First off, this is an OK film, no more, no less. I've never been much of a fan of Dennis Quaid, even though we hail from the same town. His essential cockiness, though, seems made for this part. Jessica Lange was, as always, very beautiful, even though she exhibits a bit of hard-edged brittleness. John Goodman turned in a very good performance. All three seemed a bit too old to pass for college kids, but hey, what're you gonna do when your film spans 25-plus years? The central themes were old, familiar, and a bit tired. In general, it seems that football movies are a lot harder to make than baseball movies, for obvious reasons. The action sequences were mostly done pretty well. Overall, this one is probably worth a Netflix rental, but don't spend any money on it.

Spanning 25 years, this film chronicles the life of 4 students at a Louisiana university. One, a football hero, must come to grips with his life after the glory years are over. His wife becomes unhappy with the way her marriage is going as her husband ignores her more and more. Tragedy follows one of the other students, while the last is the most successful of the four. Good performances were given by all, however, I felt the story could have been presented better in some places.

A very watchable impression of Frank DeFord's novel. The bigger they come the harder they fall. This story follows most of the life of Louisiana football legend Gavin Grey(Dennis Quaid). The "Grey Ghost" lived big with a life sustained by adoring football fans for his exploits on and off the football field. He married his number one fan and cheerleader Babs(Jessica Lange)who shared his glory, heartaches and tragedies. His brother Donnie(Timothy Hutton)and best friend Lawrence(John Goodman)tried to keep Grey grounded and at the same time kept him high on admiration. Carl Lumbly plays Narvel Blue who's competitive nature like Grey's built a strong friendship. As years passed, so did the glory wane...the football hero just had trouble realizing it. Like Elvis Presley once said "The image is one thing and the man is another. It's often hard for the man to live up to the image."

I've always liked Dennis Quaid and thought his cockiness made the role of a self-centered football player come easy. Impressing is the fact he did some of his own stunts and separated a collar bone taking a solid hit on the field. He looked like a natural. For the stunning Lange, she seemed flawless as the cheerleader with only one thing on her mind...her idol the "Grey Ghost". Marriage matured her, but at fault lived sharing the glory surrounding a Louisiana favorite son. Goodman deserves more credit than he usually gets. How can you not like his bosom buddy character? Retired pro, semi-pro and top college athletes provided the realism on the playing field. You don't have to be a football fan to enjoy EVERYBODY'S ALL-American.