The Comebacks is a 2007 American satiricalcomedy film directed by Tom Brady. This film is a parody of the clichés and plots of the sports film genre. In the UK, Greece, Finland, Australia and New Zealand this film is called Sports Movie. The movie was released to theaters on October 19, 2007.
Plot
Coach Lambeau Fields is pathetic. He has the distinction of being the worst coach in the history of sports anyone can recall. A loser of enormous proportions, the incompetent and seemingly hopeless coach is convinced by fellow coach Freddie Wiseman to return to the field for one last shot. Assuring his long suffering wife, Barb, that he will not ignore his family, Coach moves them to Plainfolk, Texas where he hopes to redeem himself and his reputation. Here he begins yet another attempt to improve his abysmal record – this time as the coach of the football team at Heartland State University. But he is saddled with a team of misfits – most of whom don't know the difference between a line of scrimmage and a line at the cafeteria. Although the team and townsfolk are leery of the newcomer's approach, the Coach uses his unorthodox methods to whip this group of rag-tags into shape – both on and off the field. While the audience follows their winding road to the playoffs, the film pokes fun at the clichés and conventions of other sports flicks. The team does make progress, so much so that they actually make it to the South-Southwest Conference Championship at the 2nd Annual Toilet Bowl. Facing their fiercest opponents yet and yearning to win the big game, The Comebacks face off with the Lone Star State Unbeatables. And as every great sports team has always done, The Comebacks use ingenuity and unorthodox measures in the final showdown where the best team win. The Comebacks are victorious, but Lambeau is subsequently knocked down in a surprise attack by a bus with Freddie driving it, who laughs manically as Lambeau is in pain. Lambeau groans in agony.
Cast
David Koechner as Coach Lambeau Fields, the coach of the Heartland Comebacks
On Metacritic, the film received a 25/100 rating from 13 reviews, meaning "generally unfavorable reviews". On Rotten Tomatoes, it was has an approval rating of 9% and an average rating of 2.7/10 from 33 reviews. The critical consensus reads: "Full of groin-centric humor and tired sports clichés, The Comebacks is poor even by parody movie standards."
Box office
The Comebacks had an opening weekend of $5.6 million at #5. At the end of its box office run, it grossed $13.3 million in the US and $139,173 in foreign countries.
