Friday Night Lights

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Friday Night Lights

PG-13

Released Oct 8, 2004

1h 57m

Drama

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Popcornmeter

82%

Tomatometer

173 Reviews

85%

Popcornmeter

100,000+ Ratings

A small, turbulent town in Texas obsesses over their high school football team to an unhealthy degree. When the star tailback, Boobie Miles (Derek Luke), is seriously injured during the first game of the season, all hope is lost, and the town's dormant social problems begin to flare up. It is left to the inspiring abilities of new coach Gary Gaines (Billy Bob Thornton) to instill in the other team members -- and, by proxy, the town itself -- a sense of self-respect and honor.

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Critics Consensus

An acute survey of the football-obsessed heartland that succeeds as both a stirring drama and a rousing sports movie.

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Boston Globe

Rated: 3/4

Nov 24, 2011

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Nell Minow

Common Sense Media

So much more than a football movie.

Rated: 4/5

Dec 24, 2010

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David Ansen

Newsweek

Few films have shown so powerfully the slashing double edge of sports fever.

Nov 1, 2007

Full Review

Cory Woodroof

For the Win (USA Today)

The 2004 drama filled the gaping need for a film about toxic small-town football culture and gave the sport a much more realistic slant.

Oct 26, 2024

Full Review

James Croot

Stuff.co.nz

Friday Night Lights still remains one of the most entertaining and engrossing sports movies of the past two decades.

Dec 8, 2023

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Leigh Paatsch

Herald Sun (Australia)

The game sequences do stand out, but this refreshingly no-frills affair also finds time to question the value of the win-at-all-costs ethos rife in modern sport.

Rated: 4/5

Jul 24, 2020

Full Review

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Leaburn O

Watched many years ago and rewatched recently. There’s a reason I forgot I’d seen it. This is just small town America and their bizarre obsession with school age boys playing sport. It makes no sense to anyone who isn’t American. Full of typical US sport redemptive schmaltz and wholly predictable. Load of nonsense. Watched on DVD.

Rated 1.5 out of 5 stars

12/13/24

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Stephen H

Gripping movie. Great example of Texas high school football. West Texas especially.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

11/25/24

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Kevin C

Sports drama with a lot of tension. Music score is fantastic. Football scenes leave you on edge of your seat with anticipation. Could watch this movie multiple times.

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

11/04/24

Full Review

cesar c

Another well done Berg movie about life

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

10/27/24

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Lorri D

Late to the game watching this in 2024 but thought it was one of the best series I’ve ever watched. The way the show dealt with teenagers growing up in a small town hit home. Friday night was always football night. Coach hit it out of the park with his skills both in football and in life’s lessons. The entire cast is commended for their acting skills. A must watch series if you have not seen it yet.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

09/24/24

Full Review

Joel H

When I saw that Friday Night Lights was based on a true story, I expected something monumental to happen during the course of the film. But the story that unfolded was fairly standard. No major plot twists or unusual obstacles occurred, so I kept wondering why this story needed to be told. I was also a little distracted by the cinematography, which was trying to emulate a documentary, and so the camera was constantly panning, tilting, and zooming. And, aside from two or three characters, everyone else felt like a one-dimensional extra. I liked Friday Night Lights, but I guess I just expected more.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

01/24/24

Full Review

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Peter Berg

Director

Billy Bob Thornton

Coach Gary Gaines

Derek Luke

Boobie Miles

Jay Hernandez

Brian Chavez

Lucas Black

Mike Winchell

Garrett Hedlund

Don Billingsley

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Friday Night Lights: Official Clip - Coach Gaines on Being Perfect

2:58

Friday Night Lights: Official Clip - Boobie Goes Down

2:41

Friday Night Lights: Official Clip - You're Gonna Seriously Fly, Son

2:26

Friday Night Lights: Official Clip - Boobie Cleans Out His Locker

3:00

Friday Night Lights: Official Clip - Ivory's Pep Talk

0:56

Friday Night Lights: Official Clip - Boobie's MRI

2:48

Friday Night Lights: Official Clip - Creepy Boosters

1:38

Friday Night Lights: Official Clip - Duct Tape for Don

1:58

Friday Night Lights: Official Clip - Agony of Defeat

2:58

Friday Night Lights: Official Clip - Get Off the Field, Dad

1:33

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Synopsis

A small, turbulent town in Texas obsesses over their high school football team to an unhealthy degree. When the star tailback, Boobie Miles (Derek Luke), is seriously injured during the first game of the season, all hope is lost, and the town's dormant social problems begin to flare up. It is left to the inspiring abilities of new coach Gary Gaines (Billy Bob Thornton) to instill in the other team members -- and, by proxy, the town itself -- a sense of self-respect and honor.

Director: Peter Berg
Producer: Brian Grazer
Screenwriter: Peter Berg, David Aaron Cohen, Buzz Bissinger
Distributor: Universal Pictures
Production Co: Imagine Entertainment
Rating: PG-13 (Rough Sports Action|Language|Sexual Content|Some Teen Drinking|Thematic Issues)
Genre: Drama
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Oct 8, 2004, Wide
Release Date (Streaming): Feb 12, 2014
Box Office (Gross USA): $61.2M
Runtime: 1h 57m
Sound Mix: SDDS, Dolby SRD, DTS, Surround

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