This Movie Has All Right Moves

My favorite sports books all-time are “A Season on the Brink,” about then-Indiana basketball coach Bob Knight, and “Friday Night Lights,” about high school football in Texas.

Finally, almost 15 years since it was published, the movie version of “Friday Night Lights” will be in theaters on Oct. 8.

It is worth the wait.

H.G. Bissinger’s story of a town’s obsession with its high school football team is faithfully recreated. It’s 1988 in Odessa, Texas, and Permian High is seeking its fifth state championship.

This is a community where listeners on a radio talk show debate whether the school’s football coach should be paid more than its principal; where the 20,000-seat high school stadium is bigger than some college facilities, and where a coin flip to decide which team makes the state playoffs is broadcast live on television.

“Friday Night Lights” will join “Remember the Titans” and “Hoosiers” as a sports classic because the action scenes appear so real and the issues discussed are so believable.

This is no “Varsity Blues,” an R-rated 1999 movie that made millions because it was filled with loud music, profanity, drinking, partying and jokes about obesity.

There’s a seriousness to “Friday Night Lights” that should resonate with anyone who’s played, coached or watched high school football.

Yes, the stereotypes are there, from the obnoxious boosters to the crazed parents, from the publicity-seeking players to the dysfunctional families. There are ethical dilemmas and lots of blood, sweat and tears.

But that’s what high school football is about. It’s a genuine American story told with all its warts, cuts and bruises exposed for everyone to see.

Perhaps the most disturbing scene is when an overwhelmed Permian player faces his drunk, out-of-control father and asks him repeatedly, “What’s wrong with you?”

The father still wears his own state championship ring and is trying to convince his son that everything he sacrificed to win a state title was worth it. Which raises the question why the son would want to be anything like his father.

Then again, intoxication with winning is a human foible that has no boundary.

There have been more than 700,000 copies of “Friday Night Lights” sold since it was first published in 1990. The book’s author, Bissinger, won a Pulitzer Prize in 1987 when he was an investigative reporter for the Philadelphia Inquirer.

The movie took so long to make because Bissinger didn’t want a “Varsity Blues”-like treatment for the film. He believes the movie’s director, Peter Berg, a distant cousin, captured the essence of the book.

“These kids were willing to sacrifice themselves for the great god of high school football, whether for the risks or the rewards,” Bissinger said.

Bissinger spent a year living in Odessa, documenting Permian’s 1988 season. It’s a story about pageantry, relationships and the emotional highs and lows of high school football.

“It’s a timeless American phenomenon,” he said. “It’s an American experience played out in thousands of places.”

The movie examines the mentality of seeking victory at all costs and how it can envelop an entire community.

“We always like to say winning doesn’t mean everything,” Bissinger said. “Winning is of paramount importance. In thousands of places, it’s put on the shoulders of kids. It’s an awesome, awesome responsibility.”

Bissinger said the scrutiny and attention paid to high school sports has increased since 1988, when 55,000 people attended the Texas state 5-A championship football game at the Houston Astrodome.

“I find it mind-boggling,” he said. “High school sports has become only more intense. High school basketball players are basically free agents roaming from town to cities. The culture and influence of sports in society is greater than ever.”

At the end of the movie, an update is given on what happened to the key players from Permian. Did they make it to the pros? Did they make it to college? Did they graduate from high school? It’s a superb finishing touch to an emotional tale.

“It’s a serious book,” Bissinger said, “and this is a serious movie.”

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Eric Sondheimer can be reached at eric.sondheimer@latimes.com.