Wildcats (1986)

Director:

Michael Ritchie

Writer:

Ezra Sacks (writer)

Release Date:

14 February 1986 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Sport

Tagline:

Her dream was to coach high school football. Her nightmare was Central High.

Plot:

Molly is a highschool track coach who knows just as much about football as anyone else on the planet...

Plot Keywords:

Shower Scene | Bare Butt | Male Nudity | Coach | Bathtub Scene

Awards:

1 nomination

Cast

Goldie Hawn	...	Molly McGrath
Swoosie Kurtz	...	Verna McGrath
Robyn Lively	...	Alice Needham
Brandy Gold	...	Marian Needham
James Keach	...	Frank Needham
Jan Hooks	...	Stephanie Needham
Bruce McGill	...	Dan Darwell
Nipsey Russell	...	Ben Edwards
Mykelti Williamson	...	Levander 'Bird' Williams (as Mykel T. Williamson)
Tab Thacker	...	Phillip Finch
Wesley Snipes	...	Trumaine
Jsu Garcia	...	Cerulo (as Nick Corri)
Woody Harrelson	...	Krushinski
Willie J. Walton	...	Marvel
Rodney Hill	...	Peanut

Also Known As:

First and Goal

Runtime:

106 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Iceland:L | Argentina:13 | Chile:14 | Finland:S | Singapore:NC-16 | Sweden:Btl | USA:R

Filming Locations:

Chicago, Illinois, USA

Company:

Hawn / Sylbert Movie Company

Trivia:

The "Football" song/rap and video the Wilcats team performs at the end of the movie when the credits are rolled, is a parody of the 1985 Chicago Bears' video of "The Super Bowl Shuffle", the year the Bears won the Super Bowl.

Goofs:

Continuity: During the final play of the championship game against Prescott, the Prescott kick is blocked by Finch, and the ball is subsequently returned for the winning touchdown by Levander "Bird" Williams. However, in shots of coach McGrath just before the play began, Bird is on the sideline just behind her.

Quotes:

[repeated line]
Ben Edwards: Right.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Saturday Night Live: Robin Williams/James Taylor (#13.9)" (1988)

Soundtrack:

Show Me How It Works

Football yuks with jockstrap jokes...

Goldie Hawn is her usual fizzy, feisty self playing a football-crazy coach trying to whip a high school team into shape. The young men are made up of delinquents and goof-offs, but can Goldie work her magic on them before the big game? "The Bad News Bears"'s Michael Ritchie directed, and it's the kind of comedy knock-off you'd expect from any Hollywood hack but Ritchie (hopefully he was well paid). Supporting cast is unusually good, with Woody Harrelson and Wesley Snipes in early roles, Swoosie Kurtz doing her likable sisterly bit, Nipsey Russell nicely low-keyed as a school official, Jan Hooks wonderful as the new woman in Hawn's ex-husband's life, and handsome Bruce McGill as the enemy coach (although he gets the worst scenes, particularly at end when he's forced to shout "Search his jock!" and then roll around in the mud). Hawn herself has an embarrassing moment nude in the bathtub, and the sub-plot with her boring ex is just time wasted on the clock, but her forthright comic performance just about saves "Wildcats" from the cookie-cutter bargain-bin. ** from ****