Everybody's All-American

Based on the novel by Frank Deford, this spans 25 years in the lives of three characters: Gavin Grey (Quaid), Babs (Lange), and Gavin's nephew Donnie (Hutton). Everybody loves Gavin. Revered as a footballer, he leaves college to go professional and marries Babs, while peripheral Donnie - juggling his naive regard for Gavin alongside a latent passion for Babs - heads for an academic career. Typically of such scenarios, the story charts the trials which beset the golden couple, and the self-realisation which comes with hardship and maturity. The idolatry which surrounds Gavin verges on the absurd, making it nearly impossible to establish sympathy for him or those who adore him. Given the material, the performances are competent enough; but Hackford and cinematographer Stephen Goldblatt are too indulgent in creating a near-religion out of the characters' self-absorption.