Prison Rules

In honor of one of my favorite movies being on television today, I will be doing a review of Gridiron Gang. The film stars one of the highest paid actors, Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson. The film came out in 2006 at a time where Dwayne Johnson was known for being a WWE wrestler because his acting career had not picked up yet. The film also stars Xzibit, a former rapper.

The movie takes place in a juvenile detention center located in Los Angeles. Most of the inmates are associated with gangs and within the confines of the center there is tension and aggression towards rival members. Seventy-five percent of the inmates find themselves back in prison or killed in gang related violence. Probation officer Sean Porter has seen enough once a reformed inmate is killed upon release.

Dwayne Johnson played college football as does his character in the movie. Sean Porter has the idea to start a football team at the detention center in order to bring unity among the inmates. This is an interesting idea considering that the players do not have knowledge of the game and are not interested in playing sports let alone associating themselves with rival gang members.

Porter brings these kids to their breaking point as he has only four weeks to turn a bunch of poor behaved men into a football team. They have been referred to as losers their entire lives and Porter wants to change the stigma. Their first game goes horribly wrong. Not only do they lose the game, but they are physically and mentally defeated. Everyone at the detention camp starts to doubt whether this was truly a good idea or not. This becomes the turning point for these young men. They can either call it quits and continue to be a bunch of violent thugs with no promise, or they can grow from this experience and unite to become one cohesive unit.

Throughout the movie Porter uses his role as a probation officer and translates this "drill sergeant" mentality to the football field as a coach. He is successful because when the team is off the field he acts as their best friend and their mentor and helps them grow as individuals. In the beginning of the film you see the inmates as violent and heartless individuals but as the movie progresses you begin to feel bad for the position that they find themselves in and you start to root for them.

Gridiron Gang is based on a true story and it is amazing how creating a football team at the camp significantly lowered fighting as well as the retention rate of prior inmates. It is amazing to see the power of sports and how being part of a team means so much more off the field than you would anticipate. Football is a true team sport where all 11 players have to be on the same page in order to be successful. The time spent in order to create that chemistry also creates the sense of family and this movie perfectly depicts that message.