What makes a good sports movie or TV show? This shouldn’t be hard to figure out, as there’s an embarrassment of riches to draw from for good examples and viable templates. The quick answer is that it isn’t one thing, but a combination of factors that may lean hard on a specific trope but share certain foundational elements. And that’s precisely why “Chad Powers” stumbles so badly right out of the gate—because it doesn’t seem to know what makes the genre work.
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These include things like an underdog lead(s) that’s rough around the edges yet righteous at the core. Quirky side characters/players/coaches also help, as does a particular setting where the team/player finds the right complement in a town or city that matches or reflects the principal’s identity. Yet the one thing that is a must for a successful sports story, regardless of genre, is a genuine love and understanding of the activity in question, allowing the movie or show to speak fluently to fans and outsiders alike.
“Chad Powers” can lay claim to none of these things, and even though it feels like a show written by committee for maximum appeal, it seems to have no idea how to tap into the tropes it yearns for. A hodgepodge of pop culture references wrapped around a sports redemption yarn with a douchebag at its center, the series is a busted play: an interesting idea that zigs instead of zags and runs straight into a wall of opposition.
The first two episodes of the series set it up well from a narrative standpoint, showing hotshot college quarterback Russ Holliday (Glen Powell) not only losing the national championship game with a boneheaded play, but acting out in such a way afterwards that the combined one-two punch effectively ends his career. The story jumps ahead eight years, where Russ is out of football and struggling to make ends meet, when he learns about an open tryout for the South Georgia Catfish football team. Russ figures that the college’s program is small enough that he can sneak on with a fake name and some facial prosthetics, the latter of which he has in abundance due to his father’s job as a Hollywood makeup artist.
Once in Georgia, Russ meets school mascot Danny Cruz (Frankie A. Rodriguez), who quickly works out who Russ is and what he’s up to, and decides to help him become “Chad Powers,” an unknown QB sensation. The series also spends a decent amount of time with Catfish coach Jake Hudson (Steve Zahn), whose marriage is on the rocks, along with his job, according to Tricia Yeager (Wynn Everett), chair of the school’s booster trust. A 2016 coach of the year banner indicates that, like Russ, Coach Hudson’s glory years are well behind him, setting the stage for both to find an ally in the other for redemption.
On paper, this all seems like a no-brainer, as all the pieces seem to be in place for a classic sports action-comedy, with a hint of romance thrown in for balance and good measure (Hudson’s daughter, Ricky (Perry Mattfeld), is on the Catfish coaching staff). Any coach will tell you that it takes more than good players to win, though: a team needs the right personnel used correctly. “Chad Powers” may have the necessary components for success, but it struggles to use them effectively throughout.
These problems start at the top with Russ as a spoiled YouTube conspiracy theory enthusiast whose only genuine concern or motivation is for himself. Happy Gilmor, Rick “Wild Thing” Vaughn, and Roy Hobbs might have been rough around the edges or aloof, but they were easy to root for, and that’s something Russ/Chad doesn’t have going for him early in the series. The setting also fails to lend much to the story, as the fictional South Georgia University doesn’t offer anything in the way of character except for Tricia’s presence as the boosters’ face. And as for the football itself, the show almost seems afraid to get into the nuts and bolts of the sport, settling for long shots of deep passes during the all-too-brief tryout scenes, dazzling with cheap visuals instead of an exploration of what makes the sport special to its fans.
Where’s the hitting? Where’s the fun? And while the show is often funny (“you have a lower Q score than Bin Laden”), none of the characters seem to be having a very good time here. Football is a game, after all, and if a movie or TV show can’t manufacture fun out of a premise rooted in a friggin’ game, there isn’t much hope for it.
There is some daylight poking out between the layers of drudgery in the first two episodes, including a couple of hints that Russ is learning what it means to be a good teammate and human being. Zahn’s character is also interesting and sympathetic, even though the show gives him precious little to do on the actual football field. His relationship with daughter/coaching assistant Ricky is a humanizing highlight of the series early on, though it feels like it belongs in a different (better) show.
So, yeah…who knows…maybe a Hail Mary in the back half of the series will save this one, and elevate “Chad Powers” to legendary status. In all likelihood, based on these first couple of episodes, anyway, the audience can expect a few more busted plays. [D]
Warren Cantrell is a film and music critic based out of Seattle, Washington. Mr. Cantrell has covered the Sundance and Seattle International Film Festivals, and provides regular dispatches for Scene-Stealers.com. Warren holds a B.A. and M.A. in History, and his hobbies include bourbon drinking, novel writing, and full-contact kickboxing.
