If I Could Do It All Over Again….
Touchback is not a compelling movie, although it is rife with compelling ideas, which only makes processing my feelings for it that much more difficult. It has some good things to say about the choices we make in life and learning to appreciate what we have; what’s missing is a plot capable of supporting these messages fully. If you’re going to infuse an inspirational sports drama with the fantastical concept of time travel, there’s absolutely no call for half-heartedness. You have to be completely audacious and commit to it fully. Otherwise, we in the audience have no real reason to willingly suspend disbelief. To an extent, writer/director Don Handfield made an honest effort. The issue is, that extent should have been the entire film, not just specific scenes.
Taking place in the blue-collar community of Coldwater, Ohio, where the population seems permanently set at 2,700, it tells the story of Scott Murphy (Brian Presley), who was the star quarterback of his high school’s football team back in 1991. During the big game, his leg was injured beyond repair, forever ruining his chances of pursuing college football, making a name for himself, and getting himself and his hard-working mother (Christine Lahti) out of Coldwater. Now in his late thirties with his left leg supported by a brace, he’s a walled off and bitter man who numbs his pain with alcohol and grueling volunteer firefighting. He’ll stare at old home videos of his games without really seeing them, and he’ll secretly drive to a spot where he can watch the current high school team practice.
He’s married to Macy (Melanie Lynskey), who was volunteering at the hospital at the time of his accident. With her, he has two young daughters, who only crave his affection. In a town that has nosedived economically due to the closing of the local plant and the 2008 recession, he has received a bad loan for acres of soybeans that aren’t growing fast enough and are about ready to fail. Unless he can turn a profit in the course of one day, his home and all his land will be foreclosed. He has so much pride that he can’t even bring himself to tell Macy that they’re in trouble. Knowing he has ruined not only his life but also the life of his family, he drives to a remote spot, stuffs a rag into the exhaust pipe of his truck, gets back in, turns on the ignition, and hits the accelerator. Black fumes seep in. A few coughs, and the screen fades to white.
When Scott comes to, he realizes that his leg is no longer in a brace, that his beard is gone, that he’s wearing jeans and a varsity jacket, and that everyone he once knew is back in his life again. Somehow, he has been transported back to 1991. He’s a high school student again! The catch is that he’s aware of what will happen over the next twenty years, which will make for some awkward conversational moments. He reunites with his best friend (Marc Blucas) and his sexy high school flame (Sarah Wright), who, following the accident, will end up becoming an item. He also reunites with his coach (Kurt Russell), whose name, Hand, is an apt metaphor for his guiding words of wisdom. Most importantly, he will reunite with Macy, who at that stage of her life was a mousy member of the school band.
I understand what the filmmakers are trying to do here. By making Scott aware that he has gone back in time, they’re giving him the opportunity to reflect on his mistakes and alter his future – specifically during the big game, which he will play again. The point is to make him see that life is about the living in the moment and not focusing on the past or the future. The flaw is that Scott is lectured by characters that don’t have the luxury of knowing what he already knows. I’m sure if any of them had gone back in time with Scott, they might have been just as tempted, if not more so, to change history. He is, of course, continuously sidetracked by his love for Macy. For her teenage self, this is a bit jarring; Scott has a hot cheerleader girlfriend and never once gave a plain girl like Macy the time of day. She has to wonder where this newfound affection is coming from.
As well intentioned as it is, the film’s positive, life-affirming messages are bogged down by an ending that provides plenty in the way of emotional resolution but absolutely nothing in the way of logistics or plausibility. I’m all for feel-good moments. In fact, I actively seek them out. All the same, I prefer that they stem from scenes and situations that actually make sense. And then there are the illusion-shattering casting choices, Presley, Blucas, Lynskey, and Wright playing high school students despite the fact that they each look every bit as old as they actually are. Presley and Lynskey, for example, are thirty-four, and Wright is twenty-eight. The most obvious is Blucas, who’s now forty. Touchback has its heart in the right place, but it rarely uses its head.
