Second String

With a made-for-TV movie like Second String, we’re not exactly building ourselves up to be blown away. But still, Gill Bellows as an NFL quarterback? Come on, guys. Bellows leads the customary down-on-their-luck group of second stringers to the ultimate game after the entire first unit goes down with food poisoning a couple of days before the playoffs. Doug Flutie and Chris Berman try to lend some authenticity by playing themselves, but the football scenes are pathetic and unrealistic dialogue drags down the rest—no announcer in broadcasting has ever said, “This was the year, finally, for the Buffalo Bills.” Second String isn’t that bad, as long as you haven’t seen Necessary Roughness, The Program, Major League (one, two or three), Hoosiers, The Longest Yard, Rudy…