Green and Gold

Rated PG • Theaters

In the family drama Green and Gold, Craig T. Nelson, best known for starring in the 1990s sitcom Coach, plays Buck, a Wisconsin dairy farmer dedicated to doing things the old-fashioned way. He also happens to be a dedicated Green Bay Packers fan.

The film takes place in the early 1990s. Buck experiences angst because his granddaughter Jenny (an appealing Madison Lawlor) dreams of leaving the farm to pursue a music career. To make matters worse, Buck is behind on the farm’s mortgage, and the bank is threatening to foreclose. The old man feels frustrated. There’s an inherent beauty in using old farming techniques to stay close to the land, but Buck’s quickly becoming a relic of the past. In an attempt to save his farm, he makes an improbable bet with his banker that the Packers will win the Super Bowl.

Green and Gold projects an old-school family-drama vibe that suits the late 20th-century setting. We get some generational strife exacerbated by economic hardship intersecting the conflicting demands placed on a girl from her community and her heart. If anything, Green and Gold attempts too much with its spare 105-minute runtime. The filmmakers cram in all the feels one might expect from a 35-year-old drama, but they often rely on clichés to get their point across.

The movie is being marketed as faith-friendly entertainment, and except for one utterly pointless profanity, it is. We see Buck’s family attend church regularly (though he often ducks out early to make it home in time for kickoff), and the pastor offers some helpful, if uninspiring, advice. There’s not any deep spiritual message, but it’s nice to see a film depict church-related activities as a normal, positive part of people’s lives.