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Created Oct 22, 2013 08:20PM PST • Edited Oct 23, 2013 09:04PM PST

1. Quality

2. Summary

   Great 4.0

   Non football fans needn’t steer away from The Book of Manning, notwithstanding its status as a must-see for those of us who love America’s brutally beautiful game. That’s because this documentary about Archie Manning’s family follows the priorities he established within the family: family first, then football.

   Thus 80% of the 90 minute runtime is set in the home. And what a home it is, that of a stunningly healthy family, never mind the stardom bestowed on the Father and two of his three sons. Healthy families reveal themselves when tested by tragedy and affliction, which Archie was just as he became a star at Ole Miss, and his entire family was when eldest son Cooper was nearly struck down by spinal stenosis.

   That said, football fans will be over-the-moon at seeing young Archie presage Johnny Football by 50 years, followed by the rise of his superstar sons Peyton and Eli. In short, this is really satisfying TV.

   Archie and Olivia Maning’s boys come along about half an hour in, leading to a series of super-cute family movies. This sweetness is leavened by the tragedies that befell the family and in seeing how they coped.

   Archie’s old school manliness and new school paternal warmth instills the family with really great attitudes. Thus The Book of Manning could also be titled The Book of Healthy Parenting.

4. Acting

   Really Great 4.5

   Elisha Archibald Manning III was the last of a lost era and the progenitor of a new one. A son of small town Mississippi, he became a storybook football hero at Ole Miss who fell in love with the homecoming queen, back when all of that was received with not an ounce of irony.¹

   He was also an early exemplar of today’s mobile quarterbacks and today’s child-focused fathers. As to the former, The Book of Manning includes a clip where a breathless commentator exclaims “Look at Archie Manning go!” It ends with Archie sitting with his grandkids, each of whom appears emotionally healthy despite being the offspring of superstars.

   Olivia Manning comes across as blessed and balanced as her husband.

   Cooper Manning, their eldest, creates the documentary’s most poignant moment describing his near death and removal from football. While that would be terribly difficult for any young man, let alone a star athlete, it is particually vexing given that both his younger brothers went on to superstardom.

   Peyton Manning gets revealed as a football wonk from a young age and a prodigy by any standard.

   Eli Manning’s remote emotional mien is shown to have been in place from an early age, well before he descended into the Big Apple’s sports media maelstrom.

   Finally, John Goodman’s narration strikes just the right tones of baritone solemnity and gentle mirthfulness.

   ¹ Elisha Archibald Manning IV never arrived. Cooper, Peyton and Eli arrived, one after another. Archie IV? Nada. This is one more example of how Archie III never shies from difficult positions.

5. Male Stars Really Great 4.5

6. Female Stars Really Great 4.5

7. Female Costars Really Great 4.5

8. Male Costars Really Great 4.5

10. Film

    Very Good 3.5

    The film opens with old Archie jogging, triggering remembrances of him as the original running QB. Writer-director Rory Karpf includes many such deft touches in his film, including a powerfully simple depiction of a remote father withdrawing from his emotionally bereft little son.

11. Direction Great 4.0

12. Play Great 4.0

13. Music OK 2.5

14. Visuals Great 4.0
15. Content

16. Edge

    Tame 1.2

    The film provides an incisive lens into how fierce football is well beyond game day, especially when Archie and his college teammates describe the brutal preseason regimen at Ole Miss back in the day.

17. Sex Innocent 1.0

18. Violence Fierce 1.7

    Southern Fried Football

    SEC Style

19. Rudeness Polite 1.0

21. Reality

    Natural 1.0

    The recent Indianapolis showdown between Peyton Manning’s Broncos and Andrew Luck’s Colts included much commentary about the two football prodigies and scions. It turns out that Luck’s father Oliver backed up Archie Manning when they played for the Houston Oilers in the early Eighties. One commentator mentioned that part of the senior Luck’s duties was driving around the starting QB’s sons.

    Somehow that perk of stardom didn’t make it into The Book of Manning.

    ESPN.com on Colts celebrate Peyton Manning

22. Circumstantial Natural 1.0

23. Biological Natural 1.0

24. Physical Natural 1.0