Burnt Prairie - Homecoming
Genre: Drama
Director: James Ponsoldt
Writer: Chad Taylor
Cast: Josh Lucas, John Gallagher Jr., Liv Tyler, Merritt Wever, Lee Pace, Yayha Adbul-Maheen II, Eric Edelstein, Spencer Treat Clark, Amanda Crew, Asher Angel, Will Patton, Alison Wright, Joel Murray and Molly Ephraim
Plot: The day gets colder as the sun retreats behind the clouds, leaving Burnt Prairie Cemetery covered with frost. We hear a radio broadcast with the voice of Doug Parker (Joel Murray), saying how this is a big day in Burnt Prairie. Homecoming! He says welcome back to the BPHS classes of years past but especially the class of ‘96, who has something more to celebrate.
A 2013 Toyota Camry pulls up and a woman (Merritt Wever) steps out of it. She navigates through the various tombstones, stopping to check out and eulogize the names she recognizes. Finally, they reach the one they were looking for. Shooting from a low angle behind the tombstone, we see her looking down on it and can read the last name on the back: Montgomery.
A man (Yayha Abdul-Mateen II) drives into town with signs all over the place reading “Happy BPHS Homecoming Weekend”. He pulls up to Mac’s, still going strong, to get some coffee. Inside, he encounters Willow Carpenter (Amanda Crew), whose eyes light up and tells Denni that it has been so long since she has seen him. She presumes that he is back in town for the 20th Anniversary of the 1996 basketball team, since it isn’t his reunion year. He confirms. He asks her what time she gets off and she says here soon. He asks if she wants to go out to the cemetery, a morbid question he knows. She says that sounds like a plan. She then says that this 20-year-celebration of the team is also a celebration of Von, you know? Denni smiles and agrees.
We get a peek into the offices of the Burnt Prairie Post, in a space significantly smaller than the last time we saw it. In the Editor’s officer, Erin (Liv Tyler) sits at her desk rubbing her fingers on her temples. She goes out and rallies her staff together, finding it hard to speak. She tells them that Gannett, their parent company, has finally made the decision: they’re shutting down the physical paper for good and switching to digital, which means even more layoffs. There is a sombre mood in the air, but the staff is supportive of each other - knowing Erin did everything she could to keep it afloat.
Denni and Willow arrive to the cemetery and first go to her father’s grave. Willow says she misses him but also that she is still embarrassed by his comments about Von. Denni says there are no ill feelings - it was a different time. And he knows that Von respected his coach as a role model. They then make their way over to Von’s grave, where Marvin Murphy is also buried (died in 2009). Denni smiles and says “if he could see me now”. He has flowers and mini basketball with him that he leaves at the tombstone.
As they are about to leave, they hear a car pull up and park near the Camry from earlier. A man (Spencer Treat Clark) gets out of it and joins the woman from earlier. Looking from afar, Denni cracks a big smile. They make their way over to the other pairing. “Cameron and Elliott Montgomery”, Denni says. When the Elliott’s eyes meet with Denni’s, he also cracks a smile and they share a big hug. Cameron smiles and comments “Just like old times”. Denni looks down to the Montgomery tombstone and comments “Hard to believe it’s been twenty years.”
At home, Erin gets ready for the class reunion later that night. But it is not her reunion, that was a few years ago. She gets a call from her husband saying he’s running a little late but he should be able to make it on time. He asks her if the deal went through and she confirms. He tells her he’s sorry. After hanging up, she looks wistfully at one of her first stories, which she has framed. Her profile on Von.
At the regional prison about 20 or so miles from BP, a man (Eric Edelstein) goes through security checkpoints. They ask for his name and he tells them Keith Whitney, there to see Morris Whitney. When Keith sees his 80-year-old father (Will Patton), they keep things short with small talk - this clearly being a weekly occurrence.
At the cemetery, an older-model truck pulls up and parks next to the other cars. The four of them all look over to it, with Cameron cracking a smile. Out steps an older, white-haired Cal Montgomery (Josh Lucas). He gives his kids a hug and tells Denni and Willow that it is nice to see them. Cal comments on how it is weird to still weird to see his name on tombstone. He tries to hold back his tears when he looks down at the other name, which we finally see the front of. Rose Montgomery: Beloved Daughter, Sister, Wife, Pastor, Mother; 1949-1996.
