Are you ready for some football❓🏈

Netflix sure knows how to have perfect timing quite often. I was recently surprised to find a new film from Adam Sandler's Happy Madison Productions waiting to be watched on Netflix. We are in NFL playoff times right now, so it makes sense to release this film centered around football. Home Team is a family comedy featuring the likes of Kevin James, Taylor Lautner, Rob Schneider, and a few more familiar faces. This movie is an excellent watch for any fan of American football.

This film loosely follows the controversial story of the New Orleans Saints head coach Sean Payton, who is played by the comical Kevin James. Never in my life would I have expected the story of the Saints' Bountygate scandal to be turned into a comedy film. I especially never would have guessed Kevin James would be playing Sean Payton, but here we are and it is pretty good actually.

After NFL coach Sean Payton is suspended for being accused of paying his players to injure specific players on opposing teams, Payton heads back home to Texas to attempt to reconnect with his family. He is divorced from his wife Beth and his son Connor doesn't even know his father other than what he has watched on ESPN. Beth is more than happy to let Sean try his best to get close with Connor. As you may have guessed, Connor shows nothing but resentment when his dad decides to pop back in.

My favorite character in this film is Jamie (Rob Schneider), which is Sean's ex-wife Beth's (Jackie Sandler/Adam Sandler's wife in real life) new man. Jamie is a seemingly absent-minded hippie. He makes his own soap, loves vegan ice cream, knows nothing about football, but he loves Beth and Connor. The vibes between Sean and Jamie are hilarious. I have always thought Rob Schneider to be one of the best at being stupid funny and pairing that with the silliness of Kevin James just works. I wish the two had more screentime together, but what you get in this film is going to make you laugh a few times at least.

Sean finds out that his son Connor's football team, the Warriors, is the worst middle school team around. They can't even score, let alone win a game. They are well known for losing so badly that their scoreboard gets turned off to save on electricity. If a team gets up by more than 40 points (which they always do), then it is lights out and embarrassment is increased.

The Warriors head coach Troy Lambert (Taylor Lautner) has no idea what he is doing, but at least he is caring. The assistant coach Mitch Bizone (Gary Valentine) is an alcoholic and rides a bike to practice thanks to his plethora of DUIs. The coaching staff is just as laughable as the players themselves. Sean coaches from the stands, but he knows the team is not going to improve without major adjustments.

Since Sean Payton is not allowed to coach in the NFL until the scandal is resolved, he decides to accept Troy's offer to join the Warrior coaching staff as offensive coordinator. Mitch Bizone makes sure to make it clear that he is still #2 in line, although he does pretty much nothing but drink and sweat.

Sean brings his Super Bowl-winning mentality and game plan to the Warriors locker room. The team is overly excited to have him join their ranks, but his info is confusing to them at first. Sean helps the team get better slowly but surely, with lots of patience and determination. His son Connor isn't very happy about his long-lost dad suddenly being a huge part of his life, but he begins to adjust gradually.

Sean ultimately just wants to get back to the NFL. His son calls him out on this and brings his dad back down to earth. The sudden realization that there is more to football than just winning. It is a team-building sport where having fun is equally as important as winning. Sacrifices are made and lessons are learned. The result is Sean getting closer with his son Conner and promising to visit more often. Sean gets back into the NFL and leaves Texas in good spirits. The rest you can find out by keeping up with the NFL since Sean Payton is still the coach of the Saints today.

I don't want to give too much away about this movie, because basically, every Happy Madison film is worth taking the time to watch. I grew up on the Adam Sandler-style of humor and it still hasn't gotten old. You are going to learn a lot about the life of Sean Payton, but most importantly you will get plenty of laughs from the silly antics of this terrible football team. Here is a trailer that will give you an even better idea of what to expect from Home Team.