Phil proposes to his college sweetheart, only to find his dad has met a woman Phil’s age too. Phil opens up his vitamin shop, but dad already has five sporting goods stores. Even when Phil’s son is born, dad has another kid the same day. Phil’s new brother happens to weigh an ounce more than his son, by the way.
As their kids grow up, the competitive urge between Phil and his dad does not diminish. In fact, their children’s participation in youth soccer provides new avenues for Phil and Buck to duke it out. Buck even goes so far as to trade away Phil’s son Sam (Dylan McLaughlin) from the team he coaches, the Gladiators, to the last place Tigers. Phil takes over the coachless Tigers, placing him in direct competition with his old man. As always though, anything Phil can do, Buck can do better.
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"Kicking and Screaming"
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 Entertainment
 Art
Directed by Jesse Dylan
Written by Leo Benvenuti and Steve Rudnick
Starring Will Ferrell, Robert Duvall, and Mike Ditka
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Of course, Phil is not helped much by his team; the Tigers are in last place for a reason. They are a typical “Bad News Bears” variety group of misfits: a slow big kid named Ambrose (Erik Walker), a smart-aleck named Mark (Steven Anthony Lawrence), the diminutive Byong Sun (Elliot Cho), and so on. I’m not entirely sure why these kids are out there playing soccer; none of them seem to be enthusiastic about the game. I’d wager this is an exercise in proactive parenting for the families involved.
However, all is not lost for Phil; soon he finds an unlikely ally in Buck’s feuding neighbor, hall of fame football coach “Iron” Mike Ditka (as himself). Through Ditka’s guidance and motivation, Phil and the team start to improve, although wins seem out of the question. Until, that is, Ditka leads Phil to a pair of soccer phenoms from Italy, the nephews of a local butcher. Ditka also introduces Phil to coffee, the drink of real men (according to the star of those Levitra ads).
Eventually, thanks to the coaching (and caffeine) Phil begins to prowl the sidelines in full Ditka-mode. He barks out orders (to players, refs, parents, anyone really), he wields a whistle like a saber, and wears his tracksuit as a coat of armor. The team’s game plan is simple: get the ball to the Italians, who play the Tatum O’Neal role in this film. The strategy works, and the Tigers see an immediate turnaround. Of course, the other kids don’t seem to be benefiting from any of this; at least they’re winning though, which is all that really counts, right?
Later, Phil goes off the deep end, morphing from a fierce competitor like Ditka to a Bobby Knight or Jerry Tarkanian level nutjob. Sure he’s in a position to beat his old man at his own game, but he had to become his dad to do it. Eventually, Phil learns the error of his ways, and the kids manage to pick up a few moves despite of Phil’s inept management. It’s an all-around feel good ending for a pretty amusing sports comedy.
The success of the film rests squarely on the shoulders of Will Ferrell, who is fast becoming the breakout comedy superstar of this decade. Ferrell has a knack for material like this, where he plays a character full of insecurities simmering just below the surface waiting to bubble over. Phil is a lot like “Old School” Frank the Tank in that regard. He’s a mild mannered guy, who just might explode if he has to wait in line for a half-caff, or if the ref blows a call on the field. A crucial element to this is that Ferrell has a way of vocalizing his rage (or confusion or sadness) that is spellbindingly hilarious.
Although his talent carries much of the film, Ferrell is in good company here, particularly with Duvall and (believe it or not) Ditka. Duvall manages to make Buck menacing and vicious, but there are moments where he lets Buck’s kindness for his son shine through- fleeting glances to be sure, but they are there. Ditka, however, is something of a revelation: he is spectacularly funny in this film. He plays a caricature of himself, but to sustain that performance over the length of the film is pretty amazing for someone with as little acting experience as he has. I have to wonder why it’s taken so long for someone to use him in a movie like this; perhaps this could lead to a whole new career for “Da Coach.” It could happen! As former SNL superfan Chris Farley once said, “Ditka’ll find a way.”
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