Justin: New documentary on Minneapolis North High football misses chance to score big

The Minneapolis North football team is back in the spotlight — and with good reason.

The story of how the Polars, coached largely by law enforcement officers, forged ahead in the wake of the pandemic and George Floyd’s murder is compelling enough to justify two major documentaries, “Boys in Blue,” a four-part Showtime series that premiered in 2023, and “Force of Blue,” which recently became available for on-demand viewing on Prime Video.

But both docs failed to take full advantage of the most important characters in high school sports: actual high school students.

“Boys in Blue,” available on Paramount+ and Apple+, was a more high-profile affair, if only because it was directed by Peter Berg, who previously helmed big hits such as “Friday Night Lights” and “Hancock.” He also graduated from Macalester College, so the shoot was a bit of a homecoming.

But “Boys in Blue,” shot more than a year after Floyd’s death, gets wrapped up in the defund-the-police movement. Activists get more screen time than any of the players.

Berg also was obsessed with head coach Charles Adams III, who was a Minneapolis police officer when Floyd was killed. Adams had already left to become head of security for the Minnesota Twins by the time Berg showed up, but his association with the force drives the story.

Adams returns to center stage in “Force of Blue,” shot primarily in 2020.

The two most riveting scenes show the coach playing both sides of the field. In one, he delivers some tough love to a student who is woefully behind on his homework, threatening to yank him off the team unless he gets his act together. In the other, he sweet-talks parents concerned about their kids being mentored by law enforcement officers.

“If you don’t like cops, I get it,” he says, pouring on the Minnesota Nice.

Director Jeffrey Williams, a Minnesota native who has earned several local fellowships, does a good job of showing the adults’ commitment to their players. There’s a nice summary of the redlining in Minneapolis and how it posed challenges to North High School that resonate to this day.

But Williams clearly didn’t have the budget and resources that Berg enjoyed. He relied heavily on grants from the Minneapolis Foundation and the Minnesota Vikings.

Much of the football footage in “Force of Blue” appears to have been shot on cellphones. Montages are accompanied by music you would hear on call-waiting.

Interviews with North Principal Mauri Friestleben, former Minneapolis City Council member Don Samuels and North graduate Jerome Benton of the Time were conducted by Zoom instead of in person, a puzzling choice because Williams is based in Minneapolis.

The pandemic and smaller budget may have limited Williams’ access, but that’s all the more reason he should have focused more on the teenagers.

It’s a nice touch having former North quarterback Zach Yeager serve as narrator, but he fades into the background fairly quickly. Same could be said about his peers. They’re represented by well-chosen sound bites and some home visits, but you never really get to know any of them.

Williams’ crew was shooting when students learned that three teenagers died during a high-speed car chase with police, not far from the practice field. I really wanted to hear from the players and how they were coping. Instead, we mostly get Adams lecturing them on how they can avoid the same fate.

I wish Berg and Williams had taken a page from other sports documentaries that give high school students a more prominent voice.

In the 2021 Netflix series “Titletown High,” creator Jason Sciavicco offered compelling coverage that happened off the field as students deal with dating, gossip, overbearing parents and the coronavirus. The “Last Chance U” series, also on Netflix, has a reputation for featuring fiery, charismatic coaches, but it never takes away from the time spent with athletes facing long odds.

And then there’s the TV series and feature film “Friday Night Lights,” both based on the book by former St. Paul Pioneer Press reporter Buzz Bissinger. They might be fictional accounts, but they set the standard for how to tell stories about high school football by focusing just as much on the players as on the coaches.

I might have been more captivated by Adams’ story if it hadn’t been regurgitated so many times already in the local press, including the Star Tribune.

Maybe those outside of Minnesota not familiar with Adams will be fascinated by “Force of Blue.” I’m not sure. But I am sure that teenagers looking to sports for an escape from a tough environment will always be riveting.

Let’s hope the next documentary on North keeps that in mind.