The Slaughter Rule (2002)

It's sort of a sports story, but a very odd one. Ryan Gosling plays a kid who is cut from his high school football team. David Morse recruits him to play roughneck six-on-six football in money games. This is a sport played by guys who just love to play ball. They play in the snow, in windy open fields, where the crowd is sitting in cars on the sidelines. They play for pride, and a sense of accomplishment, and the sense of comradeship, and maybe because they are more than a little crazy.

Don't think it's going to be one of those stirring stories like Hoosiers. These guys don't always win. Some days they have to struggle mightily to avoid losing early on the so-called "slaughter rule", which says that the game is called if either team falls behind by 45. Not only that, but Morse, as the coach, turns out to have some very dark secrets.

And, don’t think this is going to be a movie in which you get to see Ryan Gosling naked. You’ll have to settle for just shirtless Ryan Gosling which, actually, is pretty good. It’s Ryan Gosling!