Forever Strong

First of all, I know almost nothing about rugby, so although I found the rugby-aspect of this movie to be interesting it could have been any sport and I think I would have enjoyed it just as much. The fact that it as about rugby didn't make it any better or worse for me.

What made this movie great is the story itself, based on actual events that have occurred over the last 30 years with the Highland Rugby club. Coach Gelwix is the kind of coach that most every parent would like their children to have, someone who cares more about the person than the sport (even though they have won 17 national championships and have only lost 9 games in over 30 years!). The more I have learned about the coach and team the more I like this movie and its message.

I have seen other sports movies that seemed great at first, but then I researched the details only to find that most of those movies were 10% fact and 90% fiction, with the 10% of facts being greatly exaggerated. Not so with Forever Strong. It may seem too good to be true, but that's what's so amazing about it. If it were fiction it would just be an enjoyable story and nothing more. Instead, the movie is inspirational and makes you want to be a better person.

Don't miss this movie because of a few negative reviews by professional critics. I have been reading some of their reviews and most of them have given the movie horrible reviews. These are generally the same critics who rave about movies that most people hate. In fact, I would be worried if some of these critics had given the movie good reviews because I almost always disagree with their opinions.

Go see this movie and post your review (positive or negative)! Currently most of the audience reviews are enthusiastically positive (here and on Rotten Tomatoes and similar sites), and I am interested to see if this trend continues. Thanks!

From Goff on Rugby: "Salt Lake City is a destination point for many young people of Polynesian extraction, especially those of the Mormon faith, and there are many. Despite the fact that many Highland detractors assume anyone with a Pacific-sounding name is in the country temporary, that's not true." "Highland High School has, for years, been designated as an English as a Second Language school, and as such gets many kids whose parents were born overseas. And often the kids were too. Some of them play rugby."

http://rugbyimports.com/web/newsarchives/052405.htm

So, if the rugby club has a considerable percentage of Pacific Islanders, is it more believable for them to be doing the Haka? While the All Blacks have made the Haka famous, it's not exclusive to NZ. Other Pacific islands (Tonga, Samoa)perform a Haka as well.

It's not a requirement to be Maori to be selected as an All Black, but you will be expected to perform the Haka. Highland does perform the Haka, and has done the version(KaMaTe)made famous by the All Blacks. I don't know if it's appropriate for them to do so, but they do, so in that respect the movie is accurate.

Unfortunately, if the story line is mediocre, it may do more harm than good for the image of rugby in the USA. Haka or not, people will just see a lame movie with rugby as the main plot device. Won't know 'til I see it.

A very positive message for our youth is shown in this movie. Through the sport of rugby as a mean, a High School rugby coach leads his players in their behavior and lifestyle, ON and OFF the field.

The acting and directing are good. The rugby shots are just OK if you know some rugby or really cool if don't know much about it.

I recommend this movie, worth watching, especially at a point in time when this sport is gaining more and more adepts every day.

The plot is based on a true story taking place in Utah. The coach portrayed in this movie has been at the helm of the Highlanders for over 30 years (and loosing only game every 3 years).

Enjoy!

First, let's call this movie what it is:

1. It's a feel-good movie with a message.

2. The acting is just okay, dialog slightly better, production value pretty good.

3. Rugby scenes...just barely passable.

But here's the trick: this isn't something Hollywood contrived, and it isn't trying to be a ferociously accurate portrayal of the sport. It is instead a pretty good representation of mostly real people, in real circumstances, and a real storyline. Sure, they could have done a better job actually rep'ing the sport, but my vote: it does a pretty good job at what it sets out to do.

(And fwiw, I can't think of many football, baseball, hockey or soccer movies that are true to the sport either. C'mon...Bull Durham?)

I'm not a rugby player (I was a wrestler) but I graduated from Highland, attended '86-'90, and occasionally trained with the Rugby guys. My brother-in-law David, however, was one of the original founding members of the Highland Rugby Club in 1976. (His younger brother, Billy, played the next year, as I recall. If you're interested, there's a Highland Rugby site at highlandrugby.net that addresses the history of the team.)

By the time I was there the club had been in existence for about a decade, and had long since built a reputation for excellence. It's a fact that they focused on "broad" training topics: devotion, honor, discipline, effort, not tactics. I thought the rugby guys I knew were a little 'off' in the head, but I think I might have just been a little jealous. They were hard-core dedicated to the belief system that Gelwix promoted.

With regard to the "cultural mixing" issues that have been brought up, it might be interesting to note that while I was there in the 80's, one of the larger schools in the city was shut down - South High School - and its students distributed among the other 3 primary SLC schools. To be honest, Highland pre-80's was pretty whitebread...I've got a picture of the team from (I think) 1977 that shows an *all* white club. South High, on the other hand, was a much more racially integrated school before it closed: I had a pair of friends from South who joined the team, one Tongan, one Samoan, and as I recall there were a bunch of Island-nation players that joined up '88-'90. I don't think anyone questioned the credibility of the team in adopting Maori (or other cultural) traditions: if there was one thing that was obvious about these guys, it's that they walked the walk.

And as to the strength of the team when compared to the best highschool-age teams in the world: yeah, it's true that US-Rugby, on average when taken as a whole, does not represent particularly well against the best elsewhere. There are exceptions, but hey - it's a simple fact that Rugby doesn't have the prominence or exposure needed to develop the multiple traditions of excellence in the US that arise in other countries.

With that said, judge Highland on its merits:

• the *only* team to qualify for the USA Rugby National Championships every year of that organizations' 25-yr history.

• a win record of 392 wins, 9 losses. Read that again...winningest coach in any US sport in history.

• regular international tours.

• some compelling wins against some legitimate international teams.

Are they the world best? Maybe some years, probably not most...but they're pretty good on a consistent basis. And it's disrespectful to the game to blow them off, when Highland Rugby may be the best ambassador to the sport in the US.

schoepeo commented that "Hollywood ruined rugby". I don't know where or when you played rugby, but 2 of my sons played high school rugby in Arizona for a coach from New Zealand that played at the collegiate level and this movie represented high school rugby at it's best! The Flagstaff team represented the local Arizona Highland High School team that was known for it's illegal tackles and attempts to cheat and play gutter rugby. The Highland team represented my sons' team which played at a high level of integrity and grit. The rugby scenes reminded me of the many games I went to and videotaped for the team. The Hakka reminded me of the joy in my sons' eyes as they participated in it prior to each game. The hits, flips, crushes, etc. reminded me of the many bloody shirts I washed weekly for the team. The coach and his integrity, work ethic, rugby drills (including running with another player on your back - my sons' coach had them run UPHILL), and sense of giving back to the community reminded me of my sons' coach. This movie TRULY represented high school rugby and if it's not what you have experienced, you've missed the best rugby has to offer!