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Go Tigers! (2001)

tomatometer

85

Average Rating: 7.2/10
Reviews Counted: 39
Fresh: 33 | Rotten: 6

Go Tigers! is both an absorbing and evenhanded documentary, a perceptive look into the world of high school sports and its impact on a community.

93

Average Rating: 7.3/10
Critic Reviews: 14
Fresh: 13 | Rotten: 1

Go Tigers! is both an absorbing and evenhanded documentary, a perceptive look into the world of high school sports and its impact on a community.

audience

67

liked it
Average Rating: 3.4/5
User Ratings: 831

My Rating

Movie Info

A first-hand account of young athletes in the high school football-obsessed town of Massillon, OH, this first feature by director Kenneth A. Carlson was shot on high-definition video over the course of the 1999 football season of the Massillon Tigers. At the beginning of the season, the team is nursing a "four-and-six nightmare season" and want to redeem themselves. Meanwhile, school officials attempt to raise funds though a tax levy after defeats at the polls, but if the levy is rejected again,

Sep 24, 2002

IFC Films

All Critics (39) | Top Critics (14) | Fresh (33) | Rotten (7) | DVD (5)

A sharply observed and richly detailed nonfiction feature that plays like feel-good, crowd-pleasing entertainment.

March 26, 2007 Full Review Source: Variety | Comment
Variety
Top Critic IconTop Critic

Director Kenneth Carlson may be a little too close to the subject of this documentary.

March 26, 2007 Full Review Source: Chicago Reader | Comment
Chicago Reader
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Energetic and absorbing documentary.

August 15, 2002 Full Review Source: Los Angeles Times | Comment
Los Angeles Times
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Achieves a neatly balanced tone right smack dab in between reverence and ridicule.

October 4, 2001 Comment
Hollywood Reporter
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An enthralling look at the drama that can transpire in the autumn of one small town on any given Friday.

September 27, 2001 Full Review Source: Entertainment Weekly | Comment
Entertainment Weekly
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A complex, revealing look at a year in the life of a small town and the tangled politics of the citizens' blind love of the game.

September 24, 2001 Full Review Source: Mr. Showbiz | Comment
Mr. Showbiz
Top Critic IconTop Critic

A really good documentary gets inside its subject and examines every aspect of it with a critical eye. Go Tigers! opens a lot of drawers but often only takes the slightest peek inside.

October 15, 2003 Full Review Source: DVDTalk.com | Comment
DVDTalk.com

A sports documentary that is interested in much more than just sports.

December 31, 2002 Full Review Source: Apollo Guide | Comment
Apollo Guide

Like the films Hoosiers and Hoop Dreams, Go Tigers! shows how a sport is more than just a game, but a part of American life.

December 8, 2002 Full Review Source: Film Threat | Comment
Film Threat

Tales like this, told with passion and skill, are what make documentaries such a vibrant and enduring part of the cinema landscape.

October 15, 2002 Full Review Source: Cincinnati Enquirer | Comment
Cincinnati Enquirer

It ranks among the top of the best sports documentaries ever made.

September 27, 2002 Full Review Source: PopMatters | Comment
PopMatters

A really good documentary gets inside its subject and examines every aspect of it with a critical eye. Go Tigers! opens a lot of drawers but often only takes the slightest peek inside

September 26, 2002 Full Review Source: DVDTalk.com | Comment
DVDTalk.com

Carlson is willing to overlook and forgive all of the craziness and even criminalities that find a home in Massillon.

September 8, 2002 Full Review Source: Filmcritic.com | Comment
Filmcritic.com

Probably the best sports documentary since Hoop Dreams... Go Tigers! captures, vividly and unwaveringly, [high school] football as a civic enterprise.

August 26, 2002 Full Review Source: Entertainment Today | Comment
Entertainment Today

There's some great sports footage, some colorful characters, and a great insight into the mind of a Midwestern football town.

January 4, 2002 Full Review Source: EricDSnider.com | Comment
EricDSnider.com

Traverses an enormous amount of material ably and paints some vivid portraits in complex colors.

December 28, 2001 Full Review Source: Oregonian | Comment
Oregonian

The sheer volume of topics here means the film isn't as in-depth as could have been, but it is a fine effort.

December 14, 2001 Full Review Source: Deseret News, Salt Lake City | Comment
Deseret News, Salt Lake City

If ever there was a town that displayed the spirit of America, this is it.

November 18, 2001 Full Review Source: Internet Reviews | Comment
Internet Reviews

a caution against an entire American culture grown fat, brutal, and stupid on their own frugal repast of bread and circus

October 13, 2001 Full Review Source: Film Freak Central | Comment
Film Freak Central

In a vivid portrait of one high school football season, Carlson gives us a snapshot of American values on parade.

October 13, 2001 Full Review Source: Spirituality and Practice | Comment
Spirituality and Practice

A smart and often mesmerizing look at how high-school sports can hold a medium-sized town in its grip.

October 8, 2001 Full Review Source: Seattle Times | Comment
Seattle Times
More Critic Reviews

Audience Reviews for Go Tigers!

As a documentary it was well put together and everything but the subject matter was annoying. Especially the scene with the party where they totally glorified and were accepting of the underage drinking and everything. I just hate any sort of situation when someone is forced into a role that they might not have

August 21, 2007
purplemegan

Super Reviewer

Great documentary about the football obsessed town of Massillon, Ohio.

August 1, 2006
KLFilmmaker

Super Reviewer

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