Hollywood seems to love pumping out stories of long shots rising up to claim some sort of sports title in an inspirational fashion. Hence The Express, another film in the long line of recent dramatic “docu-dramas” like We Are Marshall and Invincible.

The Express tells the story of Ernie Davis (Rob Brown), the first African American to win the Heisman Trophy in a time when racism proved to be an almost insurmountable obstacle. Dennis Quaid plays Ernie’s coach at Syracuse University, Ben Schwartzwalder. Both actors have played similar characters in the past and are able to settle into their roles nicely here.

Quaid in particular does a good job of positioning Coach Schwartzwalder as a metaphor for the moral conflicts that the nation was experiencing at the time. That is to say, the coach does his best to push Ernie Davis to succeed, but conflicts still arise between the two based on the racial prejudices that he harbors.

Those turned off by the film’s weak tagline, “He changed our country… One yard at a time” will be relieved to find that even with racial themes permeating the entire movie, the filmmakers wisely chose not to imply that Ernie Davis alone facilitated racial change in America. In fact, The Express never forgets that it is a sports movie above all else, so have no fear; brutal tackles and dramatic punt returns abound.

Audiences may be surprised to find that the film goes beyond Ernie’s inevitable Heisman Trophy win into the beginnings of his professional career and his battle with life-threatening illness. While this causes the movie to overstay its welcome a bit, it at least removes some of the “everything ends up great!!” sheen that Hollywood tends to slather on to films of this type.

Overall, The Express probably won’t expose you to anything you haven’t seen before in a sports movie. However, if you’re the type of person who just looks for decent, solid entertainment on a Friday night… and if Remember The Titans is part of your DVD collection… you won’t go wrong with The Express.