Chirphymium It's entirely possible that sending the audience out feeling lousy was intentional

Bea Swanson This film is so real. It treats its characters with so much care and sensitivity.

Adeel Hail Unshakable, witty and deeply felt, the film will be paying emotional dividends for a long, long time.

Mandeep Tyson The acting in this movie is really good.

mattbarker7 In October of 2010, my wife and I were attending the Ohio State-Purdue football game. During timeouts and halftime at the closed end of Ohio Stadium, they would film brief scenes. We knew beforehand that this was going to take place, but we didn't know the name of the film. It wasn't until last night -- nearly eight years later -- that I would actually get to watch this movie. This film takes place in the early 90s, around the same time I was attending The Ohio State University. Students at OSU come from all over the state, the country, and the world. But during my time I became friends with several of those similar to the main character of this film, who come from small Ohio towns in less than ideal situations just wanting to better themselves.The main character -- Scott Murphy -- was the star quarterback at Coldwater High School and was the state's Mr. Football with a scholarship offer to Ohio State. But he severely injures his leg on the final play of the state championship game as he scores the winning touchdown. The movie begins several years later as Scott works on his farm in Coldwater. He's married to a former classmate and band member from his high school with two children. Scott finds himself in debt and his farm is struggling due to an early frost and a broken header on his combine. To add insult to injury, his high school teammate who played both in college and the NFL returns to Coldwater with Scott's former cheerleader girlfriend. As his depression mounts, Scott decides to kill himself via carbon monoxide poisoning in his truck. After he passes out, he's back in 1991 as a high school senior. But here's the thing: for nearly the rest of the movie, he's in a DREAM. Other reviewers have suggested that he's transported back in time or it's like the movie "17 Again." It's not. It's just a dream. There's no shot at redemption, nor does he alter his future by making any different decisions, including the final play of the state championship game, Later, he wakes up to discover that his truck ran out of gas. Scott then walks to town, but finds no one there and heads back to the farm. When Scott returns, the citizens are out in full force picking his soybean crop by hand. In the end, he appears happy with the decisions he made in his life with no regrets. Overall, it's a very good movie. I thought it was well written and well executed. Yes, the high school football players depicted in the film all look like they're in their 30s. But other than that small detail, I enjoyed the film very much.

TxMike This is a nice feel-good movie with a good message, but handled a bit too simplistically. Its broad point is that as we grow into middle age many have regrets, we may tell ourselves if we could just change this thing or that, our lives would be a lot better. But maybe our lives are the best they can be simply by accepting who we are and the choices we have made. Brian Presley is Scott Murphy , Ohio's High School "Mr Football" for 1991. As the movie opens it is 1991 and as the senior quarterback is leading his underdog team from little Coldwater, population 2700, towards the state football championship. The final play with just a few seconds left in the game requires him to sacrifice his own body, to dive into the end zone to score. As the camera pulls back from an overhead shot we see his left leg badly bent back into an impossible position, destined to be crippled for life.Flash forward 20 years, the homecoming game is at hand, Scott is now a farmer, just barely surviving, and walking with a bad limp and a full leg brace. His hopes of playing football at Ohio State were discarded, and frequently the thoughts of 1991 run through his mind, what if he had not been injured. What if he looked out for himself, played college ball, became rich, had been able to move away from his little town, which he refers demeaningly as 'Backwater.'The filmmakers were fortunate to snag Kurt Russell to play the part of Coach Hand. Plus Brit Melanie Lynskey to play Scott's wife, Macy . (Interestingly in the BD extras she speaks with her 'American' accent.) Christine Lahti is good in a smaller but essential role as Scott's mother, Thelma .This is a good small film with a true message, life is best lived as a series of moments all strung together without regret and second-guessing about choices we made. It has some elements of 'Peggy Sue Got Married' in it, it uses a device to allow Scott a glimpse at what life might have been if he had made different choices.SPOILERS: In present time Scott is about to forfeit on his loan, and lose the farm. He needs to get his soy bean crop in after an early frost. But the last bean harvester available breaks down, his 200 acres of beans surely lost, he drives to a remote location, plugs the exhaust of his old pickup truck, and sits inside with the motor running. But he awakes back in 1991, he has a chance to experience that fateful week all over. At first he decides he will sit out the game, to avoid injury, save himself for his college career. But Coach Hand gives him a talk about life and giving it your all. Scott plays and as the game is ending we are brought right back to where the movie began. Scott had the chance to call a different play, to save himself, but he again made the winning score and damaged his leg. But when he awoke to find himself alive in present time, the truck had run out of fuel, he found the town deserted, everyone was harvesting his beans by hand, to save his farm. So, was it just a dream?

tkw218 SPOILER! Seriously missed the mark. I couldn't connect with the characters, couldn't feel for the reformed bully jock, his band geek future wife, the stock inspirational coach (come ON Kurt, you're better than this!), the hard-working downtrodden hard as nails single mom who NEVER saw her 'Mr. Football' son play a game? Not even his senior state championship David and Goliath game?! Please!!! If I got a second chance like this cat, I wouldn't watch this movie again, much less run the same play that crippled him the first time around. Feel good movie? Not really - I felt mild disgust at the melodrama, but it couldn't even get my emotions worked up enough to go much beyond apathy!

vcastilino Touchback is the story of a football player who gets a chance to relive his high school days, at the end of which 15 years ago, he injured his leg and thereby lost his chance to go to college and play as a professional. As he finds himself in a known situation, he relooks at the very things (present) knowing well what is the future. Initially he is excited that he can now literally rewrite the past, especially his dream of getting out of the small native town he has grown up in and become a professional football player. However, his interactions with his coach, his own single mother and most of all with an unknown girl (who in his present is his wife) in the college - not unknown, but he never really did notice her then - he begins to see the beauty of the present. His mother challenges him to be happy now, rather than eternally keep chasing happiness in the future. Finally when he actually has a chance to change the present, in line with his grand plans for the future, he does the same as he did then, 15 years ago... all for the sake of retaining what is most important in life... love and friendship of those dear and not personal plans for glory.I wonder how many of us, if given a chance to go back into our past and change things, would change the whole of it? Or some of it? Or most of it? Blessed are those who will live it as it is and be happy about it! Because only then will each present moment count and every choice made valuable, because my present is more important than my past or the future... because my choice for the right and lasting things of life is more important than momentary glory and honour.http://vcastilino.blogspot.in/