HOME TURF

Cassidy is a young, ambitious woman from Boston who has secured her dream job as a college president. As Whittendale College’s new president, Cassidy has inherited many financial problems from the prior leadership. Her goal is to transform the college, but she is facing an uphill battle due to mismanagement by the previous leadership, including budgetary shortfalls. The arts program is on the chopping block, to Cassidy’s horror. She can delay the trustees for two weeks. Her assistant shows her the college magazine, and Cassidy is portrayed as uptight.  Her “perfect” reputation is uptight and polarizing. She also notices the wealthy alumnus, Leo Farnsworth, on the cover. He has just sold his company and most likely needs a donation to offset the taxes. This is her opportunity to save the arts. 

 Cassidy arrives home at the president’s very beautiful historic mansion. She puts on classical music and uncorks a gift bottle of champagne. The next morning, her assistant calls to say a pipe burst, flooding the football team’s dorms, and that it will take five days to fix. They can relocate all but five students. Cassidy says she will call a neighboring college to see if they can house them temporarily. 

 Cassidy’s driveway is blocked by a neighboring sorority girl’s car. Forced to walk, she stops by a coffee stand on campus. She tells the lady she has a crucial meeting with the trustees today. A skateboarder almost hits her, and she spills coffee on herself as a man catches her. They share a cute-meet moment. 

 In the meeting, the handsome man who caught her shows up. He turns out to be Logan, the college’s football coach, and is upset that five of his players have been displaced so far away. Cassidy says she’s arranged for shuttles. However, he insists that will cut into their training schedule, and he needs them to focus on team building to have a winning season. They argue about the importance of academics vs athletics at Whittendale. 

 Cassidy’s hands are tied with the housing shortage, but Coach Logan mentions the president’s house has 10 empty bedrooms. She insists she needs the space because it’s essential to holding college functions and hosting donors. However, she agrees due to pressure to keep the football team winning and to help her reputation. 

 Coach Logan notes that his own job is also on the line, and he needs the team to win. He promises Cassidy won’t even know they’re there. However, the players show up with a bang. They have a golf cart packed haphazardly and knocking over flowerpots. 

 The next morning, they wake up Cassidy suddenly, by loudly practicing football in the backyard at six am. She comes down to find a disaster in her house. A student is making a mountain of pancakes, there’s a massive mess in the kitchen, there’s no hot water, the oat milk is gone, etc. She calls the coach to complain about how the young men have turned her life upside down. 

 She and Logan sit down with the boys to discuss some ground rules, and Logan punishes them with pushups. However, the chaos persists as Cassidy is unable to complete her FaceTime meeting with Mr. Farnsworth. 

 Can President Cassidy and Coach Logan find a way to make everything work, and fix the college’s budget woes? 

 HOME TURF is a wholesome, relatable, entertaining movie, even though the plotline is a bit unrealistic. The characters have great chemistry, and the situations are mostly realistic, though things come together a little too perfectly. Otherwise, HOME TURF is a delightful, entertaining romantic comedy. 

 HOME TURF has a positive moral worldview. People work together to make things right. That begins by treating everyone with respect. Also, a character lives in the shadow of his father’s legacy. He strives to live up to his father’s model but learns to create his own playbook. Finally, people admit their selfish mistakes and correct them.