Forever Strong

Rick Penning is a gifted rugby player who ends up in a juvenile facility for drink driving. There he encounters the squad of Larry Gelwix, coach of the Highland team. Gelwix's rules have nothing to do with the field: no swearing, no alcohol, respect required. Rick resists all of it. Eventually he faces the team his own father coaches. Ryan Little directs. Gary Cole plays Gelwix and Sean Faris plays Rick. The notable thing is that Gelwix is real. Larry Gelwix coached Highland Rugby in Utah for close to forty years with an extraordinary winning record, and the team's rules are as described: a system built on conduct rather than on results. Rugby is a sport American cinema has almost never touched, and that is what distinguishes this film. The match scenes were shot with actual players. The narrative, though, applies the entire template: the rebellious boy, the hard but wise coach, transformation on the field, and a reckoning with the father. It never steps outside it. The production stayed small and never found wide distribution, becoming known mainly within rugby. Who it is for: viewers who like the sports film template and are curious about rugby. Who it is not for: the story is predictable, the moral register is very plain, and nobody in it does anything surprising.