‘If you score that many goals of course you are a hero…’
Peter Crouch has become a household name now almost to the point of oversaturation. The path from footballer to TV presenter has a chequered history. Nobody wants to see Ian Wright presenting a quiz show. Crouch found his niche with his celebrated podcast (which started out great but soon become unlistenable due to the fact that his co-hosts are unbearable) but I was concerned that That Peter Crouch Film might be uncomfortably close to the ‘light entertainment’ arena in which Crouch currently seems to be flirting with. Luckily, Benjamin Hirsch’s documentary is quite simply a very solid football doc. Nothing more, nothing less…
Starting with Crouch’s youth career at Spurs and Portsmouth and culminating with a hat trick for England and an F.A. Cup final win, That Peter Crouch Film charts the remarkable career of an unconventional footballer. The early parts of the documentary in which Crouch addresses the astonishing level of abuse he received at the start of his career are both absorbing and just very sad. Lesser players would have been broken by such an experience and it is a testament to Crouch’s ability as a player and as a man that he was able to overcome the abuse to have a genuinely wonderful career.
Interviews with Crouch’s family and friends are poignant but we also hear from various football men (Harry Redknapp, Steven Gerrard, Jamie Carragher) and this provides a fascinating insight into one of modern football’s most compelling stories. In an age in which football has never been more predictable and sanitised, That Peter Crouch Film is a tribute to one of the beautiful game’s last great characters. Very enjoyable.