SAFETY: Too Sentimentally Safe

The title of Safety couldn’t be more fitting for this sentimentally simple true story of a college football athlete Ray McElrathbey who overcame hardship. There was no doubt someone within Disney heard the story of Ray’s problems at home that followed him to campus and made him struggle to prove himself worthy. And while the true story of McElrathbey is an inspiring one, the movie it spawned phones in drama most mild, more interested in making his story seem less questioning and more heartfelt.

First There Was Ray

Ray McElrathbey (Jay Reeves) is first seen arriving at college and being eager to prove himself. He loads up on classes, attends football practice, and wills his schedule to fit it all in. His logic is that if he’s on a scholarship he should try to load up on as much education as possible and not just coast on the easy classes. Despite always seeming to be just a few inches behind in making it to class and practice, he’s got some support behind him. His roommate is welcoming enough to offer him food and the bookstore employee Kaycee (Corinne Foxx) is gracious enough to excuse his instinctive “I love you” on their first meeting.

But such a rushed lifestyle can’t last for someone who can’t quite make the cut. In addition to the pressures of keeping his schedule together, there’s a new problem for Ray. His mother has been having drug problems at home, endangering the life of his younger brother, Fahmarr (Thaddeus J. Mixson). Fahmarr may be plucky enough to defend himself but Ray knows that nothing could come from the news of their mother going into rehab, forcing Fahmarr into foster care.

Then There Was Fahmarr

Ever devoted to doing the right thing, Ray decides at the last minute to take custody of his brother. This will mean secretly hiding Fahmarr in his dorm room, relying on the camaraderie of his teammates to keep this parentage a secret from the RA and the school. This decision brings about such ridiculous scenes of Fahmarr concealing himself in Ray’s gym bag to make a secret break for the bathroom. How hilarious it is for an 11-year-old to be living on campus! He’s only one misunderstanding away from landing in foster care and causing Ray to lose his chance at a college education.

Thankfully, this is not the entire premise of the film but it does become a focal point for Ray. He finds himself being forced to make the choice about whether or not to accept the role of guardianship. His team gets involved and later his coach will try to help out, despite the foreshadowing lecture about incentives being illegal for college football guidelines. That’s a troubling matter but this focus on regulation, unfortunately, means that Fahmarr gets tossed around like a football by the system and his family, unsure of where he fits in. It’s no wonder Mixson plays this role with such unashamed backtalk.

Next, There Was Soapiness

When Ray isn’t dashing toward busses and stressing with meetings about rehab and his brother’s schooling, his college life seems pretty par for the course for someone who is taking on too huge a load. He still finds time to mill about campus with Kaycee and build a romantic relationship that seems almost inexplicable. They connect over their love of sports and hit it off far too quickly. Then again, I suppose relationships would have to move at the speed of light when you’re already packed with a busy schedule.

But, wow, does Ray find a way to make this all work. It seems that with all these tasks he only seems to miss one or two practices and classes, even narrowly making it to the book store before it closes. He’ll later acquire a house and somehow opens up a pocket dimension to find the extra time to fix up the repairs for reduced rent. I’m not saying it’s not possible but there are so many scenes that are far too timid it makes it seem like Ray’s problems are not too difficult to resolve. Few times does the pressure seem to be mounting about living up to his expectations, only briefly clouding the mind in the film’s modicum of introspective moments.

And Then There Was Football

Everything else in the film navigates fairly familiar waters for a PG drama and for this I cannot truly find major faults. The scenes of football are driving and exhilarating with lots of close shots and big reactions. Ray’s romance with Kaycee seems light yet charming thanks to some remarkably genuine performances for the direction that could easily slip into the soapy territory. And for as easy as it would be for many to despise the constant eye-rolls of Fahmarr, he’s by far the shining beacon of comic relief in a film where everyone seems to be vying for both smile-worthy humor or weep-worthy power. Very few of them reach that point but Mixson hits his mark so well I wish the film was entirely from his perspective.

However, there comes the most discomforting moment in the film’s ultimate conclusion built for applause. Ray is only able to continue his college football career while caring for his brother if approved by a review board. The board only narrowly approves of this with one deciding vote among the council, impressed with the vigor of Ray and his teammates to challenge the organization. But when the nail-biter conclusion comes down to a student’s future for both school and family being decided by just five people who have to look him down for promise, there’s a bitterness about the system that is quickly glazed over the release and cheers of Ray being able to play and care for his brother. It’s not that Ray’s story isn’t compelling for how much he triumphed over adversity but a film so innocently aiming is sure to be loaded as ammo for the argument of there being nothing wrong with college football. After all, if Ray can do all of this, what’s your excuse?

Conclusion: Safety

For a true story about changing the rules, Safety sticks strictly to the dusty sports drama playbook. There’s nothing present within the picture tonally that hasn’t already been embraced by a number of enduring athlete tales. That being said, it still works well enough within the realm to be a crowd-pleaser with hints of inspiring jabs. There’s no special treatment with Ray’s story. He’s given the same hopeful sentimentality of any other sports drama that the family can embrace without being too mad at a college system that forces a student to make a tough choice about their future with little outside help. It’s a struggle too big to tackle that the film sets its sights on easier targets of Ray’s tough grind to the big game, his fatherly influence on his brother, the camaraderie of his teammates, and the love of someone who believes him. It’s an inspirational true story given a thick coat of that sentimental Disney sugar to make the story go down all the smoother.

Did you see Safety on Disney+? Was it an inspiring football drama or too sentimental for your taste? Let us know in the comments below.

Safety is available now on Disney+.

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