'Home Team' review: Real-life scandal inspired film makes sports fun again

Netflix, with its latest offering, Adam Sandler's Happy Madison-produced film, Home Team, is on a mission to make sports fun again.

Directed by Charles and Daniel Kinnane, along with Chris Titone and Keith Blum as writers, the American sports comedy film is inspired by actual events. It revolves around New Orleans Saints head coach Sean Payton and his suspension from the NFL, which led him to coach his son's football team.

Note: This article contains spoilers and reflects the opinion of the writer.

---

'Home Team' review

Home Team revolves around New Orleans Saints' 2011-12 scandal, where coaches agreed to pay their defensive players extra money or 'bounty' to inflict bodily harm on the opposition.

The program, in effect since 2009, took down defensive coordinator Gregg Williams and head coach Sean Payton, slapping them with year-long suspensions.

While the film might not be a Moneyball, it is a story of a man who turned punishment into a lesson. Although the film is based on a true story, it still feels like a shallow representation of sports, parenthood, and comedy, to some extent. The film falls somewhere along the lines of Little Giants and Bad News Bears.

Kevin James' performance as a coach is worth watching. He is known for his buffoonery, and seeing him as an arrogant and stubborn character was something never seen before. It was definitely an outstanding performance that helped sell the character of Coach Payton.

Home Team, for the most part, softens the playbook that Adam Sandler's Happy Madison Productions films have been using for years, from The Longest Yard remake to The Waterboy. A film where the protagonist has something to prove is always a win, but adding toilet bowl humor definitely balanced the lessons out and made it a light watch.

Rob Schneider's Jamie felt like the exact opposite of an NFL coach. The meditation and wheat grass-loving new husband of Payton's ex-wife shone throughout. Kevin James' brother, Gary Valentine, also stood out with his constant humor and sarcasm.

Home Team, in typical Happy Madison fashion, is like a cross-section of supporting characters who provide broad gags and snarky comments throughout the film.

Turning one of the NFL's most violent and notorious scandals into a family film about loving football again would definitely have been a challenge, but Home Team did it anyway.

Home Team is now streaming on Netflix.