
The Grizzlies
By Tara McNamara,
Common Sense Media Reviewer
Common Sense Media Reviewers
Powerful Canadian sports drama promotes understanding.

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The Grizzlies
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What's the Story?
Based on a true story, THE GRIZZLIES follows first-year teacher Russ Sheppard (Ben Schnetzer) as he takes a temporary assignment to teach at a high school in Kugluktuk, a small town in Canada's remote Nunavut territory. Having no success at getting his Inuit students to show up for class -- and seeing that many of the teens roam around town drinking and smoking -- he believes that teaching them lacrosse will get them in school and motivate them to achieve. But really it's Sheppard who has a lot to learn.
Is It Any Good?
Calling The Grizzlies a "Canadian high school sports movie" would significantly undersell its value. This little indie about lacrosse is right up there with Hoosiers, Miracle, and Friday Night Lights on the list of most powerful sports movies. It doesn't just defy sports movie clichés: It embraces and then exceeds the genre by delivering a meaningful and important story about an Indigenous community that has the highest suicide rate in North America. Not only are Kugluktuk's teens facing challenges like poverty, hunger, and abuse, but they're trying to exist in a world where colonizers have marginalized their people and disrupted centuries of customs and culture.
It may raise some eyebrows, then, that the movie's "hero," Russ Sheppard, is a White man who introduces the Indigenous sport of lacrosse to a group of Indigenous teens. But what initially looks like another White savior story soon takes on more fish-out-of-water elements. Yes, the story centers on Sheppard's narrative -- starting when he arrives in Kugluktuk fired up and ready to attack his first teaching assignment before getting the heck out of the Arctic and into a sweet prep school gig. But the movie also shows us behind-the-scenes glimpses of his students' complicated lives, where Sheppard is nowhere to be seen. That helps viewers understand why, when he sees that his students aren't motivated to come to school, to participate, or to complete assignments, it's a mistake for him to apply the solutions that might work for White urbanites -- i.e., tough talk and calling out "troublemakers." He fails tragically. And that's where director Miranda de Pencier tries to turn what seems like a Dangerous Minds-type film into a slap upside the head for assuming that you can come into a new culture and identify what needs "fixing." De Pencier shows that trying to impose your way onto others, even those who seem to be struggling, can be far more damaging than effective, but the film never quite escapes its trappings of centering a White male lead who shakes up the town of Kugluktuk for the better. Otherwise, The Grizzlies hits all the marks to leave you cheering, crying, and, hopefully, thinking.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about how The Grizzlies promotes teamwork. Why is that an important character strength?
Are smoking, drinking, and drug use glamorized? Are there consequences? Why does that matter?
What does the term "White savior narrative" mean? Do you think this film supports that concept? Why or why not? What is the film trying to say about intergenerational trauma and the impact of colonization and cultural interference?
The cast is populated with Inuit actors from the Nunavut territory, and the producer also comes from Kugluktuk. Why does that matter in telling this specific story? Why is authentic representation in the media important overall?
How does this compare to other sports films you've seen? What do they tend to have in common?
Movie Details
- On DVD or streaming: May 25, 2021
- Cast: Ben Schnetzer , Will Sasso , Booboo Stewart
- Director: Miranda de Pencier
- Studio: Elevation Pictures
- Genre: Drama
- Topics: Sports and Martial Arts , Brothers and Sisters , High School
- Character Strengths: Teamwork
- Run time: 102 minutes
- MPAA rating: R
- MPAA explanation: language, and some drug/alcohol use involving teens
- Award: Common Sense Selection
- Last updated: February 18, 2023
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