2000, PG, 113 minutes

In a time of conflict between Washington and Hollywood, Remember the Titans is the perfect film to release. It's a film about football on the surface, but more importantly, it has a social conscience and is really about black people and white people coming together in a time of extreme separation. And while a positive moral-statement is certainly a good thing, the film's message is so incredibly blatant and unsubtle that even a headline-grabbing politician would have trouble missing it. Still, Titans has a lot of heart, which carries it through to the end and makes it worth watching.

Perhaps what makes the sappy parts of this film bearable is the fact that it's based on a true story. Herman Boone (Denzel Washington) is appointed as the new football coach at T.C. Williams high school in Virginia. Normally the appointment of a new coach wouldn't be such a big deal, but Boone happens to be black and the school happens to be integrating. With a team divided between black players and white players, Boone, along with the initially hesitant help of the old coach (Will Patton), must bring them together, not to mention set an example for the rest of the school and the surrounding community.

The first and most obvious criticism towards Remember the Titans is the over-use of singing. It felt as though every time the slightest conflict of racial tension came up, everyone would start singing and suddenly they were all friends again. Now, I don't know about you, but the people I've known in my life don't break into chorus whenever they're in an awkward situation. Given that, some of these moments are actually quite effective, but I don't think we needed quite so many of them.

A lot of people will probably trash this film and call it sappy or trite, and although I do agree with them, that doesn't make it a bad movie-going experience. The message of two races becoming one is literally shoved down our throats from beginning to end, but the characters and the story have enough spirit and heart that I found myself enjoying it none-the-less. I was also glad to see that director Boaz Yakin and screenwriter Gregory Allen Howard didn't drag out the action on the field, because clearly football wasn't the focus.

As for the cast, Denzel Washington is good -- as if I had to tell you that. His portrayal as coach Boone certainly isn't the best performance of his career, but as usual he gets the job done and we believe every minute of it. Will Patton, a highly underrated actor, is also good as the former coach who comes to terms with working with a black man, and generally the actors who play on the football team are decent.

If you're looking for a film that takes you on a journey and then leaves you with a completely different message than you were expecting, Remember the Titans isn't it. While this film may be extremely unsubtle in its intentions, the message is a good one and the acting is solid, so overall I'd recommend it.