Later that night is the big Homecoming basketball game at BPHS, where the 20-year celebration is to be held at halftime. The team is nowhere near its quality from 20 years ago but they still have a solid squad, led by Sophomore guard Jake Ford (Asher Angel). Before the game, he asks Erin where his dad is and she says he’ll be here. As the game goes on, everyone we’ve previously seen starts arriving. Finally, Chris Ford (Lee Pace), in a suit, arrives in time to catch the end of the half. He asks Erin how Jake is doing and she tells him he’s already at 14 points. Chris cracks a smile.
At the celebration, the principal gives a long-winded introduction of Mr. Hardy (John Gallagher Jr.), beloved BPHS history teacher in his 24th year. He talks about how he looks back fondly on that year, not only for that run but that’s also the year he met his wife, Wendy (Molly Ephraim) - who he waves at in the crowd. We find out that Thomas resigned from the coaching position after the State Championship game to focus back on his teaching duties. He points to the State Runner-Up banner and says that he would be remiss if he didn’t thank his mentor and someone who also coached this team. He says “We are in the Dick Carpenter Gymnasium, are we not?”. The crowd cheers. “I miss you everyday, Coach.” Willow and her mother Laurie (Alison Wright) smile in the crowd. He then hands off the microphone to his team.
It finally gets to team captain Chris Ford. He talks about it still stings that they came up short but it was incredible how far they made it. He reminds the younger people in the crowd that it wasn’t a tiered class-system like it is now. Every team in the state played in one tournament, which made it even harder for schools like us. He’d like to think that miracle run was due to the spirit of Von, which ran through every single member of this team. Jake watches from the team tunnel and smiles as he sees his dad speak. He finds himself choking up on his words after this point and then asks for a moment of silence for Von and for Rose Montgomery, as well.
We see shots of everyone - Cameron, Elliott, Denni, Willow, Erin, Thomas, Cal - during this silence. We get a brief flashback seconds of Von in that very gymnasium, with Von hitting a free throw to become the highest scoring player in BPHS history - a record which still stands. Back in 2016, the crowd starts to get on their feet and cheer to end the moment of silence. Chris gets goosebumps. He is finally able to speak again: “Now let’s look forward and cheer on our Blazers, who are looking like they might have a miracle run of their own this year!”
The crowd cheers.
A 2013 Toyota Camry pulls up and a woman (Merritt Wever) steps out of it. She navigates through the various tombstones, stopping to check out and eulogize the names she recognizes. Finally, they reach the one they were looking for. Shooting from a low angle behind the tombstone, we see her looking down on it and can read the last name on the back: Montgomery.
A man (Yayha Abdul-Mateen II) drives into town with signs all over the place reading “Happy BPHS Homecoming Weekend”. He pulls up to Mac’s, still going strong, to get some coffee. Inside, he encounters Willow Carpenter (Amanda Crew), whose eyes light up and tells Denni that it has been so long since she has seen him. She presumes that he is back in town for the 20th Anniversary of the 1996 basketball team, since it isn’t his reunion year. He confirms. He asks her what time she gets off and she says here soon. He asks if she wants to go out to the cemetery, a morbid question he knows. She says that sounds like a plan. She then says that this 20-year-celebration of the team is also a celebration of Von, you know? Denni smiles and agrees.
We get a peek into the offices of the Burnt Prairie Post, in a space significantly smaller than the last time we saw it. In the Editor’s officer, Erin (Liv Tyler) sits at her desk rubbing her fingers on her temples. She goes out and rallies her staff together, finding it hard to speak. She tells them that Gannett, their parent company, has finally made the decision: they’re shutting down the physical paper for good and switching to digital, which means even more layoffs. There is a sombre mood in the air, but the staff is supportive of each other - knowing Erin did everything she could to keep it afloat.
Denni and Willow arrive to the cemetery and first go to her father’s grave. Willow says she misses him but also that she is still embarrassed by his comments about Von. Denni says there are no ill feelings - it was a different time. And he knows that Von respected his coach as a role model. They then make their way over to Von’s grave, where Marvin Murphy is also buried (died in 2009). Denni smiles and says “if he could see me now”. He has flowers and mini basketball with him that he leaves at the tombstone.
