Doses of cultural pride clash with high-impact lacrosse games in the latest sport underdog story, Crooked Arrows. In order to approve an expansion for the casino he manages, prodigal son Brandon Routh of the Onondaga nation agrees to coach a disorderly high school lacrosse team. Let’s get this out of the way, this is The Mighty Ducks but with lacrosse. Right down to the coach’s failed dreams, scary-but-talented outsider who joins late, and standard evil prep-school nemeses. But who says that’s a bad thing? Routh, who also executive produces, uses his ludicrous handsomeness well, and the whole cast of young players charms up what might otherwise be eye-rolling plot developments. Lessons in Iroquois history also help elevate the material beyond straight knock-off. You’ve seen this movie before, sure. But it was good then, and it’s good now.
This article appears in Jul 12-18, 2012.