VERY UNPOPULAR TRUE OPINION ALERT: "Friday Night Lights" the movie is better than "Friday Night Lights" the TV show. These are the facts folks, and they are undisputed. (Editor's note: the opinions of Christopher Powers do not reflect the views of this company.)
Why am I saying this? Well, because the better version of "Friday Night Lights" is among a plethora of fine movies (and TV shows) coming to Netflix this April for all of your pre-summer, post-Masters/March Madness binge-watching needs. Among the other highlights are classics such as "Along Came Polly", "The Iron Giant" and "Seven." I'm aware of how eclectic that trio is, and yes, I will watch them in that order.
Now that you've gotten over the initial shock of my very true opinion, it's time to make my case. Let me preface this all by saying the TV Show is not good, but GREAT. It's one of top 10 greatest TV shows ever made. No debate there. But the movie is significantly better, and here's nine of the one million reasons why:
The movie came first
Well, actually, the book did. But the movie is based off the book, meaning the TV show is loosely based off the movie that was based off the book, but it's fiction. Get all that?
Two words: Boobie Miles
Smash Williams? Please, there is no Smash Williams without Boobie Miles, breaker of all ankles, scorer of many touchdowns, lover of black 'Nikes' and conspiracy theorist expertly played by Derek Luke. I mean, is there a sadder scene in sports movie history than Boobie blubbering in his uncle's car over his potentially Hall-of-Fame career being over? Heartbreaking. Oh ... AAAAAND HE CAN PASS!!
Tim McGraw is in it, and he's incredible!
No one has, or ever will play, an overbearing sports dad/alcoholic better than Tim McGraw did in "Friday Night Lights" as Charlie Billingsley. And this was literally in his second movie ever. Are you kidding me? What a legend.
O.G. Buddy Garrity
Obviously, Brad Leland had a much larger role in the TV show, but it was his work as John Aubrey, a mustachioed Permian booster, that landed him that role in the first place (I completely made this up).
Billy Bob's speech
Actual tears. Every damn time. "Clear eyes, full hearts, can't lose"? Nah, I'll take "Boys, my heart is full" any day of the week.
Ivory's speech
How did they not win after either of these speeches!?!?
The good guys DON'T Win!
Since the movie is based off actual events, director Peter Berg had to include the part that Permian lost in the end, albeit in a very Hollywood-ized fashion. But still, have to give him credit for bucking the trend and showing that the good guys do sometimes lose! Perhaps that's why the movie is so underrated, because of it's unique ending in which not everything is birthday cakes and rainbows and gum drops. Sometimes boy doesn't get the girl. Sometimes villains defeat heroes. Sometimes Dallas wins a playoff game. It's okay to deviate from tired sports movie tropes.
Dallas Carter
All-time villain team. If a villain did have to win at some point, I'm cool with it being Dallas Carter. Just a bunch of savages. Could Dallas Carter beat the Browns? MY COLUMN:
Don Billingsley > Tim Riggins
JUST KIDDING. Nothing on earth is greater than Tim Riggins.
In summation, FNL the movie is light years better than the TV show, and all of this was just an excuse for me to watch clips from the movie all afternoon at work. I mean the movie is just A+ scene after A+ scene. A tour de force, if you will. Only thing the TV show has over the movie is Coach Taylor, who left Dillon like a fraud and killed his own brother. Some hero. Oh, shit, wrong TV show.
(h/t: Elite Daily)
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