As they are about to leave, they hear a car pull up and park near the Camry from earlier. A man (Spencer Treat Clark) gets out of it and joins the woman from earlier. Looking from afar, Denni cracks a big smile. They make their way over to the other pairing. “Cameron and Elliott Montgomery”, Denni says. When the Elliott’s eyes meet with Denni’s, he also cracks a smile and they share a big hug. Cameron smiles and comments “Just like old times”. Denni looks down to the Montgomery tombstone and comments “Hard to believe it’s been twenty years.”
At home, Erin gets ready for the class reunion later that night. But it is not her reunion, that was a few years ago. She gets a call from her husband saying he’s running a little late but he should be able to make it on time. He asks her if the deal went through and she confirms. He tells her he’s sorry. After hanging up, she looks wistfully at one of her first stories, which she has framed. Her profile on Von.
At the regional prison about 20 or so miles from BP, a man (Eric Edelstein) goes through security checkpoints. They ask for his name and he tells them Keith Whitney, there to see Morris Whitney. When Keith sees his 80-year-old father (Will Patton), they keep things short with small talk - this clearly being a weekly occurrence.
At the cemetery, an older-model truck pulls up and parks next to the other cars. The four of them all look over to it, with Cameron cracking a smile. Out steps an older, white-haired Cal Montgomery (Josh Lucas). He gives his kids a hug and tells Denni and Willow that it is nice to see them. Cal comments on how it is weird to still weird to see his name on tombstone. He tries to hold back his tears when he looks down at the other name, which we finally see the front of. Rose Montgomery: Beloved Daughter, Sister, Wife, Pastor, Mother; 1949-1996.
Later that night is the big Homecoming basketball game at BPHS, where the 20-year celebration is to be held at halftime. The team is nowhere near its quality from 20 years ago but they still have a solid squad, led by Sophomore guard Jake Ford (Asher Angel). Before the game, he asks Erin where his dad is and she says he’ll be here. As the game goes on, everyone we’ve previously seen starts arriving. Finally, Chris Ford (Lee Pace), in a suit, arrives in time to catch the end of the half. He asks Erin how Jake is doing and she tells him he’s already at 14 points. Chris cracks a smile.
At the celebration, the principal gives a long-winded introduction of Mr. Hardy (John Gallagher Jr.), beloved BPHS history teacher in his 24th year. He talks about how he looks back fondly on that year, not only for that run but that’s also the year he met his wife, Wendy (Molly Ephraim) - who he waves at in the crowd. We find out that Thomas resigned from the coaching position after the State Championship game to focus back on his teaching duties. He points to the State Runner-Up banner and says that he would be remiss if he didn’t thank his mentor and someone who also coached this team. He says “We are in the Dick Carpenter Gymnasium, are we not?”. The crowd cheers. “I miss you everyday, Coach.” Willow and her mother Laurie (Alison Wright) smile in the crowd. He then hands off the microphone to his team.
It finally gets to team captain Chris Ford. He talks about it still stings that they came up short but it was incredible how far they made it. He reminds the younger people in the crowd that it wasn’t a tiered class-system like it is now. Every team in the state played in one tournament, which made it even harder for schools like us. He’d like to think that miracle run was due to the spirit of Von, which ran through every single member of this team. Jake watches from the team tunnel and smiles as he sees his dad speak. He finds himself choking up on his words after this point and then asks for a moment of silence for Von and for Rose Montgomery, as well.
We see shots of everyone - Cameron, Elliott, Denni, Willow, Erin, Thomas, Cal - during this silence. We get a brief flashback seconds of Von in that very gymnasium, with Von hitting a free throw to become the highest scoring player in BPHS history - a record which still stands. Back in 2016, the crowd starts to get on their feet and cheer to end the moment of silence. Chris gets goosebumps. He is finally able to speak again: “Now let’s look forward and cheer on our Blazers, who are looking like they might have a miracle run of their own this year!”
The crowd cheers.
Chad Taylor did the best he could to capture the small-town feel and to create a large cast of characters to not only told an interesting story, but was engaging too.
While I enjoyed the series on a binge watch, watching it week-after-week didn't have the same effect because of the large cast of characters that were sometimes hard to remember, but once I got to fully enjoy it, it was a strong drama.
Burnt Prairie is a show like no other on LRTV led by the effective Josh Lucas and Kristin Chenoweth with great last role for the late Robert Forster. It had a great story, although in ups and downs, but I thoroughly enjoyed this dramatic series.
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