Rating: Summary: Don't buy this movie. Review: I sat down with my sons and watched the movie "Reversal," and I have to say, I was extremely dissappointed. While I agree with it as a cautionary tale regarding the dangers of excessive weight loss, ultimately, this is a movie about quitting. What a joke! My sons are both State Champions (through quality coaching and discipline), and they both expressed outrage when the movie ended with the boy quitting and not making it to college. What kind of ending is that? Good Story! Not. The movie's typical Hollywood-style exagerration totally misrepresents itself, and continues to perpetuate the negative stereotypes surrounding the sport of wrestling. How unfortunate. After watching the trailer on your website, I hoped to finally see a quality movie about the good things that wrestling represents. Especially in light of your marketing methods of targeting High School websites to promote it. This moview was marketed as an advocate of this sport. Clearly it is not. I am all for keeping kids from hurting themselves by cutting excess weight, etc., but to suggest that 8 year old kids are being made to cut weight is an absolute fabrication. Youth wrestling has very liberal weight requirements, with weight brackets every 3-5 lbs, so no boy ever has to cut weight. I agree that weight loss can be an obsession for some wrestlers, which can be detrimental, but this is not the norm in wrestling. Neither is quitting. Exlax? Nose Bleeds? Fainting? Exaggerate Much? While the father is portrayed as having good intentions, etc., he subjected his son to things no dad or coach would do. The lead character seems brain dead throughout the movie, and the only character that has any redeeming qualities (his love interest) turns out to be a pathological liar. Aside from the beautiful Pennsylvania scenery and back drops, this is not a good movie.
Rating: Summary: Disappointed Review: I would not reccomend this movie to students. I thought it was supposed to be a family movie. The language and sexual themes were unnecessary. It could have been such a great film without those things. The convenience store part where the kid is buying trojans is pitiful. The part where Shaw is talking about them sleeping together is unecessary. Just a few things and it would have been so great. Now I can't show it to my wrestling team. As I was watching the video, my thoughts were to destroy it, because I find it unsuitable for any audience.
Rating: Summary: A very real and gripping movie Review: I'm a former wrestler myself and was very impressed with the raw and realistic portrayals in this movie. It's not your Vision Quest, pinning Shute, yay for the good guy style movie, all glitz and glamour with a happy, feel good, obvious ending. It's a movie that deals with wrestling and sports in general on a different level. It especially focuses on the trend that seems prevalent nowadays of parents pushing their kids into sports and pushing too hard. It's a road that a lot of us will have to face when we become parents and want to live vicariously through our own kids. It is a good movie for someone who wants to learn more about what wrestling really is outside the practice room. It shows that often times the toughest opponent a wrestler will face isn't the guy he's actually wrestling but the scale. Anyone who has wrestled can immediately empathize with this and outsiders will see how much more there is to the sport than two guys rolling around on the mat. The battles with weight loss have put the sport into a critical spotlight and this film helps show you some of the mental reasoning that goes in on a wrestler's mind and why they are willing to go through the pain and sacrifice. Like I mentioned, in the end you don't feel your typical happy closure, you feel introspection, you question, you scrutinize, you think. Kudos to a movie that can have this kind of profound effect!
Rating: Summary: Talk about a movie with a negative focus. Review: If the producers wanted to make a film to warn of the dangers of excessive weight cutting they should have made a documentary. If they wanted to make a movie about a well intentioned father who pushes his son too hard, I personally would have preferred if they had done so in a context other than wrestling. Is the movie necessarily out of touch with reality-no. Are there a thousand positive stories that could have been told about the constructive impact wrestling has had on young men's lives and about the genuine affection between father and son that has been fostered by wresting-YOU BET. Who is anyone to tell the producers what kind of movie to make? I am working on the fairly safe assumption that the makers of this film love wrestling and were trying to give the sport some needed exposure. Unfortunately, children and parents who see this film, and know little about wrestling, will probably look to stay clear of the sport. Few sports, activities or relationships are without both a positive and a negative side. With the perils facing wrestling in this era of title IX and the like the last thing we need is a portrayal of the worst excesses that exist in the sport. They portaryed characters whom wrestling had made miserable and unhappy-most of the people I know who have been exposed to wrestling have had thier lives enriched by it.
