Gridiron Gang is a 2006 American sports drama film directed by Phil Joanou, and starring Dwayne Johnson, Xzibit, L. Scott Caldwell and Kevin Dunn. It is loosely based on the true story of the Kilpatrick Mustangs during the 1990 season. The film was released in the United States on September 15, 2006. It was distributed by Sony Pictures Releasing and Columbia Pictures.

Plot

Sean Porter (Dwayne Johnson) works at Kilpatrick Detention Center in Los Angeles. He becomes frustrated at not being able to help the kids get away from their problems in life when they are released from the center, such as street gangs and drug dealings. He decides to create a football team so the kids can feel like they re part of something. Porter believes that football will teach the teenage inmates what it takes to be responsible, mature, and disciplined winners.

He picks out a few kids in the room that he feels will benefit from this program and requires that they practice with him the following day. He states to his new team, the Kilpatrick Mustangs, You do it my way, not your way. Your way got you here and you re here because you lost. Right now you are all losers, but if you accept this challenge and stick with the program, you are all going to be winners at the end.

Two of the teens do not get along because they are from rival gangs. William Willie Weathers (Jade Yorker) is from the 88 s and Kelvin Owens (David Thomas) is from the 95 s (also why you will notice Willie wears the number 13 and Kelvin wears the number 31). The first game is against one of the best teams in the league, Barrington Panthers. The game starts out somewhat positive for the Mustangs, as they recover a fumble on the first drive, but things quickly turn. They are demolished by Barrington, losing by 38 points.

After starting 0–2, the Mustangs start winning games as they learn to work together. Kelvin and Willie finally shake hands when they win a game by one touchdown after Kelvin makes a big block for Willie. Near the end of the season, the Mustangs are headed for the playoffs. They are getting more publicity and more fans along the way.

One of Willie s 88 gang mates, Free, stops by the field. He realizes that Kelvin is a 95. Free and Kelvin get into a fight, and Free shoots Kelvin in the shoulder. As Free prepares to put another bullet in Kelvin s head, Willie runs toward Free and tackles him to the ground to save Kelvin. Free is shocked that Willie helped Kelvin and not him.

The police show up, and Free runs off. He fires at the responding officers who fire in return, killing him. Although Kelvin survives the attack, he will not be able to play in the finals. Kilpatrick is almost forced to forfeit the playoff game due to concerns about further gang violence, but Porter s boss steps in to prevent it by arranging for volunteers from neighboring police departments to patrol the game. The County Sheriff s spokesperson states that We will do whatever it takes to ensure that gangs do not take over the lives of our youth .

In the playoff game, a rematch against Barrington, the Mustangs go into the half down 14–0. Willie gives a motivational speech, and they go out and beat Barrington on the last play of the game. It is revealed in the narration that they lost the championship game 17–14, but no one called them losers. A few months later, Sean s football method is officially made part of the program.

Nearly all the former members of the Mustangs are doing well in their new lives outside the detention center: Willie Weathers is playing football at a top boarding school. Kelvin Owens is playing football for Washington High. Kenny Bates is going to school in Redondo Beach and living with his mother. Junior Palaita got a job working for a furniture company and Leon Hayes is playing football for Dorsey High. However, Miguel Perez and Donald Madlock went back to their old gangs and are now in California youth authority prisons, and Bug Wendal was killed in a drive-by shooting in Compton, California.

In all, 24 of the players are continuing their educations, three are working full-time jobs, and only five are back in jail. The movie ends with a new group of Mustangs training for the next season. Some footage of the 1993 Gridiron Gang documentary is shown during the end credits.

Cast

• Dwayne Johnson as Coach Sean Porter
• Xzibit as Assistant Coach Malcolm Moore
• Kevin Dunn as Ted Dexter
• Leon Rippy as Paul Higa
• L. Scott Caldwell as Bobbi Porter
• Jade Yorker as Willie Weathers, HB
• David Thomas as Kelvin Owens, WR/DB
• Setu Taase as Junior Palaita, FB/HB
• Trever O Brien as Kenny Bates, WR
• Brandon Mychal Smith as Bug Wendal
• Maurice McRae as Leon Hayes, QB
• Jurnee Smollett as Danyelle Rollins
• Michael J. Pagan as Roger Weathers
• James Earl as Donald Madlock, OL/DL
• Jamal Mixon as Jermaine Evans
• Danny Martinez as Miguel Perez, WR/DB
• Omari Hardwick as Free
• Mary Mara as Mrs. Bates
• Michael Jace as Mr. Jones
• Anna Maria Horsford as Sharon Weathers
• Dan Martin as Terrell Rollins
• Six Reasons as C-Co
• Ambrit Millhouse as Cherise
• Joseph Raymond Lucero , as Chavez #25 Heavily Tattooed Kid

Production

It is set and filmed at Agoura Hills, Camp Kilpatrick, Los Angeles, San Fernando and Westlake Village, California, in 92 days between May 23 and August 23, 2005.

