Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		3.5
Audio		3.5
Extras		0.5
Overall		3.0

Necessary Roughness Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Martin Liebman October 3, 2021

Necessary Roughness doesn't necessarily break new Football film ground, but it's certainly not a roughhewn film. Director Stan Dragoti's (Mr. Mom) 1991 picture puts together a film of familiar refrains but one that assembles the essential components quite nicely, balancing football action, character drama, and laughs into a well versed film and a very agreeable experience. A solid cast and a story with enough heart and humor alike both make it worthwhile and the film stands out perhaps not on its own merits but in the way it finesses and massages formula into a very comfortable watch.

The Texas State football program has just recently been at the top of the college football world, but the Armadillos are currently at the bottom of the NCAA heap. Scandal has rocked the team and the school, eliminating virtually every player from the championship-winning roster and leaving the school to field a team of scrubs and walk-ons who barely understand the game, never mind show any mastery in its play. It’s obvious to coaches Wally Riggendorf (Robert Loggia) and Ed Gennero (Héctor Elizondo) that scoring a point – never mind winning a game – and keeping enough players on the field to finish out the schedule might very well constitute a successful season, particularly as the school’s dean, Phillip Elias (Larry Miller), angles to use the scandal as an opportunity to eliminate the program and enrich himself. Desperate to field something even resembling a competitive team, Coach Riggendorf recruits a 34-year-old Texas farmhand named Paul Blake (Scott Bakula) who has not thrown a football in years. He never went to college and, even in middle age, is eligible to play college ball as a freshman. He reluctantly enrolls and finds himself nearly twice the age of his teammates and in twice the pain after every practice. But with a canon for an arm that is also as accurate as any in the game, he gives the team hope, and as the Armadillos begin to gel and slowly add new pieces to the squad, a miracle begins to brew as the team takes strides towards a winning season and college football greatness.

There’s no way around the fact that Necessary Roughness follows a fairly generic formula, and almost to a fault. The movie’s structure is as predictable as they come, from the group of ragtag players who barely know what a football is to the wrenched-in romance between Paul and his journalism professor who at first mistakes him as part of the faculty. That the team loses its opener in embarrassing fashion is no surprise, either, and that the season is largely uphill thereafter with some off-the-field stumbles along the way comes straight out of Football Movie Formula 101. But somehow, someway, the movie works. Maybe it’s Dragoti’s even-keeled direction, Bakula’s performance, a script that has mastered the art of balancing trite elements, or a bit of all of the above and more. Whatever the secret sauce, Necessary Roughness rises above and doesn’t play like a movie that, on paper, should be as forgettable as they come.

Of all the characteristics that make the movie play as well as it does, it has to the the cast that tops the list. Bakula is special as the middle-aged quarterback. He physically fits the part -- he's every bit believable as a man on the physical decline but with enough raw talent in his arm to play at a high level in college when he'd probably be considering retirement in the pros if his career had gone the "expected" route -- but also brings a gravitational center to the role, too, as a relatable character struggling to make his life work and live the dream he believed he had all but missed. He's surrounded not necessarily by stars but one of the best character actor ensembles of the past few decades. It doesn't get much better having the likes of Héctor Elizondo, Robert Loggia, Fred Thompson, and Larry Miller in key roles. Add Kathy Ireland's spice, Sinbad's humor, and Kozak's balance and the film boasts one of the best casts ever assembled in a Football film.

Necessary Roughness Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Paramount suits up Necessary Roughness for the big game on Blu-ray with a decent-to-solid 1080p transfer. The picture is more or less filmic, holding to a natural grain structure which is fairly even and pleasing, spiking in density at times, particularly in lower light, but always true to the natural film state. Details are solid; the picture is relatively sharp and pleasing and achieves a rather high level of excellence in many places. For all the struggle areas (a low light gymnasium early in the film), other scenes look marvelous, such as when Coach Riggendorf first approaches Blake at his farm in the following scene, which is a showcase for the transfer's potential. It's full of textural life, terrific clarity, and offers a near perfect film-like look. It's a high point with which much of the rest of the transfer flirts but doesn't always reach. Most of the time, the picture is perfectly serviceable and satisfyingly true to its essential roots but never so dynamic as to really stand apart. A few speckles and splotches also interfere but never to any seriously distracting extent. The color output is much the same story, boasting terrific punch and depth in places (the first game of the season) and looking rather drab and dreary in others. At its best, the color spectrum offers some nice green pop to TSU green jerseys and the green turf as well. The coaches' white dress shirts, the players' football pants, and the like enjoy impressive luminance and white pop. Black levels are solid and skin tones hold their own. The picture shows no egregious encode issues or signs of damaging digital manipulation. Even if it doesn't look perfect, Necessary Roughness looks fairly good overall.

Necessary Roughness Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Necessary Roughness makes its Blu-ray debut with a standard issue DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 lossless soundtrack. Much like the video, the audio presentation is not a standout or a stalwart but it gets the job done to satisfaction. The track offers a solid feeling for space and reverberation inside a gymnasium in the early goings as the ragtag team practices for the coaches. Game day din is satisfying for the clear blend and well spaced assortment of audio cues, including band music, hits on the field, crowd noise, PA announcements, sideline banter, and more. It all blends together nicely with each element well prioritized as needed. General score is pleasantly detailed and plays with confidently wide front end engagement and just enough surround and subwoofer support to matter. Dialogue is clear and center focused for the duration in addition to being well prioritized.

Necessary Roughness Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

This Blu-ray release of Necessary Roughness includes only a suite of trailers for Necessary Roughness (480i, 1.78:1, 2:28), North Dallas Forty (480i, 1.78:1, 3:02), Varsity Blues (1080p, 1.78:1, 2:24), the 1974 version of The Longest Yard (480i, 1.78:1, 4:04), and the 2005 version of The Longest Yard (1080p, ~2.35:1, 1:47). No DVD or digital copies are included with purchase. This release does not ship with a slipcover.

Necessary Roughness Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Necessary Roughness didn't redefine the Football film genre when it released in 1991 and its legacy has not improved in the decades to follow, but its core strength as a fine example of its type has not waned, either. For all of its unoriginality and frivolousness, this remains a fine and perfectly fun little film with several quality performances, a strongly beating heart, and legitimate humor carrying it across the goal line. Paramount's Blu-ray is disappointingly featureless beyond a few trailers but the video and audio presentations are solid. It's been far too long a wait for this one to make it to Blu-ray and Paramount has at least delivered a perfectly acceptable disc, particularly for the price. Recommended.