A real story that doesn’t tell the truth. In Home Game, Kevin James plays NFL professional football coach Sean Payton, who, when hired in 2006, turned the New Orleans Saints into Super Bowl XLIV champions. The story could have turned into a big sports drama had Coach Payton not later been implicated in Bountygate, the high-profile scandal in which the NFL accused Saints players of inflicting intentional injuries on rivals for the purpose of obtaining personal rewards ($400 for “hit”, $1,000 for “cart”). Following the investigation, Payton was disqualified for the 2012 season - the league's first suspension of a head coach - and returned the following year.
The film "Home Game" begins just after a scandal when a disgraced coach packs his suitcases in Argyle, Texas, where his ex-wife Beth (Jackie Sandler) lives with new husband Jamie (Rob Schneider) and their son sixth grader Connor (Tate Blum). Payton hopes to reconnect with a child who plays for the chronically losing high school football team Liberty Christian Warriors. Payton can't resist giving head coach Troy Lambert (Taylor Lautner) some advice - and soon Payton wears the whistle again and hopes to lead the already high school team to victory. In the past few years, there has been a mini-trend of what might be called movies about empathy for bad heroes. The first was the 2017 film I, Tonya, an energetic look at disgraced figure skater Tonya Harding (Margot Robbie). In 2018, Can You Forgive Me? chose Melissa McCarthy for the role of Lee Israel, a fraudster who deceived the literary world. This year, Tammy Faye's Eyes hailed televangelist Tammy Faye Becker (Jessica Chastain) for daring to embrace the gay community. Judging by the redemption stories, "Home Game" doesn't quite fit. It's not that Payton is unforgivable, in fact James, a Long Island native, is using his uncompromisingness to quickly poach us into the coach's side. The problem is, Home Game is a family movie meant to be watched by kids about the same age as Connor, and these kids deserve a candid conversation about Coach Payton and his mistakes. Instead, "Home Game" bypasses the problem and easily slides into comedy.
It's very bad because the movie has its key moments. The young Warriors are a motley team, and the NFL-detached Payton sometimes resembles a healthy version of Burt Reynolds' Paul Crewe in The Longest Court. Rob Schneider has had a bit of fun as Beth's new husband, Jamie, the emasculated New Era representative, and football fans will enjoy cameos from sports commentator Dan Patrick, former Steelers coach Bill Cower and others. All this is lightheartedly shot by Charles and Daniel Kiennan from the script by Chris Tyton and Keith Blum.
"Home Game" has several main ' blind' sides. On the one hand, despite the fact that the Warriors are already in a deplorable state, it is difficult not to feel pity for rival teams that are not coached by a professional with a Super Bowl championship ring. (The Wildcats coach, played by the unforgettable Isaiah Mustafa, is almost mad with joy after beating Payton.) Then comes the moment when Connor courageously asks his father about the awards. We expect the truth to be true, but Payton’s answer – “It’s difficult” – barely reaches the level of an excuse.
It may be foolish to expect more from the Netflix comedy created by Adam Sandler's company Happy Madison. Yes, it's the producer's wife as Beth; his nephew, Jared Sandler, plays a confused hotel clerk. A family contract, well, it always happens when you have the opportunity to cut a little money. Still, why not tackle the notions of misdemeanor and forgiveness fully armed? After all, Home Game is a movie without any message.
The movie can be watched on Netflix.