Reception

Rotten Tomatoes reports a 43% approval rating with an average rating of 5.65/10 based on 101 reviews. The website s consensus reads, The role of probation officer Sean Porter fits Dwayne The Rock Johnson like a glove; however, the execution is so clichéd, the youths stories (based on real events), fail to inspire.

Home media

DVD was released in Region 1 in the United States on January 16, 2007, and also Region 2 in the United Kingdom on 4 June 2007, it was distributed by Newvideo Home Entertainment.

Year	2006
ReleaseDate	2006-09-15
RuntimeMins	125
RuntimeStr	2h 5min
Plot	Teenagers at a juvenile detention center, under the leadership of their counselor, gain self-esteem by playing football together.
Directors	Phil Joanou
Writers	Jeff Maguire, Jac Flanders
Stars	Dwayne Johnson, Xzibit, L. Scott Caldwell
Produced by	Ryan Kavanaugh,Amanda Lewis,Adam Milano,Neal H. Moritz,Michael Rachmil,Lynwood Spinks,Lee Stanley,Shane Stanley
Music by	Trevor Rabin
Cinematography by	Jeff Cutter
Film Editing by	Joel Negron
Casting By	Sarah Finn,Tony Gonzalez,Randi Hiller,Randi Lynne
Production Design by	Floyd Albee
Set Decoration by	Erin Morache
Costume Design by	Sanja Milkovic Hays
Makeup Department	Gary Archer,Scott Cameron,Jeff Dawn,Louis Lazzara,Monica Sabedra,Rachel Solow,Angie Wells
Production Management	Richard J. Gelfand
Second Unit Director or Assistant Director	J. Stephen Buck,E. Langston Craig,Stephen W. Moore,Jennifer Reiss,Ellen Rosentreter,Brian Rosett,Paul Schmitz
Art Department	Mike Carrillo,Aric Cheng,Don Tex Clark,Jack Cornelius,Raymond Dumas,Jim Early,Thomas Early,Michele Faretta,Eloy Fernandez,Carmine Goglia,Ethan Goodwin,Robert Lucas,Douglas T. Madison,Matthew McKee,Martin Milligan,Reese St. Amant,Michael P. Sweeney,Naomi Treuherz,John Tyrrell,Ely Vegh,Gary Warshaw,Victor Anderson,Clint Schultz
Sound Department	Bill W. Benton,Gloria D Alessandro,Valerie Davidson,Mark DeSimone,Chris Diamond,Joe Dorn,Susan Dudeck,Kevin Globerman,Vincent Guisetti,Jeffrey J. Haboush,Jamie Hardt,P.K. Hooker,Larry Hopkins,Scott Jacobs,Pamela Kahn,Ka ramuu Kush,Skip Lievsay,Howard London,Ken McLaughlin,James Morioka,Bob Newlan,Rob Nokes,Jeremy Peirson,Kyle Rochlin,Jerry Ross,Kevin Shannon,John Joseph Thomas
Special Effects by	Anthony Delacruz,Kelly Kerby,Al Marangoni
Visual Effects by	Tim Bird,Justin Blaustein,Simon Brewster,Andrea Caretta,Ron Cosentino,Brian Hanable,Shih-hao Jason Huang,James Pastorius,Gerald Ragland,Bob Wiatr
Stunts	Daniel Abikasis,Dean Baldwin,Sunny Byrd,Kevin Cater,Keith Splinter Davis,John Dixon,Kofi Elam,Mickey Giacomazzi,Allan Graf,Derek Graf,Gary Guercio,Mike Gunther,Daniel Hernandez,Oliver Keller,Matt Leonard,Michael Li,Louis Montaño,Daniel Norris,LaDell Preston,Tanoai Reed,Kevin Reid,Justin Riemer,Mazio Royster,Mike Rufino,Tim Sabatino,Marcus Salgado,Anthony G. Schmidt,Brad M. Sorenson,Buddy Sosthand,Jeremiah Vaughn,Greg Anthony
