This documentary is very informative and interesting. It's a hard one for me to rate because of the direction this movie turned out to take. Todd was born into a world where he was completely brainwashed by his father into being a football player. I'm not talking about a talent that was pushed too far (a theory the directors at the end conclude as bad parenting for those like Tiger Woods and the Williams sisters) but a childhood which began without a choice but to have talent. From 4 months old his father is stretching his legs... loosening him up and then giving him a strict diet he must abide by for the entirety of his childhood. The pressure and expectations of course led to drugs and sadness. To say his father didn't make him do the drugs is irresponsible. To end this movie on a note like everything is OK because Todd chose at a certain point (after beating the NY Giants like his dad had always talked about doing) that he was no longer interested in playing football is irresponsible. Todd chose that moment because it was his first moment he felt like he had finally gotten his dad's approval and he could walk away. Which of course, he couldn't. With all the media press and society glaring at him to do what is "supposed" to be done with that talent, Todd looked everywhere for an escape.The story is great and I enjoyed this a great deal. But to edit it in a way as well as have the directors validate his father in an epilogue type conclusion is preposterous. People make mistakes. His father made a big mistake. But we don't get any acknowledgment of that. We get this sweet happily ever after story that just doesn't sit right.

"Hard, Fast and Beautiful" ESPN has made a lot excellent sports documentaries in recent years. And, not surprisingly, several have been about very hot high school and college prospects who have fallen flat on their faces when it comes time to go pro--such as Len Bias, Chris Herren, Marcus Dupree and now with "The Marinovich Project", Todd Marinovich. So, the subject matter of this film is very familiar. What's a bit different is how he grew up--with a father was was an ex-football star and a trainer for the Raiders. Starting as a very young boy, Todd was placed on a special diet and exercise program and lasted through most of his childhood. Now Marinovich MUST have had some natural gifts as well--but regardless, he was an amazing quarterback--leading major high school and college teams as a Freshman! But, in spite of these gifts, Todd was unable emotionally to handle it--throwing it away on drugs and a lack of discipline--which is ironic, as his childhood was ALL discipline.The film gives you a lot to question. Did his father push him too hard? Was the guy simply a screw up? Was he gifted but folks needed to allow him to emotionally mature before giving him the chance to star? I think the most interesting thing I heard in this documentary was when Todd's brother said "If people want to say it's my father's fault, I could see that---but no one told Todd to take drugs". I couldn't have said it any better. And I also really appreciated the latter part of the film as well as the epilogue by the filmmakers--making it clear that it's NOT as simple as blaming dad. If the film had, I would have enjoyed it FAR less.

Marinovich Project, The (2011) *** (out of 4) Very good documentary from ESPN and directors John Dorsey and Andrew Stephan. Todd Marinovich was a USC quarterback who ended up getting drafted by the Oakland Raiders before he found himself in prison and rehab for drug addiction. Wow, a person with a great talent throws it all away. Well, that's not really what this story is about. Todd's father Marv trained his son from the time he was a newborn to make him a great football player. News reports would call Todd "RoboQuarterback" and it was known by most media outlets that this kid had been in training for everyday of his life in hopes that he would turn into something great. I think people are going to watch this film and say that it was the father's fault that he pushed his son so hard that the only thing the kid could do was rebel and try the drug. Some might even look at it and say only the kid is the blame because he's the one who was doing cocaine before a football game. I think a simple documentary would have been about these subjects but the directors tried to tell a different story and that story is really the love relationship between the father and son. I must admit that I found their story to be incredibly touching because of what the two have meant to one another and how this plan of perfectly pretty much killed both of them. Both men are interviewed as well as Todd's mother, sister and some of his best friends. Howie Long, Junior Seau, Ronnie Lott and Petros Papadakis are also interviewed. There's also plenty of actual clips from his films, news broadcasts and we also get some home movie footage showing what type of training Todd was doing as a child, which included running ten miles a day by the time he was ten.