Plenty to Like, Plenty to Dislike

Brilliant and touching

An Exercise In Nonsense

It's a good bad... and worth a popcorn matinée. While it's easy to lament what could have been...

Still in the process of watching this on Netflix, but I'm just amazed at the number of current or past division I college wrestlers were shown. Walter Pepplemen wrestled for Harvard. Jesse Delago wrestled for Illinois. A wrestler for one of the opponents, Tyler Nauman, wrestled for Pitt. That's not a bad list.However, I'm also amazed the Pennsylvania had so many empty seats at the finals of the State Duals tournament. In Iowa, there is almost never an empty seat at a wrestling tournament.However, as far as wrestling movies/documentaries go, I enjoyed it a lot.

One of the key lessons I learned or re-learned from this documentary is related to the theme itself. It encompasses elements of the American work ethic, the opportunity and merit culture, and even theology. Genes and natural inclinations do matter, but you can fight them if you need to.Hard work, determination, and a never-say-die attitude can propel you to success, regardless of your background. In America, you are not held back by your genes, your address, or other circumstances. You have the power within to overcome obstacles and achieve your dreams, or at least to a realistic degree.It is true to some extent. That's why I love sports and America. But in some fields, we are in fact limited or propelled by our genes. It's no accident that the great looking, smart, rich kid with the enormously successful father, would inherit the same qualities that made his dad that way. It's both nature and nurture. In addition to inheriting his dad's genes, I'm sure his dad schooled him in the ways of honor, discipline and success, as we see a bit in the film.On the other hand, the kid with the dad in jail, inherited his father's propensity for mischief. Even with a strong male role model in his coach/uncle, the kid's urge to screw up overpowered everything else. So it would seem that one was destined for success and the other failure.But not entirely. One of the ironic aspects of American culture is that Americans are Christian and believe in "Original Sin." So they believe that we are born as hopeless slaves to our nature and therefore need a savior. But that runs totally counter to the basic theme of America, sports, and this documentary.The troubled kid could have succeeded. It was entirely within his power. He had the tools and the guidance and made a personal choice to give in to his baser instincts. In Judaism, you are given the tools and the opportunity to choose good whenever you want. There is no original sin.So we see the blue blood kid succeed, exactly as we would expect and the poor kid fail. But it didn't have to be that way. Meanwhile, at the end, we find out that the less glamorous kids prospered in a major way in the coming years. So yes, it's easier if you are born from the stud gene pool, but it's still up to the individual to use what they have, or overcome what they don't have. The poor kid actually was born with natural talent and his dad had been a great athlete, and the rich kid was sometimes unfocused or too reserved.I wish the film makers would have included more input from women. How about the coach's wife or mother? What about girlfriends? Granted, these kids were underclassmen and not necessarily ready for girlfriends.I think it was significant that these prepubescent white kids from a nice neighborhood beat everyone in a state with loads of working class kids and raw ethnic toughs. At one point the strength coach mentions that the coach took soft rich kids and turned them into working class heroes. Having said that, I didn't see evidence of this edge in the kids' personalities. I was shocked that they won. To me they seemed kind of soft and lazy. So the film could have showed us better that they actually were hungry.One of the kids' moms did have a great line. She said "He's not going to grow up to be a wrestler." Now she may have missed the point that high school sports are vehicles for glory and character building and therefore vitally important to the kid, but she also accidentally touched on an important theme. Since there is no chance for fame and glory in a pro league, like there is in the 4 main sports, you are doing this for the present glory and the character building skills that will carry into the future. It is not a launching pad for a pro career. That is totally different than the stakes at risk in "Hoop Dreams," the earlier high school basketball documentary.Beautiful photography. Pennsylvania in Fall added to the vibe. Also, it is a working class state where people endure harsh winters and live alongside factories and farms. A wrestling documentary set in Santa Barbara would have felt very different.Overall, nice job in getting the coach to open up, and congratulations on seeing the potential for this film, before ever making it. Who knew they would win? It's a bit long and repetitive, but it's wrestling, so it is what it is. Watch this if you are keyed into that thing that makes high school sports so dramatic and vital, or if you want to get keyed into it.Better yet, afterwards watch "All The Right Moves" with Tom Cruise as a Pennsylvania high school footballer in a depressed town.