Camera and Electrical Department	Huston Beaumont,Raynee Borchardt,John Bramley,Kelly Cummins,Andrew Degnan,William DiCenso,David Ghegan,Bill Greenberg,Rob Greenlea,Matt Guiza,Daniel Hanych,Michael Kelly,Ryan Kirk,Karen Korn,Seth Kotok,Thomas E. Lee,Bob Leitelt,Josh Levy,Michael L. Lewin,Chris Lombardi,Gregory Lundsgaard,T. Michael McLean,David Mun,Ignacio Musich,Frédéric North,Thom Owens,Robert J. Reilly,Nicolas Restrepo,Timothy Roarke,Joel A. Ruiz,Bob Scott,Cliff Shaffer,Shan Siddiqi,Jason Sidore,Charles Smith,Scott Sprague,Hong Suwadji,Andrew Taylor,James Biff Thomsen,Jarred Waldron,Michael J. Walker,Steven J. Winslow,Christopher A. Zwirner
Casting Department	Nina Henninger,Tamara Hunter,Tina Kerr,Marisa Christine Medina,Galeen Roe,Clint Alexander,Scott Blasko,Michael Damico,Nina Henninger,Jacque Lawson,Terence Rosemore,Aaron Simnowitz
Costume and Wardrobe Department	Camille Argus,Lorenzo Hearns Jr.,Demetricus Holloway,Sabine Huber,Francine Lecoultre,Robert Mata,Muto-Little,Michael A. Russell,Irena Stepic,Mark Walcott
Editorial Department	Michel Aller,Dylan Carter,Meagan Costello,Ken Gales,Dale Jones,Nick Monton,Missy Papageorge,Marc Pattavina,Stefan Sonnenfeld,Lawrence Howard Williams,Salvatore Catanzaro,Jim Passon,Jimmy Tom,Ian Turpen
Location Management	Jaime Daly,Steven S. Lee,Eddie Merino,Patrick Mignano,Guy Morrison
Music Department	Mark Estes,Josh Evans,Amanda Goodpaster,Katie Greathouse,Greg Hayes,Steve Kempster,Kory Kruckenberg,Paul Linford,Pilar McCurry,Robert Puff,Jeanette Surga,Allen Vizzutti,John Winters
Script and Continuity Department	Valeria Migliassi Collins
Transportation Department	Steve Bonner,Michael W. Broomer,Dave Calaway,Daniel Canamar,James Cawley,Chris Gorden,Benson Jones,Michael Menapace,George A. Miki,Theresa M. Roehner,Brenda Ryan,Justin Sanders,Eddie Santana,John F. Teeple,George Williams Jr.
Additional Crew	Kevin Cater,Karly Davis,Josh Elwell,Tim Fleming,Cory Foster,Andrea Giannetti,Flax Glor,Sean Gowrie,Allan Graf,Nicole Graf,Christopher Griffie,Stephen Gurley,Richelle Hassell,Jake Head,Cole Hooper,Doc Jacobs,Damiana Kamishin,Iden Kamishin,Dave Kasubowski,Nikki King,Malosi Leonard,David Linck,Jadi McCurdy,Isaac Mejía,Kathryn Mindala,Shara Moradi,Jeni Mulein,Jason Neudecker,Ivanna Palance,Paul Pawlowski,Peggy Pere,Justin Riemer,Benjamin Rigaud,Chris Romberg,Roric Ruegsegger,Jason Salzman,Todd SanSone,Lee J. Santillan,Stephen Sprague,Sheri St Lawrence,Jeremiah Stafford,Lloyd Thomas,Lora Umphress,Jay Veltri,Benton Ward,Oorala Yamada,Ray Zimmerman,Gale Hansen
Thanks	Bert Boeckmann,Jane Boeckmann,Paul Higa
Genres	Biography, Crime, Drama
Companies	Columbia Pictures Industries, Original Film, Visual Arts Entertainment
Countries	USA
Languages	English
ContentRating	PG-13
ImDbRating	7
ImDbRatingVotes	65956
MetacriticRating	52
Keywords	los angeles california,california,football team,football coach,american football