Necessary Roughness does not provide us with a new angle on the recycled plot of a group of misfits coming together to play football, but it does provide us with a whole bunch of laughs. This movie came out during a time when sports was trying to be funny (think Major League) and not cater to the dramatic true stories of the last few years. These stories were pure fiction and meant to draw people in by throwing in some well-known actors like Hector Elizondo and Robert Loggia. Together they would take a group of unknowns, led by Scott Bakula and Sinbad, and lead them to the promise land.
In a rather odd move, the writers created a story that could probably never come true. This team is assembled because the previous year’s team is banned for cheating with drugs. No one is allowed to play again so the new guys got to come in and learn to play football along with working as a team.
I think Loggia provided all the comedy and some of the crazy stuff to come out of his mouth had me laughing at loud. I’ve seen a whole lot of football movies over the last month that I never even heard of. Some of them never held my interest while others opened my eyes to new things. Necessary Roughness actually held my interest all the way until the final game. The execution of the actors and the build up to the team’s epic showdown with another school was entertaining. Yes, there was some rather dull moments that made me wonder why I was watching it, but I was intrigued at what was to come after because I knew it was going to be funny.
There are literally hundreds of stories just like this one. They didn’t break the mold here and I was alright with it. Out of all the movies about misfits, this one was pretty good. It won’t be everyone’s top choice but there is something to say about it compared to some rather lackluster efforts. 6/10
Ten Stars or Less 