I have a bunch of friends with ties to Penn State University. Former students. Parents of students. Former professors. All of them have drank the Nittany Kool Aid. Years after graduation, they still show up there on fall Saturdays for a religious experience/football game.
Many times, the same friends have prodded me about attending a game in Happy Valley. It would be a monumental experience. I would find religion. My arthritic knees would be healed. PS, my knees still bother me. And I still have yet to visit Happy Valley.
When PSU played in the Rose Bowl a few years ago, there was a pep rally for their fans at Beverly Hills High School near my home. I went to see what all the fuss was about. I found people who are insanely devoted to their college and their football team. It's almost scary how fervent they all are.
So, of course, I was chuckling inwardly a few years ago when the whole pedophile scandal broke. Still, my PSU friends were undaunted and defending their beloved coach Joe Paterno who may or may not have pulled off a Richard Nixon-like cover-up of the nefarious goings-on in the gym showers. Of course, all Nixon had to do to escape the frenzy was resign from office. Paterno went even further and immediately died from cancer.
So, naturally, all of the above made me a perfect viewer of the new documentary cleverly called "Happy Valley." Director Amir Bar-Lev tells the story of what happened several years ago when the news first broken about the assistant coach/child molester Jerry Sandusky. It hits all the appropriate beats and lays out the tale in a crisp and concise manner.
Yet, somehow, it's all lacking.
Bar-Lev gives us the whole PSU scandal in a very linear fashion. This happened and then that happened and then this happened. The director apparently has no skin in the game. He has no real opinion or viewpoint one way or the other. No one gets a pass in "Happy Valley." And he is pretty straight-forward about the question of what Coach Joe Paterno did or did not know. This is one of the most balanced documentaries I have seen in a long time.
Yet, somehow, it's all lacking.
Bar-Lev manages to gets some talking heads, including Paterno's widow, Sue, and the "adopted" son of Jerry Sandusky, who himself came forward with his own tales of sexual molestation. But, in my mind, there are a lot of other missed opportunities. He talks with one PSU senior over and over and over again as if he is the sole and official view of all students. He talks to a couple of faculty members, but always the same ones. I would have appreciated a wider cross section of opinions. How about some of the alumni? How about somebody in the admissions office? Was enrollment impacted by the scandal? Hell, my friend's kid actually gave thought of transferring because of all the ugly news. "Happy Valley" clearly left money on the table.
There are still a lot of compelling moments in the film. There is one extended sequence involving the famed statue of Joe Paterno, which has since been removed. Fans would go to take their selfies with the statue, despite the fact that there's one dude there holding a "pedophile" sign. A variety of comical skirmishes ensue and that's the highlight of the whole movie.
There's plenty of on-campus footage of book stores with murals and tailgating parties. I certainly got the feel of being in Happy Valley and now I never really have to go. Sorry, guys. But, when it came to providing a complete picture of the recent scandal, "Happy Valley" falls just a little bit short.
LEN'S RATING: Three stars.
Dinner last night: Leftover tortellini.
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