We’re back… And who’d have thought there’d be enough content to fill three whole lists of lacrosse films to watch during lockdown?
We’re gonna be honest with you here and say, very simply, there’s not!
So, we’ve branched into television to bring you one final hurrah into the world of lacrosse film (and TV).
Here we go with part three…
1. The Creator’s Game (1999)
When Daniel Cloud, played by Dakota House (who, ironically, was filming a movie called The Epidemic before lockdown!), leaves his father and sister to attend graduate school, he dreams, despite being a talented lacrosse player, of becoming an American Football coach.
Only football, he believes, will give him and his family the financial security to get them off the reservation and save the family store.
When Daniel arrives at North Central State University, he finds, to his dismay, that all the graduate football coaching positions have been filled; the only thing left open is the school's lacrosse team: the Spartans - and they haven't won a game in over a year.
The only way Daniel can win over the team and defeat the awesome, undefeated Kingston University Tridents is to show the Spartans how the game of lacrosse was given to his people by the Great Spirit.
A film that’s now 21 years old but is great for those who are wanting to brush up on their lacrosse history as well as watch a great underdog story.
The Creator’s Game is not currently available online in England but is available in America at DirectTV.com (we couldn't even find a trailer for this one!).
2. The Creator’s Game (2011)
This award-winning documentary follows the Iroquois Nationals lacrosse team in their quest for the gold medal at the World Indoor Lacrosse Championship, representing their people as a sovereign nation.
After the Iroquois Field lacrosse team chose to forfeit the 2010 World Championship because the UK Government denied them access to the country due to their Haudenosaunee passports, this film follows the Box Lacrosse team on their quest for gold in Prague in 2011.
The film charts both the team’s fight for gold as well as a fight for the recognition of their sovereign nationhood.
A really interesting insight into what it means to be a part of the Iroquois Nationals squad, The Creator’s Game, is a must watch. We just wish it was available online during this time!
The Creator’s Game is not currently available online.
3. Invisible Sister (2015)
Invisible Sister is a Disney Channel Original Movie that tells the story of teenager Cleo, played by Rowan Blanchard, who lives in the shadow of her sister, Molly, played by Paris Berelc.
Molly’s popularity gets her recognised and noticed by everyone at school but Cleo is hardly noticed, despite her intelligence and academic, particularly scientific, prowess.
As Cleo works on an experiment at home, while Molly hosts a dinner for her lacrosse team, a moth flies by and distracts her, causing her to accidentally spill unknown chemicals into her solution.
The steam produced ends up turning the moth invisible, leading Cleo to chase it around the house, full of guests, before it gets away.
Later, while Molly is preparing for bed, the moth returns, attracted to the light from the bathroom. The moth falls into a cup of water containing an antacid Molly is about to drink, and she unknowingly consumes the moth which renders her invisible.
A silly tale of fun and frolics ensues as Cleo tries to find a cure for her sister’s invisibility before it becomes permanent.
Molly’s lacrosse skills and team are featured throughout the film and make it worthy of getting a spot on our list!
Invisible Sister is currently available on Disney+.
4. Teen Wolf (2011-17)
Ah, the 80s. 1985 to be specific. 23 August 1985 to be even more specific.
What a time to be alive: Into the Groove by Madonna is entering its fourth week at number one in the UK, the first UK heart-lung transplant has been performed on three-year-old, Jamie Gavin, and Teen Wolf, the American coming-of-age romantic fantasy comedy film, starring Michael J. Fox (of Back to the Future fame), is in the cinemas.
Unfortunately, the Teen Wolf we’re on about is not that Teen Wolf but instead the American supernatural (and sometimes quite dark) teen drama television series that aired for six seasons and a total of 100 episodes between 2011 and 2017.
The series revolves around social outcast, Scott McCall, played by Tyler Posey, a high school student living in the town of Beacon Hills.
Scott's life drastically changes when he is bitten by a werewolf the night before sophomore year, becoming one himself. He must henceforth learn to balance his problematic new identity with his day-to-day teenage life.
The original film focuses on Scott and his basketball team but in this version, updated for the 21st century, they chose lacrosse to be Scott’s sport of choice.
With plenty of lacrosse/werewolf action, Teen Wolf has enough to keep you entertained and, with 100 episodes, is sure to stave off the boredom until lockdown is over (surely!).
Teen Wolf is currently available on Netflix in the UK.
Honourable Mentions
Get Even (2020)
You may accuse us of clutching at straws or even scraping the bottom of the barrel with this one (you wouldn’t do that to us, would you?).
But BBC’s Get Even, which appeared on iPlayer last month, was filmed partly at Bolton School who, as many of you know, play lacrosse to a high standard and compete in the annual National Schools Lacrosse Championships.
That’s not the only lacrosse connection with this show: lacrosse ‘gear’ can be seen throughout the show in the background of shots (WOW) giving you the little lax fix you need at this time.
Get Even’s basic premise is that Kitty Wei, Bree Deringer, Margot Rivers and Olivia Hayes who study at the fictional Bannerman Independent School form DGM (Don't Get Mad) to expose the bullies at their school.
However, when one of their targets is murdered by an unknown attacker and holds a note saying "DGM" in his hand, the girls realise somebody is trying to frame them for his murder.
Based on the book of the same name by Gretchen McNeil, this 10 episode teen drama is exciting, chilling, and enthralling and will keep you on the end of your seat throughout (even if there isn’t quite as much lacrosse as we’d like!).
Get Even is currently available on BBC iPlayer.
Gossip Girl (2007-12)
We’re ready for more accusations of clutching at straws here but, before you press send on that angry email to England Lacrosse, Gossip Girl, which ran for six seasons between 2007 and 2012, does at least have slightly more lacrosse than Get Even!
One of the primary male characters, Nate Archibald, played by Chace Crawford, is a lacrosse player at the elite St Jude’s School for Boys, so expect at least a couple of mentions of lacrosse throughout its 121 episode run.
Narrated by the unknown, omniscient blogger "Gossip Girl", voiced by Kristen Bell (or Anna from Frozen between me and you), the series revolves around the lives of privileged upper-class adolescents living in Manhattan's Upper East Side.
The series begins with the return of Upper East Side teenage “it girl” Serena van Der Woodsen, played by Blake Liveley, from a mysterious absence…
No, there’s not that much lacrosse action in this one either but we’re hoping it’ll keep you happy and content over the coming weeks.
Gossip Girl is currently available on Netflix in the UK.
So, there you have it: part three over and done with; the final instalment of Our Favourite Lacrosse Films to Watch During Lockdown.
It’s been fun and we hope we went out on a high and with a bang.
If anything, it’s kept us at England Lacrosse busy over the past three weeks and if it keeps you busy and brings even one smidgen of joy to your lives during this time then we’re happy!
I guess, after all this fun, the question is: what do we do next?