We Are Marshall

Starring: Matthew McConaughey, David Strathairn, Anthony Mackie, Matthew Fox, Kate Mara

Directed by: McG

RS: 1of 4 Stars

2006 Warner Bros. Pictures Drama

This is a football movie, but good taste is the only thing that gets kicked around. Who would you pick to direct the true story (oh, those words!) of West Virginia's Marshall University football team, after all the players and the coaches (save one) are killed in a 1970 plane crash? Why, McG, of course, the auteur of Charlie's Angels and TV's The O.C. I gave Mr. G the benefit of the doubt until he amped up the treacle past the legal limit. Even the reliable Matthew McConaughey hams it to the hilt as the new coach, Jack Lengyel. Matthew Fox, as assistant coach Red Dawson, tries the old play that less is more. No go. Marshall deserved better than this misbegotten tribute.