''Comeback Season'' is a 2006 film directed by

Bruce McCulloch Bruce Ian McCulloch is a Canadian actor, comedian, writer, musician and film director. McCulloch is perhaps best known for his work as a member of the comedy troupe The Kids in the Hall, including starring in the TV series of the same name. He ...

. It stars

Ray Liotta Raymond Allen Liotta (; December 18, 1954 – May 26, 2022) was an American actor. He was best known for his roles as Shoeless Joe Jackson in '' Field of Dreams'' (1989) and Henry Hill in Martin Scorsese's ''Goodfellas'' (1990). He was a Pri ...

as Walter Pearce, a married man who, with the help of local football star Skylar Eckerman (Sipos), tries to win back his wife (Headly) after cheating on her. Filming took place in

Calgary Calgary ( ) is the largest city in the western Canadian province of Alberta and the largest metro area of the three Prairie Provinces. As of 2021, the city proper had a population of 1,306,784 and a metropolitan population of 1,481,806, maki ...

Alberta Alberta ( ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is part of Western Canada and is one of the three prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to the west, Saskatchewan to the east, the Northwest Ter ...

. One of the local iconic sites that this movie filmed at was Megatunes Inc, an independent music shop located in uptown Calgary that sold mainly blues and jazz while supporting independent musicians. The film premiered at the 2006

Tribeca Film Festival The Tribeca Festival is an annual film festival organized by Tribeca Productions. It takes place each spring in New York City, showcasing a diverse selection of film, episodic, talks, music, games, art, and immersive programming. Tribeca was ...

, and released to DVD in the United States on March 27, 2007.

Plot

''Comeback Season'' is about two selfish men who are unable to appreciate what they have until it is gone. Together, they try to win it back before it is too late. The movie begins with Walter's daughter, Chloe, getting engaged at a family dinner. After Chloe's fiancé says that he hopes to be half as good a man as Walter, Walter feels guilty and admits to everyone that he had an affair with his secretary. Walter subsequently loses everything—his wife kicks him out of the house, his daughters want nothing to do with him, HR fires him after finding out about the affair with his secretary, and all but his

Sears Sears, Roebuck and Co. ( ), commonly known as Sears, is an American chain of department stores founded in 1892 by Richard Warren Sears and Alvah Curtis Roebuck and reincorporated in 1906 by Richard Sears and Julius Rosenwald, with what began ...

credit card are denied. Having no where else to go, Walter moves in with his equally selfish next-door neighbor, Skylar. Skylar is the town's egocentric high school football star who has just lost his prospective college scholarship after injuring his knee. Prior to his injury, Skylar perpetually mistreated others, especially the college football recruiters and his former flame Chloe (who happens to be Walt's daughter). Skylar's injury deepens his self-involved attitude and he spends his days wallowing in self-pity. Both in a slump, the men help each other appreciate what they had taken for granted for so long. Walt quickly realizes that the only thing that ever mattered was his family; he just wishes it hadn't taken himself so long to realize that. For the remainder of the film, Walt unsuccessfully tries to win back his family through various scenes. When the family asks Walter to have a

STI STI may refer to: In science and technology Biology and psychology * Sexually transmitted infection * Signal transduction inhibitor, a drug type * Soft tissue injury * Symptom targeted intervention, for treating depression Electronics and comp ...

test, Walt realizes that by not putting his family first, he had irresponsibly put his wife's life at risk. Walt realizes that his selfish actions not only had life-altering consequences for himself but also lasting implications for his family. Disgusted by her father's indiscretions and his inability to live with his own actions, Chloe uninvites her father to her wedding. On Chloe's wedding day, Walter's family finally forgives him after he sends them a video on the camcorder his wife gave him before their separation. While living together, Walt encourages Skylar to continue to train despite his injury, using at-home physical therapy techniques such as a weighted vest in a pool. After weeks of training Skylar goes to a

University of Washington The University of Washington (UW, simply Washington, or informally U-Dub) is a public research university in Seattle, Washington. Founded in 1861, Washington is one of the oldest universities on the West Coast; it was established in Seat ...

recruiter tryout and impresses the coaches when he hits his targets 60 yards away. This ultimately leads to a mascot scholarship with the potential to play after his surgery. Learning from Walt's missteps of not appreciating what he had, Skylar realizes his feelings for Chloe and asks her to Prom. Coincidentally, Skylar and Christine discover they are going to the same college in the Fall. The final scene shows Skylar and Christine driving to the University of Washington, hinting at a potential romantic future for the pair.

Cast

as Walter Pearce *

Shaun Sipos Shaun Sipos (born October 30, 1981) is a Canadian actor, known for playing Jack on the ABC series '' Complete Savages'', Eric Daniels on ''Life Unexpected,'' David Breck on The CW series ''Melrose Place'', Aaron Whitmore on The CW's ''The Vamp ...

as Skylar Eckerman, Walter's next-door neighbor and the town's star football player who injures his knee. *

Glenne Headly Glenne Aimee Headly (March 13, 1955 – June 8, 2017) was an American actress. She was widely known for her roles in '' Dirty Rotten Scoundrels'', '' Dick Tracy'', and '' Mr. Holland's Opus''. Headly received a Theatre World Award and four Josep ...

as Deborah Pearce, Walter's wife *

Rachel Blanchard Rachel Blanchard (born 19 March 1976) is a Canadian actress.Rachel Blanchard's bio
at ...

as Chloe Pearce, Walter older daughter *

Brooke Nevin Brooke Candice Nevin (born December 22, 1982) is a Canadian actress, best known for portraying Rachel on the science fiction series '' Animorphs'' (1998–1999) and as Julianne "Jules" Simms (2011–2012) on ''Breakout Kings ''Breakout Kings ...

as Christine Pearce, Walter older daughter *

Brendan Fehr Brendan Jacob Joel Fehr (born October 29, 1977) is a Canadian film and television actor, perhaps best known for portraying Michael Guerin in the WB television series ''Roswell'', and for portraying lab tech Dan Cooper in '' CSI: Miami''. In 20 ...

as Paul, Chloe's fiancé *Josh Emerson as Dinky

References

External links

* {{Bruce McCulloch 2006 films 2006 comedy films Films shot in Edmonton Films shot in Los Angeles Films directed by Bruce McCulloch Films with screenplays by Bruce McCulloch American comedy films Films shot in Calgary Canadian comedy films English-language Canadian films 2000s English-language films 2000s American films 2000s Canadian films English-language comedy films