Zachary Levi portrays NFL great Kurt Warner in American Underdog, now available on Blu-ray from Lionsgate.
The Production: 4/5
American Underdog tells the story of Kurt Warner (Zachary Levi), the only undrafted NFL player to win the league’s MVP award. The story opens as Kurt is a fifth-year senior at the University of Northern Iowa playing quarterback for the football team, dreaming to one day play in the NFL. As he’s waiting for the NFL draft, he meets Brenda (Anna Paquin), a single mother and veteran Marine at a honkytonk bar called the Wild E. Coyote. The two hit it off rather quickly, with Kurt also bonding with her blind and mentally handicapped son Zack (newcomer Hayden Zaller). When Kurt is passed over by the draft, he gets a tryout call from the Green Bay Packers, only to be cut from the team two days later. Unemployed, homeless, and broke, Kurt travels back to Brenda, whose parents take him in until he can get back on his feet. Humbled by his situation, he takes a stock clerk position at the local supermarket to help make ends meet while Brenda attends nursing school. Jim Foster (Bruce McGill), the owner of the Arena Football League’s Iowa Barnstormers, tracks him down and extends an offer to try out for his team. Kurt shrugs it off at first, until he realizes that working as a grocery clerk isn’t paying the bills, and gives it a shot, taking the Barnstormers to victory as league champions and earning touchdown bonuses. This catches the attention of a scout with the St. Louis Rams, who extends an invitation to tryout for the team. Kurt was down this road once before, but realizes this may be his last shot at making it to the NFL.
Directors Andrew and Jon Erwin (no relation to me) could have easily made this a sugar-coated story of a man going from store clerk to Super Bowl MVP, but the script by Jon Erwin & David Aaron Cohen and Jon Gunn, based on the book All Things Possible by Kurt Warner and Michael Silver, spends a lot of time with the relationship between Kurt and Brenda, their ups and downs, and never shies away from showing some of the bleakness that Kurt and Brenda faced. One thing I have always admired about the Erwin Brothers’ movies, including their only comedy Moms’ Night Out to their more recent bio-dramas I Can Only Imagine and I Still Believe, that despite them being pigeon-holed as faith-based films, the underlying Christian message of redemption (something that all of their films share in common) stays just under the surface, never hitting the viewer over the head or being preachy. American Underdog succeeds mostly because its story of redemption is more directed at Kurt Warner’s faith in himself, his family, and football, only touching on Christian faith enough to please its built-in fanbase. There is not one bad performance in the film, such as the always charming and likeable Zachary Levi and Anna Paquin as the two leads, but also supporting players including Dennis Quaid as coach Dick Vermeil, Ser’Darius Blain as Kurt’s college roommate Mike Hudnutt, former Chuck co-star Adam Baldwin as UNI Coach Allen, and the truly amazing work by newcomer Hayden Zaller as Brenda’s son Zack. The true star of the film, though, is its authenticity in its re-enactments of football plays, all choreographed by Mark Ellis, that are intercut seamlessly with the actual NFL footage. The movie does take some shortcuts, especially Kurt’s transition from Arena Football to playing for the Rams in the NFL, with no mention of him starting out playing in the NFL’s European league. From a storytelling aspect, that is understandable, and only those who know Kurt Warner’s story intimately (or read Kurt Warner’s autobiography) would miss that aspect. What American Underdog is really about is a man who was so passionate about his once unattainable dream, he made it happen through faith and perseverance.
Video: 4.5/5
3D Rating: NA
Lionsgate provided a copy of American Underdog to review on Blu-ray, and delivers admirably on the format. The 1080p AVC-encoded transfer, which retains the film’s theatrical aspect ratio of 2.39:1, provides naturally vibrant colors with a great attention to details, particularly the green grass of the football fields and fabric textures of the uniforms and costumes. Blacks are deep with good shadow detail, about as good as the Blu-ray format will allow.
Audio: 4.5/5
The default Dolby Atmos track is a subtle but effective one, allowing for a wide and deep soundstage, allowing heights to fill in the atmospherics such as wind, crowds, etc. Sounds pan seamlessly from speaker to speaker while also placed within the listening environment with pinpoint accuracy. LFE is strong when needed, especially during the football game footage. It’s not a track I would use to show off my sound system, but I don’t think I would listen to the film any other way.
Special Features: 4/5
This is a very feature-rich set of extras, and with one possible exception, none of them feel like your typical EPK fluff.
Audio Commentary with Directors Andrew and Jon Erwin and Producer Kevin Downes: Downes has worked with the Erwin Brothers on nearly all of their films, so the three men have an excellent rapport and discuss all aspects of making the film, from the COVID shutdown prior to the beginning of principal photography slashing their number of shooting days down to 30 once they were cleared to begin (and the challenges they faced in making sure they could complete the film on time), casting, working with the Warners, etc.
Inspired (1080p; 16:08): The Erwin Brothers, the Warners, Zachary Levi, Anna Paquin, and Dick Vermeil discuss casting choices and preparing for their roles.
Making the Cut (1080p; 13:45): The Erwin Brothers and Sean Albertson discuss the editing and test screening process.
A Coach’s Faith (1080p; 30:48): Saturday Night Live cast member (and lifetime football fan) Heidi Gardner interviews the real Dick Vermeil on his career as a coach, seeing himself portrayed on screen twice (first in Invincible and now in American Underdog), and his relationship with Kurt Warner.
New to the Scene: Hayden Zaller (1080p; 6:10): A look at the young actor’s big screen debut.
Meet the Champion (1080p; 14:49): Former Green Bay Packers coach Steve “Mooch” Mariucci interviews Kurt Warner.
Behind the Game (1080p; 8:13): The bulk of this featurette focuses on shooting the football game sequences.
American Underdog: Behind the Story (1080p; 3:39): An EPK trailer for the film.
Deleted Scenes (1080p; 17:44): A total of eleven scenes cut from the film with optional commentary with co-director and co-editor Andrew Erwin.
Theatrical Trailer (1080p; 2:21)
DVD Copy: The movie in 480i and Dolby Digital 5.1, plus all of the above special features except A Coach’s Faith and the Theatrical Trailer.
Digital Copy: An insert contains a code to redeem a digital copy on your choice of Apple TV/iTunes, Vudu, or Google Play. If you have an Apple TV account, I would recommend redeeming there to receive a digital copy in UHD. Otherwise, your digital copy will be in HD if redeemed on either of the two remaining services.
Overall: 4/5
American Underdog is a surprisingly good film with solid performances from its cast, and a story that will appeal and resonate with nearly everyone. Recommended.
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