In Forever Strong, Sean Faris is Rick Penning, a troubled but incredibly talented high school rugby player who plays more recklessly off the field than on. After landing himself in hot water, Rick is shipped off to a juvenile facility where he continues his troublesome ways. Before long, facility head Marcus Tate – played by Sean Astin – offers Rick an escape of sorts. He suggests that Rick play ball with longtime rival Highland Rugby. At first, the star player is reluctant, but then he finally agrees. Rick has a hard time adjusting to the grueling coaching styles of Larry Gelwix, but soon, he finds himself fitting in with the team concept.

Forever Strong is extremely simplistic in it's approach. Sean Faris is all swagger as Penning, and at times, he reminded me of an All the Right Moves era Tom Cruise. He's fine in the role but he's greatly upstaged by his co-stars, most notably the wonderfully underrated Gary Cole. Cole lends a subtle, fatherly charm to Larry Gelwix. He really carries the film. Neal McDonough is solid as Rick's bitter father, but at times, I found him to be a little too callous. In this respect, his character reminded me of Tim McGraw's equally over-the-top sports dad in Peter Berg's Friday Night Lights. In both cases, these two characters play it hard to the core for the majority of their respective films, until having their predictble changes of heart in the final acts.

I was bothered by the lack of McGraw's character development in Friday Night Lights, and I was just as bothered by the lack of character development in Forever Strong. The rest of the performances are solid but I couldn't help but feel some of these actors were underused, most notably Sean Astin as the noble Marcus Tate, and the lovely Julie Warner – who some might remember as the sassy love interest in Doc Hollywood and the wasted love interest in Tommy Boy.
Forever Strong is well intentioned, but too much of it is slight. I never really felt the bond between Penning and his new team. The bond just sort of materializes. A couple of brief conversations and "poof", there it is. Furthermore there are clumsy sequences at play in this picture. Take for instance Penning's literal kicking of his drug habit. The way he rids himself of the pills is shockingly irresponsible. Equally troubling is a scene in which a seemingly reformed Penning is accused of doing drugs again. Everyone is quick to doubt he's clean, and I kept thinking to myself; "Just take a drug test and prove your innocence to these people". As played, these moments came across as t.v. movie cliches.

Of course, there's plenty in Forever Strong that does work. Firstly, it's difficult to dismiss a picture with such earnest moral lessons at it's heart. Secondly, director Ryan Little – who helmed Saints and Soldiers, one of the more highly regarded LDS inspired films – gets a lot of a mileage out of a small budget. His film doesn't look as sharp as Rocco DeVilliers' grossly underrated The Flyboys, but it's still extremely well shot, particularly the rugby sequences. I also like the spontaneous moments of humor peppered throughout the film. The bar of soap bit in particular is a really nice touch.

Forever Strong isn't quite as rousing as I was hoping it would be, but it's still an entertaining look at a sport that doesn't get very much exposure in America. I also suspect that the picture will be a big hit with younger audiences, most notably teenagers. This is a far better film than Varsity Blues by a long shot.