Cast overview, first billed only: | |||
Joe Paterno | ... | Self - Football Coach, Penn State University (archive footage) | |
![]() |
Jay Paterno | ... | Self - Joe Paterno's Son |
![]() |
Andrew Shubin | ... | Self - Local Attorney |
![]() |
Jerry Sandusky | ... | Self - Former Football Coach (archive footage) |
![]() |
Matt Sandusky | ... | Self - Jerry Sandusky's Adopted Son |
![]() |
Joe Posnanski | ... | Self - Joe Paterno's Biographer |
![]() |
Scott Paterno | ... | Self - Joe Paterno's Son |
![]() |
Sue Paterno | ... | Self - Joe Paterno's Wife |
![]() |
Tyler Estright | ... | Self - Penn State Class of 2013 |
![]() |
Pat Little | ... | Self - Local Photographer |
![]() |
Matt Jordan | ... | Self - Film Professor, Penn State University |
![]() |
Dorothy Sandusky | ... | Self - Jerry Sandusky's Wife (archive footage) |
![]() |
Michael Pilato | ... | Self - Mural Artist |
![]() |
Mark Emmert | ... | Self - NCAA President (archive footage) |
![]() |
Lou Prato | ... | Self - Local Historian |
The town of State College, the home of Penn State University, has long been known as Happy Valley, and its iconic figure for more than 40 years was Joe Paterno, the head coach of the school's storied football team. His program was lauded for not only its success on the field but also its students' achievements in the classroom. And Paterno took on mythic national stature as "Saint Joe." But then, in November 2011, everything came crashing down. Longtime Assistant Coach Jerry Sandusky was charged with 40 counts of child sex abuse, setting off a firestorm of accusations about who failed to protect the children of Happy Valley. Was Sandusky's abuse an "open secret" in the town? Did Coach Paterno and the Penn State administration value their football program more than the lives of Sandusky's victims? Filmed over the course of the year after Sandusky's arrest as key players in the scandal agreed to share their stories, Happy Valley deconstructs the story we think we know to uncover a much ... Written by Sundance Film Festival
Happy Valley (2014)
**** (out of 4)
This here is an excellent documentary that takes a look at the aftermath of the Jerry Sandusky scandal and how Penn State drew criticism for how they handled it. Another focus is on head football coach and legend Joe Paterno and his reputation.
HAPPY VALLEY is a great documentary because it takes a look at the subject in an open and honest way. It doesn't have an agenda to prove one thing or another but instead it simply tells a story, shows both sides of the argument and it lets the viewer make up their own mind on it. As the documentary shows, many people believe that the media took the focus away from the villain Sandusky and put it on the school and Paterno. Others feel that the school and Paterno didn't do enough.
That's basically the dilemma to this story and the documentary covers both sides extremely well. We get interviews with the Paterno family including Joe's widow and his sons but don't think that the documentary takes an easy viewpoint on him. It discusses what he knew, what he did about it and whether or not he should have done more considering who he is. The documentary also interviews Sandusky's adopted son who came forward that he had been abused as well.
The documentary mainly focuses on the year after the news broke and this of course includes Paterno's death, the removal of his name and statue from the school as well as how Penn State tried to rebound. There's no question that the film does a very good job at covering all sides of the event including the reaction to the people of Happy Valley and their anger at the media.
HAPPY VALLEY is certainly an excellent documentary that covers all the bases and is certainly worth watching.