''That Championship Season '' is a 1999 American
made-for-television
A television film, alternatively known as a television movie, made-for-TV film/movie or TV film/movie, is a feature-length film that is produced and originally distributed by or to a television network, in contrast to theatrical films made fo ...
drama film
In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super ...
about the 20th reunion of four members of a championship high school basketball team and their coach. The film is based on
Jason Miller's 1972
Pulitzer Prize-winning
play of the same name, and is the second film adaptation of the play, after the
1982 feature film. The film was directed by
Paul Sorvino
Paul Anthony Sorvino (, ; April 13, 1939 – July 25, 2022) was an American actor. He often portrayed authority figures on both the criminal and the law enforcement sides of the law.
Sorvino was particularly known for his roles as Lucchese cri ...
, who also stars as the coach; he had earlier appeared, as one of the former players, in both the original stage production and the 1982 film.
In addition to Sorvino, ''That Championship Season'' stars
Vincent D'Onofrio
Vincent Philip D'Onofrio (; born June 30, 1959) is an American actor and filmmaker. He is known for his supporting and leading roles in both film and television. He has been nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award.
His roles include Private Leonar ...
,
Terry Kinney
Terry Kinney (born January 29, 1954) is an American actor and theater director, and is a founding member of the Steppenwolf Theatre Company, with John Malkovich, Laurie Metcalf, Gary Sinise, and Jeff Perry. Kinney is best known for his role as ...
, Tony Shalhoub and Gary Sinise, who portray the four former players. The screenplay was by Miller, who had also written the screenplay for the 1982 film.
Plot
Phil, James, George, and Tom meet 20 years after their championship high school game at a special reunion at their high school. Afterwards, they decide to visit the home of their old coach. While at first it seems they are all having a few harmless drinks, the night soon takes a violent turn as several things are realized; Phil is having an affair with George's wife, George (who is running for mayor) is firing James, who is his campaign chairman, and Tom has become a reeling drunk.
With the help of their old Coach, the men try to put their lives back together—but the Coach proves to be nothing they believed him to have been, and worse than no help; in fact, his involvement with each of the men's lives proves to have done them all much more harm than good. This is particularly glaring because of the refusal of the star player, who still hates the Coach after all these years, to attend the reunion.
Featured cast
See also
* List of basketball films
References
External links
*
*{{IBDB title, 3549
1999 television films
1999 films
American drama television films
1999 drama films
American films based on plays
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer films
Films set in Pennsylvania
Television shows based on plays
American basketball films
1990s American films