hawn, Eileen Brennan, and Armand Assante.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gene Siskel</span> American film critic (1946–1999)

Eugene Kal Siskel was an American film critic and journalist for the Chicago Tribune. He is best known for co-hosting various movie review television series with colleague Roger Ebert.

<i>Foul Play</i> (1978 film) 1978 comedy thriller film by Colin Higgins

Foul Play is a 1978 American romantic neo-noir comedy thriller film written and directed by Colin Higgins, and starring Goldie Hawn, Chevy Chase, Dudley Moore, Burgess Meredith, Eugene Roche, Rachel Roberts, Brian Dennehy and Billy Barty. In it, a recently divorced librarian is drawn into a mystery when a stranger hides a roll of film in a pack of cigarettes and gives it to her for safekeeping.

<i>The Sugarland Express</i> 1974 film by Steven Spielberg

The Sugarland Express is a 1974 American crime drama film directed by Steven Spielberg in his theatrical film directing debut, following the television film Duel (1971). The film follows a woman and her husband as they take a police officer hostage and flee across Texas while they try to get to their child before he is placed in foster care. The event partially took place and the film was partially shot in Sugar Land, Texas. Other scenes were filmed in San Antonio, Live Oak, Floresville, Pleasanton, Converse and Del Rio, Texas.

<i>Housesitter</i> 1992 film by Frank Oz

Housesitter is a 1992 American romantic comedy film directed by Frank Oz, written by Mark Stein, and starring Steve Martin and Goldie Hawn. The premise involves a woman with con-artist tendencies who worms her way into the life of a reserved architect by claiming to be his wife.

<i>Seems Like Old Times</i> (film) 1980 film by Jay Sandrich

Seems Like Old Times is a 1980 American comedy film starring Chevy Chase, Goldie Hawn, and Charles Grodin, directed by Jay Sandrich and written by Neil Simon. It was the only theatrical film directed by Sandrich, who was best known for his television sitcom directing work. It follows Nick Gardenia, a writer who is forced to rob a bank and becomes a fugitive, leaving him to seek help from his ex-wife Glenda Parks, a public defender. Her current husband, Ira Parks, is the Los Angeles County district attorney, who harbors a jealous disdain towards Nick.

James Keach is an American actor and filmmaker. He is the younger brother of actor Stacy Keach and son of actor Stacy Keach Sr.

<i>Theres a Girl in My Soup</i> 1970 British film by Roy Boulting

There's a Girl in My Soup is a 1970 British romantic comedy film directed by Roy Boulting and starring Peter Sellers and Goldie Hawn. It was written by Terence Frisby based on the 1966 stage play of the same name by Terence Frisby.

<i>The Daytrippers</i> 1996 film by Greg Mottola

The Daytrippers is a 1996 independent comedy-drama film written and directed by Greg Mottola in his feature directorial debut. It stars Hope Davis, Stanley Tucci, Anne Meara, Parker Posey and Liev Schreiber.

<i>Dollars</i> (film) 1971 film by Richard Brooks

$, also known as Dollar$, Dollars or $ (Dollars), and in the UK as The Heist, is a 1971 American heist comedy film starring Warren Beatty and Goldie Hawn, written and directed by Richard Brooks and produced by M.J. Frankovich. The supporting cast includes Gert Fröbe, Robert Webber and Scott Brady. The film is about a bank security consultant (Beatty) who develops a scheme with a prostitute, Dawn Divine (Hawn), to steal several criminals' money from a bank vault.

<i>Lovers and Liars</i> 1979 film by Mario Monicelli

Lovers and Liars is a 1979 Italian comedy film directed by Mario Monicelli and starring Goldie Hawn and Giancarlo Giannini. It is Hawn's only foreign film. It was released in the United States in February 1981.

<i>Protocol</i> (film) 1984 film by Herbert Ross

Protocol is a 1984 American comedy film starring Goldie Hawn and Chris Sarandon, written by Buck Henry, and directed by Herbert Ross. Hawn plays a Washington, D.C., cocktail waitress who prevents the assassination of a visiting Arab emir and winds up a national heroine.

<i>Bird on a Wire</i> (film) 1990 film by John Badham

Bird on a Wire is a 1990 American action comedy film directed by John Badham and starring Mel Gibson and Goldie Hawn. Gibson portrays a man in the witness protection program who is unexpectedly reunited with his former girlfriend, played by Hawn, and both find themselves on the run. Critical reception was mixed, but the film was a box office hit.

<i>Max Dugan Returns</i> 1983 film by Herbert Ross

Max Dugan Returns is a 1983 American comedy-drama film written by Neil Simon and directed by Herbert Ross. Starring Jason Robards in the title role along with Marsha Mason and Donald Sutherland, it marks the film debuts of both Sutherland's son Kiefer and Matthew Broderick, and is both the last of five Simon-Ross collaborations and the last of Simon's films starring Mason.

<i>Swing Shift</i> (film) 1984 romantic drama war film by Jonathan Demme

Swing Shift is a 1984 American romantic drama directed by Jonathan Demme, and produced by and starring Goldie Hawn, with Kurt Russell. It also features Christine Lahti, Fred Ward, Ed Harris and Holly Hunter, in one of her earlier movie roles. The film was a box office bomb, grossing just $6.6 million against its $15 million budget. Lahti earned a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress.

<i>Cactus Flower</i> (film) 1969 film by Gene Saks

Cactus Flower is a 1969 American screwball comedy film directed by Gene Saks, and starring Walter Matthau, Ingrid Bergman and Goldie Hawn, who won an Academy Award for her performance.

<i>Best Friends</i> (1982 film) 1982 feature film directed by Norman Jewison

Best Friends is a 1982 American romantic comedy film starring Burt Reynolds and Goldie Hawn. It is based on the true story of the relationship between its writers Barry Levinson and Valerie Curtin. The film was directed by Norman Jewison.

<i>The Sluggers Wife</i> 1985 film by Hal Ashby

The Slugger's Wife is a 1985 romantic comedy film about a baseball star who falls for a singer. Written by Neil Simon, directed by Hal Ashby and produced by Ray Stark, the film stars Michael O'Keefe, Rebecca De Mornay, and Randy Quaid. It was distributed by Columbia Pictures and released on March 29, 1985.

References

  1. ↑ "Wildcats (1986)". Box Office Mojo . Retrieved 27 July 2011.
  2. ↑ "New Movies Make Inroads At Box Office". Sun Sentinel. Archived from the original on June 12, 2012. Retrieved 2010-12-26.
  3. ↑ "Wildcats". Rotten Tomatoes . Retrieved May 29, 2021.
  4. ↑ Ebert, Roger. "Wildcats". RogerEbert.com . Retrieved April 26, 2019.
  5. ↑ Siskel, Gene (February 14, 1986). "The cutesy klutz strikes again in tame 'Wildcats'". Chicago Tribune . Section 7, p. A.
  6. ↑ Maslin, Janet (February 14, 1986). "The Screen: 'Wildcats,' With Hawn". The New York Times . C5.
  7. ↑ "Film Reviews: Wildcats". Variety . February 12, 1986. 22.
  8. ↑ Goldstein, Patrick (February 13, 1986). "'Wildcats' Doesn't Put Points On Scoreboard". Los Angeles Times . Part VI, p. 1, 2.
  9. ↑ Piantadosi, Roger (February 14, 1986). "'Wildcats' Works the Goldie Mine". The Washington Post . Weekend, p. 25.
  10. ↑ Goff, Keli (May 4, 2014). "Can 'Belle' End Hollywood's Obsession with the White Savior?". The Daily Beast . Retrieved May 14, 2014.
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.