The Best of Times (film)

Plot

Jack Dundee (Williams) is a banker obsessed with what he considers the most shameful moment in his life: dropping a perfectly thrown pass in the final seconds of the 1972 high school football game between Taft and their arch rivals, Bakersfield, which ended in a scoreless tie.

Since that game, Jack has found it impossible to forget this event. He works for his father-in-law, The Colonel, Bakersfield's biggest supporter, who reminds him of the event almost daily.

Thirteen years later, Jack coerces Reno (Russell), quarterback of the fateful game, and now a financially struggling garage owner in debt to Jack's bank, into helping him replay the game. He convinces supporters in both towns to re-stage the game and in the process revitalizes Taft, as well as his and Reno's marriages.

Cast

Production

Much of the film was shot in and around the actual Taft Union High School. The football scenes took place at Pierce Junior College in the San Fernando Valley. The night game was filmed at Moorpark Memorial High School, in Moorpark, CA.

Reception

The film received mixed reviews, with a 33% 'rotten' rating on review aggregate Rotten Tomatoes. Pauline Kael called the film "a small town comedy where the whole population is caught up in some glorious foolishness."