Coach (1978)

User Rating:

4.5/10   

Director:

Bud Townsend

Writers:

Nancy Larson (screenplay)
Stephen Bruce Rose (screenplay)

Release Date:

17 March 1978 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Sport

Tagline:

Everybody Loves A Winner !

Plot:

An Olympic Gold medalist is hired to coach the boys basketball team. But when Coach Randy Rawlings arrives...

Plot Keywords:

Coach | Basketball | Female Nudity | Independent Film

Cast

Cathy Lee Crosby	...	Randy Rawlings
Michael Biehn	...	Jack Ripley
Keenan Wynn	...	Fenton 'F.R.' Granger
Channing Clarkson	...	Bradley William David Granger
Steve Nevil	...	Ralph
Jack David Walker	...	Ned
Meridith Baer	...	Janet
Myron McGill	...	Danny
Robyn Pohle	...	Candy
Kristine Greco	...	Darlene
Brent Huff	...	Keith
Cindy Daly	...	Wanda
Rosanne Katon	...	Sue
Lenka Novak	...	Marilyn
Otto Felix	...	Tom

Runtime:

100 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Metrocolor)

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Iceland:12 | Australia:PG | USA:PG

Movie Connections:

Edited into 42nd Street Forever Part 4 (2009) (V)

The great teenage sexploitation comedy that almost was.

I like to think of this film as the one that started it all; the great Teenage Sexploitation film. Truth be told that's not true. With all the bikini films made in the 60s Coach merely heralds in the 80's version of the genre (even though it was made in 77/78).

The topless scenes are pointless, and the gags are substandard. But there is heart and chemistry between Cathy Lee Crosby and Michael Biehn. And Crosby's character does find a good mesh with the team she's supposed to be coaching. The acting on the part of the team members is fair enough, but the film itself is horribly shot.

Technically the film is OK. That is it gets a passing grade. However it's looks like it was shot by film students rejected from USC's program. The lighting is horrible, the cinematography is bland as can be, and all the sound in the film was stuff recorded on the set (no looping or other effects).

The only shot worth anything in the film is Cathy Lee Crosby's opening Olympic sequence. If you see that, then you've seen the best part of the movie.

I won't give this film a complete thumbs-down, as both leads try to do their best with the material at hand (and make it work after a fashion), and the film does have a kind of raw energy that shows some modicum of talent among the film makers, but it's largely a dissapointment.

There's of course the "sex" aspect of it. If you bought or rented the film for that alone then you're in for a huge let down as the sex in the film is romantic (as it should be), and appropiately does not placate to the baser aspects of the genre. Back then, as a preadolescent boy with raging hormones, I admittedly found it a cheap thrill. But as an adult I can appreciate the scenes for what they are; tender moments between the characters.

A reshoot would be an interesting undertaking. With a reworked script to subtract the T&A and revamp the "comedy" the story could be properly told, and enjoyed. As it is now it's worth a night's rental, but not much else.