Synopsis
On a crisp Ohio night in the fall of 1996, the best high school quarterback in the country shattered his knee on a heroic play that brought his hometown of Coldwater the State Championship they had long treasured and desired. Fifteen years later, that quarterback, SCOTT MURPHY (Brian Presley), is a struggling farmer, longing for the life he believed he would have had fate not intervened.
Before the injury, he was dating JENNY DUGAN (Sarah Wright), the prettiest girl in town, who is now a news anchor in Houston, Texas. Her husband, NFL star CHRIS HALL, was Murphy’s number one target in high school, the direct beneficiary of Murphy’s unbelievable passing skills. Murphy is married to MACY (Melanie Lynskey), whom he met in the hospital when he was recovering from his injury. They have two beautiful kids, but Murphy is not happy. Murphy’s mom THELMA (Christine Lahti) wishes he could see the positives in his life.
It’s not that Murphy is completely bitter. He’s a good person, has many friends, but he grew up believing he was destined for greatness, and he can’t help feeling like he’s stuck in this town. His best friend is a guy he used to bully in high school, TODD WHITE.
COACH HAND (Kurt Russell) asks Murphy to help him coach the Black Bears, and pleads with him to come to a reunion of the State Championship team. Everyone will be there, even Hall. Murphy refuses, telling Coach Hand that no one helps him, so why should he look out for anyone else’s wellbeing. An ice storm threatens Murphy’s crops, and he has to drive across the state for the only piece of farming equipment that can save his crops. As he sits in his truck, parked in his garage, the fumes put him to sleep, and when he wakes up...it’s 1996.
More specifically, it’s 1996, the week before the championship game against the Red Raiders. Faced with a chance to change his life, Murphy seizes the moment, but he finds himself making choices that he never would have made as a teenager. Jenny is still the most beautiful girl in school, and while he loves her ambition, he doesn’t love her.
Instead, he’s drawn to the teenaged Macy, who he never even noticed in high school. He inexplicably defends Todd from the rest of the Black Bear football team. As the big game approaches, Murphy cannot decide what to do. Should he reaffirm his destiny, or accept the life he now lives. He seeks advice from Coach Hand, and learns that Coach has been offered a position at Ohio State, where Murphy was supposed to attend college. But Coach Hand is not taking the job, because he loves Coldwater too much.
The big game goes exactly as it did the first time, and Murphy spots Macy in the crowd, in her band uniform. Will he change history? Or embrace destiny? TOUCHBACK is an inspirational family film in the vein of THE FAMILY MAN, featuring exciting football action and an ending that will touch and exhilarate audiences worldwide.