Movie review - "Hoosiers" (1986) ***

Charming, sweet sappy American film with Gene Hackman coaching a high school basketball team in a country town in 1950s Indiana. There's a fesity non-sports-living teacher (Barbara Hershey), an alcoholic former player who gets redemption (Dennis Hopper, who was nominated for an Oscar and was brought back to the Hollywood fold with this film), a star player who comes out of retirement. It's simple and it really works, with a great deal of charm and conviction. The writer and director later reteamed on Rudy. Story of the film's real life inspiration is here.