Promised Land (1988) on Netflix

Plot summary

David Hancock was the basketball star of his high school, and a college athletic scholarship ended when a better player took his place. He came back to his hometown, joined the police force, and lives in middle-class mediocrity with Mary Daley, his girlfriend, who studies art in college and is in no hurry to marry him. He still minds losing his sports stardom, and the prospect that Mary will succeed more than he does. Danny Rivers, the class brain nicknamed Senator, was expected to become a fair and just politician. He returns with his bride, Bev Sykes, who is unrestrained and overbearing, and on Christmas Eve he sees his parents again and learns that his father is dying. He cannot accept coming home poor after leaving with great expectations.