Movie Review: ‘The 5th Quarter’

I don’t believe I’ve ever reviewed a movie here before, but there’s no time like the present to start! The film “The 5^th Quarter”, starring Andie MacDowell and Aidan Quinn, was a Christmas gift, and I got a chance to watch shortly thereafter. Forewarning, for those of you planning to watch this movie at some point, the following paragraphs contain spoilers.

Andie MacDowell and Aidan Quinn (now appearing in CBS’ Elementary on Thursday nights) delivered magnificent performances as the parents of a young boy who is killed in a car accident, and then serves as inspiration for the Wake Forest football team, as they turn in one of the best seasons in the history of the program. Both MacDowell and Quinn performed emotionally-charged scenes and sequences very well, and both were quite impressive throughout the film.

Josh Abbate is the oldest brother of the deceased young man, and he is supposed to be the one who provides the spark plug for a Wake Forest team that was predicted to finish in dead last before the season. Although the movie is touted as a football film, the football storyline was very secondary to the emotional roller coaster members of the Abbate family were on following their youngest member’s tragic death.

The filmmakers used real footage from Wake Forest games in the movie, including a SportsCenter report that featured a field goal that was blocked by then-Clemson player Gaines Adams. For someone who supposedly “led the team” to the ACC championship and into a bowl game, Abbate had very few on-screen appearances on the field or in uniform. It would have been nice to see more action shots of him or the description should have been altered.

Stellar performances by MacDowell and Quinn can’t completely save the film that had a mediocre plot and a sadness storyline that dominated a movie that was supposed to be about football. All things considered, ‘The 5^th Quarter’ receives a B-, 6/10 rating.