Stometer Save your money for something good and enjoyable

Steineded How sad is this?

Hadrina The movie's neither hopeful in contrived ways, nor hopeless in different contrived ways. Somehow it manages to be wonderful

Kaydan Christian A terrific literary drama and character piece that shows how the process of creating art can be seen differently by those doing it and those looking at it from the outside.

bob the moo I came to this film off a throwaway comment on a satirical podcast; the comment was that if you wanted to see how Trump approaches business, then watch Small Potatoes. With this motivation it did not occur to me that it may have mattered that I had never heard of the USFL, and that really my only interest in American Football at all is to occasionally watch the highlights of the Super Bowl.In the end this did seem to make a massive difference, and I confess that part of the reason that I took very little from the film was that I was not target audience or even close; one could argue that a good documentary draws the viewer in, but I do not think that argument really applies here. As a result, I was mostly left cold – I had no knowledge of the characters, the situation, and the very limited involvement of Trump (in a truncated interview) meant that my only point of interest was not really key to the film. For sure people dislike him for what he did, and it certainly was a selfish act to benefit himself at the cost of others – but really is this all stuff we already know about him.For those who remember the USFL, there is probably a good slice of history here, presented at brisk pace with plenty of highlights; however, for those just coming with the very limited interest I had, there is not enough here for the casual viewer. Not really the fault of the film, but something worth keeping in mind if considering watching it.

MartinHafer While I am not a sports fan, I must admit that ESPN's sports documentaries are very well done and are well worth seeing even if you aren't a sports nut. In this case, I wanted to reminisce about the defunct football league. When it was in operation, I was in college and, frankly, I was so busy in school that I never watched a single USFL (and very few NFL) game during this time--so I was curious.According to this film, there were many reasons why the USFL failed. It expanded too fast, had progressively lower ratings over time and lower attendance than anticipated. However, THE big reason the film seemed to make as interviewee after interviewee blamed Donald Trump (owner of the New York/New Jersey franchise) for the league's demise. It came off, after a while, as a long succession of folks saying why they hated and blamed Trump. As for Trump, he came off as a bit arrogant during his interviews for the film. The bottom line is that this is an interesting film AND great for anyone who dislikes Trump (such as Ivanna). Oddly compelling and worth a look.

Joshua Bozeman I happened upon this documentary series 30 for 30 the other night when ESPN 2 aired a repeat of the Univ of Miami film...It was solid, so I tuned in for this one by Tollin thinking it'd be just as enjoyable. It did not let me down. I'm not a big sports fan, and I was only a few years old when the USFL was around, so I had never even heard of it until this film. My lack of a love of sports didn't matter here, as it was more about what could be accomplished with a small upstart in such a short period of time. These guys had some big names- Steve Young and Jim Kelley are names I immediately recognize, and most others would too- no matter if you're a big sports fan or not. So, it was obvious that this league had a lot going for it. Much of the film focuses on "The Donald." As in, Donald Trump, the world's biggest ego. His ego is on constant display here, in clips from the time of the USFL and even in the clips today. Tollin is trying to interview him, and Trump is complaining nonstop asking 'how long is this going to take,' whining that he will only answer a few questions, etc. After whining a bit and getting up to leave, informing them he didn't have time for any more questions (I'm sorry, but NO ONE's schedule is this full), he walks past the director and says "it would have been small potatoes" and pats him on the back. The back pat was patronizing and annoying, and why did he ever get involved if it would have been "small potatoes?"Trump contradicts himself when he says that he never gets into anything small and always wants to do it big. Yet, he was sure it would have been small potatoes?! I guess when a massive ego is involved, making sense doesn't matter so much. Trump explains, in the interview from today, that he was never interested in spring football and wanted to compete directly with the NFL in the fall. This immediately brings forth the question- why did he get involved at all? He was never interested in spring football, so he paid millions for a team playing spring football? Again with the ego- his ego is SO big, he only got into the league originally to force the other team owners (some of them fairly poor compared to Trump) to embrace The Donald's vision and move the season to the fall where it would compete head to head with the much larger NFL that had already established itself...only to get eaten up by the NFL. In fact, the league was taken down by a lawsuit that I won't go into, but it's also an interesting story that's told. Tollin does a nice job, but some of it does seem to generalized. It seems there isn't a solid focus on one topic, but I think it worked overall. It could have been refined a bit, but telling a story this big in 45 mins is hard enough as it is- I've edited down documentary footage, and it's easy for the thing to become really long really quickly, so I definitely understand the hardship in trying to tell a story on a limited time frame. The fact that Tollin ran the company that had exclusive rights to do the "films" for the USFL (in the same sense that NFL FILMS does highlights and reels for the NFL) is a nice bonus. He comes at it all from an insider's perspective, and you get the feeling throughout that he knows his stuff here. Nothing too fancy visually, it's mostly one camera interview setups and old USFL footage, but it's solid on all levels technically. The story is an entertaining one that really needed to be told. The focus on the Donald is nice, because it seems that most involved point the blame his way, so he probably deserves it. Overall, a great look at an inspiring league that could have been so much more, if only things had worked out better. Definitely recommend this whether you're a sports fan or not.

Michael_Elliott 30 for 30: Small Potatoes: Who Killed the USFL? (2009) *** (out of 4)Fun filled and sometimes heated documentary about who killed the USFL, the springtime football league, which seemed to be doing decent until Donald Trump bought a team and soon, after three seasons, the league was no more. It's interesting to note that director Tollin was actually working for the USFL when they started up so he's certainly got some insight as to what was going on and I think for the most part this documentary is quite open and honest about the events that would bring the league down. It's also worth noting that everyone interviewed blames Trump. What was most fascinating about this documentary, for someone not too familiar with it, is how many legends of the NFL started their careers in this "under" league. Jim Kelly, Steve Young, Herschel Walker and Reggie White are just a few of the people who started in the league and coaches Jim Mora, Lee Corso, Rick Neuheisel and Keith Jackson were also working there. All of these folks are interviewed here and again, they all blame Trump. The old hair piece Trump is also on hand here and it shouldn't shock anyone that he doesn't take a bit of the blame. It's clear he isn't too fond about this story and eventually ends the interview without offering too much up. It's pretty funny to see what a great villain he makes here especially with a former player, still highly upset, talking about how many people lost their job over his greed. There's plenty of footage from the old games as well as original news reports of various games, stories and of course that infamous court case where the league went after the NFL.