I’ve often written about how, whenever you’re watching a film or television show about sports, you can always tell when a professional athlete has been cast in a role because they inevitably give the worst performance out of the entire cast. Now, admittedly, that might be a case of me being overly glib. Certainly, there are a few professional athletes who have gone on to become good actors. For instance .… well, I can’t really think of any right now, but I know they’re out there. Remember when Trainwreck came out and we all pretended like LeBron James was a good actor? I mean, I’m sure it’s happened a few times. Did George Clooney play minor league baseball? I can’t remember, but let’s just pretend that he did and move on. The fact of the matter is that, with a few notable exceptions, most athletes are more impressive on the field than in front of the camera.
As proof, let’s consider the 1996 film Reggie’s Prayer. Reggie’s Prayer stars Reggie White, a former player for the Green Bay Packers who became a preacher, as Reggie Knox, a former player for the Green Bay Packers who becomes a high school football coach. See, the film could have just had Reggie Knox become a preacher, but instead, it challenged White by having him return to high school to coach football. Unfortunately, Reggie wasn’t really up to the challenge. In this film, Reggie White is big and intimidating, and he seems to be really happy whenever he’s in uniform or talking back to the sports press, all of whom want to know why he’s abandoning the game to be a high school coach. However, when Reggie has to stand in front of a classroom and pretend to be a history teacher or when he’s having to make jokes about how the team’s only white player is the “white sheep” of the team, he comes across as being awkward and not particularly sure where he should be looking.
The film features Reggie trying to get through to Tyler (Emmanuel Brown), a player who has tremendous potential but who is haunted by the suicide of his younger brother and who finds himself being tempted to become a part of the local drug-running operation. When Tyler drops his bag and a gun goes off, another player ends up in a coma. Tyler runs off and ends up getting held prisoner in the woods by a drug dealer, and it’s up to Reggie Knox to save him. It leads to a climax on the football field where a previously crippled player suddenly stands up from his wheelchair and walks around. Such is the power of Reggie’s prayers!
It’s all pretty silly. In fact, it’s so silly that it’s not really a surprise when Pat Morita shows up as the high school principal. He assures Reggie that he will always have his back. Now, if you’re expecting some Pat Morita karate moves, you’re going to be disappointed. Still, he’s Pat Morita and he acts circles around Reggie White.
Incidentally, Reggie White is not the only athlete in this film. Brett Favre plays a janitor who tries to interest Reggie in a play that he designed. Reggie is amused.
