Kicking & Screaming(2005)

Submitted by Silvermarc

POOPER:
Phil Weston’s (Will Ferrell’s) soccer team beats his father Buck Weston’s (Robert Duvall’s) team in the finals. Phil wins the Pele soccer ball, but allows his father to keep it. Phil and Buck merge their two businesses.

LONG VERSION:
Phil Weston (Will Ferrell), scarred by his father Buck Weston’s (Robert Duvall) lifelong over-competitiveness, runs a small vitamin store. Buck operates a chain of sporting goods stores and coaches the dominant youth soccer team, the Gladiators. Phil’s son, Sam (Dylan McLaughlin), plays for the Gladiators but is consistently benched by Buck, just as Phil was as a child. Buck eventually trades Sam to the league’s worst team, the Tigers, devastating Sam. Phil consoles Sam by emphasizing he’ll get more playing time.

At the Tigers’ first game, their coach is absent. Phil steps in to prevent a forfeit and becomes their permanent coach. The Tigers, including players Mark Avery (Steven Anthony Lawrence), Hunter Davidson (Jeremy Bergman), Byong Sun Hogan-Jones (Elliot Cho), goalie Connor Ryan (Dallas McKinney), Ambrose Hanna (Erik Walker), and Jack Watson (Sammy Fine), suffer a humiliating 13-0 loss to Buck’s Gladiators. Despite Phil’s efforts, the team remains demotivated and fails to improve. Desperate, Phil recruits Buck’s neighbor and enemy, Mike Ditka, as an assistant coach. Enticed by the chance to beat Buck, Ditka accepts. Even with Ditka’s grueling training, the Tigers keep losing.

Ditka introduces Phil to two talented Italian brothers, Gian Piero (Francesco Liotti) and Massimo (Alessandro Ruggiero), sons of a local butcher. Phil convinces their uncle to let them play for the Tigers. The brothers have an immediate impact, scoring repeatedly and sparking a winning streak that makes the Tigers championship contenders. After Phil boasts about their potential, he and Buck make a bet: if the Gladiators win the championship, Phil sells his store and works for Buck; if the Tigers win, Buck gives Phil the “Pelé Ball,” a prized soccer ball signed by Pelé that Phil caught as a child, which Buck took from him.

Meanwhile, Ditka introduces Phil to coffee. This rapidly transforms Phil from a mild-mannered father into an obnoxious, hyper-competitive coach mirroring Buck’s worst traits. He verbally abuses players, parents, and opponents. The team’s strategy simplifies to “Get the ball to the Italians,” demoralizing the other players. In an act mirroring his father, Phil benches Sam for the entire semi-final game. Furthermore, Ditka resigns as assistant coach just before the championship game due to Phil’s unsportsmanlike conduct, including teaching the team to hurt opponents.

The Tigers face the Gladiators in the championship final. At halftime, the Gladiators lead 2-1. During the break, Phil has a heart-to-heart with Sam and realizes the error of his ways. He apologizes to the team and instructs them to do the opposite of everything he previously taught them. Although the Gladiators score again after halftime, making it 3-1, the Tigers don’t give up. Phil helps goalie Connor Ryan with a vision test using glasses from the crowd. Ambrose Hanna scores, narrowing the gap to 3-2. The Tigers score again to tie the game 3-3. The team rallies, producing a spectacular team performance. Sam scores the winning goal against his uncle, Bucky Weston (Josh Hutcherson) – Buck’s son from his second wife, Janice Weston (Musetta Vander), and Phil’s younger half-brother born the same day as Sam – using a move he practiced while benched. The Tigers win 4-3.

Phil apologizes to Ditka, who accepts. Honoring the bet, Buck tries to give Phil the Pelé Ball, but Phil refuses. Phil and Buck reconcile, realizing there is more to life than winning. They decide to merge their businesses (Phil’s Pills and Buck’s Sporting Goods).