MUCH better than expected!

We got this movie off Netflix, as my husband is a former HS wrestling champ and he always enjoys wrestling movies. I suspected it would be bad and planned to work on my week's lesson plans as we watched - but barely got through Tuesday by the end of the movie!

It was surprisingly good - the acting isn't bad, especially Cena, who I thought would be terrible. Patricia Clarkson is amazing, as usual, and the Graye kid who plays Cal, the main character, does a really nice job. I have read some of the really negative reviews on here and think they aren't justified - although it's certainly a bit "Hallmark-y" it's far from a bad movie.

Living in a rural area, and as a teacher at a small school where wrestling is and has been a BIG deal for a long time, I can say that everyone complaining about the "hokey" and "hick" feeling of the movie aren't familiar with how people really live in small towns. The school setting is realistic and so is the excitement around wrestling. The importance of the wrestling team to Cal and the school is dead-on accurate. There are definitely some comedic moments, brought usually by Cal's friend/girlfriend Lori. The family drama is a bit overplayed from time to time, but Clarkson does such a nice job as the mom that it's forgivable.

My overall review would be a surprising 4 out of 5 stars. I didn't go into it expecting to like it and was pleasantly surprised. My husband - who expected to love it - wasn't disappointed, either! If you've got an hour and 45 minutes or so to sit down and watch a movie with some laughs, some emotions, a decent storyline and a good soundtrack, I recommend this one!