Word About Biehn

A small film, Coach makes a pleasant diversion for Michael's fans. Though its plot is set in motion by the question of equal employment opportunity for women, it is not a serious treatment of that social issue, which is soon overshadowed by light romance.

Champion runner Randy Rawlings(Cathy Lee Crosby) is hired sight-unseen and sex-unknown as coach of Granger High's floundering basketball team. However, when it's discovered that Randy is a woman, enthusiasm for her hiring quickly fades, and she must assert her civil rights to keep her position. As she works to win acceptance and prove herself equal to her new job, she becomes attracted to Jack (Michael), a forward on the team. The feeling is mutual, and the two of them begin a love affair, which becomes the central focus of the film. The story progresses through several engaging romantic interludes and efforts by both Randy and Jack to assure that the team will ultimately be victorious.

Coach won't win any awards for writing. The requisite misunderstanding between the lovers receives such cursory treatment it seems almost an afterthought. And production values are flawed, as exemplified by the continuity problem with Jack's jersey number at the final moment of triumph. However, the film does offer some frothy fun, as when Jack and friends hypnotize the star center into remembering his math or believing he is pro player Sidney Wicks (who makes a guest appearance in the movie). And though it borders on being a teen flick, Coach benefits from the presence of veteran actors to ground its roster of young players.

Interesting to note is the non-controversial manner in which Coach approaches its love story. Nowadays, the depiction of an intimate relationship between teacher and student would almost certainly be handled with an eye to the ethics (or breach thereof) inherent to such an involvement. A product of a simpler time, Coach doesn't do that.

Michael's performance in Coach is noticeably superior to his work in Hog Wild two years later. Nicely handling both the lighter and the more serious moments of the film, the still seasoning actor benefits from a better script, competent direction, and a more balanced cast. In Jack, he creates an appealing character, who is popular with his peers while still being somewhat apart from them, seemingly searching for something deeper than the carefree good times of youth. When Jack leaves a party to walk alone on the beach, Michael convincingly conveys the restlessness and uncertainty of a young man verging on maturity. It is a foretaste of the thoughtful introspection he would impart so well to many of his future characters.

Kay

Coach on the Internet Movie Database.

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