Rating: Summary: Finally, a follow up to vision quest! Review: In a time ruled by basketball players and their movies, wrestlers and their movies havnt got much a attention. Vision Quest was good, but reversal tops it...
Rating: Summary: Terrific movie! Review: In a world fraught with movies about baseball, basketball, and football, it's great to see a good movie about wrestling. The wrestling action in the movie was great and edge-of-your-seat tense. The story of the father-son relationship was well done and heart-felt..the son trying to please his dad while trying to follow his own dreams...the dad trying to live his life and his failures through his son. It's a great story...and a great movie. The DVD includes all sorts of extras and behind-the-scenes stuff that's really interesting and good to watch.
Rating: Summary: Awesome Movie: Don¿t ever give up.. never quit!!!!!!! Review: Reversal is a fantastic film about sacrificing all to be the best. It is allot more than just a great sports movie, it is about a touching father and son relationship that really makes you appreciate parents trying to do what they think is best for their children. Even not being a sports fanatic, I appreciate this movie on so many levels. It makes me realize the sacrifices people make to be the best at what they do. The wrestling action is great and truly realistic, there were many moments watching the DVD that I replayed the wrestling action and watched it again and again. This DVD is a must for every family, the added features on the DVD make this a must have in any DVD collection.
Rating: Summary: Good Story Review: Since I have seen just about every movie at my video store, I was forced to look around the "out for a while now" section of my town's video store; that's how I found the movie Reversal. I'm glad I did. No huge Hollywood budget was needed to make this film; the storyline and actors manage to provide all of the bells and whistles themselves. I really liked the message behind this movie: As a parent, I am well aware of the fact parents want their kids to have a better life than they had. As the father in the movie states: "In our effort to not make the same mistakes our parent's made, we end up making a bunch of new ones." Not sure I have the quote right word for word, but close. This movie has some very funny parts, extremely sad parts, and some parts that truly make you think about what you want out of life. All and all, this movie had it goin' on. There were a few sexual comments (talking about condoms and getting laid, etc.) that did not need to be in the movie; that was the only thing about the movie I didn't like. See ya next review! (...)
Rating: Summary: Good Story Review: Since I have seen just about every movie at my video store, I was forced to look around the "out for a while now" section of my town's video store; that's how I found the movie Reversal. I'm glad I did. No huge Hollywood budget was needed to make this film; the storyline and actors manage to provide all of the bells and whistles themselves. I really liked the message behind this movie: As a parent, I am well aware of the fact parents want their kids to have a better life than they had. As the father in the movie states: "In our effort to not make the same mistakes our parent's made, we end up making a bunch of new ones." Not sure I have the quote right word for word, but close. This movie has some very funny parts, extremely sad parts, and some parts that truly make you think about what you want out of life. All and all, this movie had it goin' on. There were a few sexual comments (talking about condoms and getting laid, etc.) that did not need to be in the movie; that was the only thing about the movie I didn't like. See ya next review! (...)
Rating: Summary: An Uneven Film Review: There are some aspects of this film that were outstanding. The wrestling scenes are the most realistic I've viewed in a movie. The movie gives a good account of the sacrifices it takes to be an accomplished athlete. Finally, Jimi Petulla's performance as the father and coach is very touching and memorable.
However, other aspects of the movie seem to be right out of an ABC Afternoon Special. Danny Mousetis's role as the son was unconvincing. I don't want to give away scenes but the son seemed much too mature, much too good, for a conflicted 17 year old. It appears that the film writers wanted to create a likeable character but in doing so, left something important out. Other characters, especially the mother, seemed flat - as if little thought was given to develop their character. There were some scenes that I thought I've seen right out of the Afternoon Special.
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