Movie Review For Touchback

Posted by Charmaine Blake on Apr 16th, 2012 in Drama, Fantasy, Sci-Fi | 0 comments

Movie Review For Touchback

Touchback is a drama/fantasy movie that revolves around the story of a former high school football star who turned out to be a family man/farmer in the future. Scott Murphy played by Brian Presley suddenly finds out that he has this one opportunity to go back in time and relive the glory days in the championship in Ohio State. It was during this time that he had permanently injured his knee in a game-winning play. This is basically his second chance to become who he truly wants to be. How the story unfolds will decide how his current future will be. An interesting story line, so how was Touchback received by people all over the country? Let’s take a look at a couple of movie review from critics:

“Turning Back The Hands Of Time For Touchback

Coldwater, Ohio seems like it might resemble a lot of small towns these days. It’s a mere shell of a community in the wake of its factory closing, with a local bank that can no longer help but foreclose on properties following an especially weak harvest. For Scott Murphy (Brian Presley), the circumstances — combined with a career-ending football injury from long ago — are enough to drive him to suicide, out of hopes that his family can live on with the settlement from his life insurance.

As Scott attempts to grow soybeans, though, writer-director Don Handfield is all about reaping the corn, and his Touchback isn’t the second coming of The Grapes of Wrath so much as it is a sturdy (if safe) update of It’s a Wonderful Life. For whatever reason — we do dwell on his medal from that fateful state championship game — Scott’s suicide attempt instead returns him back to 1991, his senior year of high school, to see if he’d still choose his cheerleader girlfriend at the time and the promise of Ohio State glory over his eventual wife, Macy (Melanie Lynskey), the daughters they would have and The Play That Would Change Everything.

It’s a film resolutely disinterested in surprises and positively steeped in nostalgia (the soundtrack runs the gamut from the ‘90s, with “Life is a Highway,” to the ‘70s, with “More Than a Feeling”), but at the risk of damning with faint praise, Touchback is the type of small-town drama that tends to turn out much worse — much preachier in its content, more amateurish in its presentation — only to receive a pass for promoting wholesome values above actual filmmaking faculties.”

The rest of the review can be read at Film.com

Here’s another take on the movie: Touchback from Brian Orndorf

“Touchback: A Flawed Yet Amiable Film

The premise of a life relived is a favorite one for filmmakers. It’s a tempting fantasy, allowing viewers a chance to reconsider their personal choices through the experience of the lead characters, losing themselves in significant displays of nostalgia and perspective. Think “It’s a Wonderful Life” or “Peggy Sue Got Married,” two features extracting an ideal amount of wonder and misery from their oddball presentations of askew time travel. “Touchback” isn’t quite as polished or deep, but it retains a sizable heart and commitment to a theme of appreciation, providing those who enjoy slightly hokier entertainment with a warm viewing event that’s predictable yet engaging. ”

Click here to read the rest of the review from BrianOrndorf.com

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Charmaine Blake loves movies, musical theater listening to music and taking pictures of anything that she finds interesting. She is a voracious reader and writer, and enjoys her time writing for New Movie Launches. Charmaine loves spending time with her pets and currently has a Siberian Husky, a toy poodle and a cat.