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entertaining u newspaper: your weekly guide to entertainment
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Knocked Up
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by rick grant
rickgrant01@comcast.net
B Rated PG-13 90 min
Essentially, this is a predictable formulaic sport story involving a girl soccer whiz, 15 year old Gracie Bowen (Carly Schroeder) who, against all odds, wants to play on the boys team after her brother, Johnny is killed in a car accident. Set in 1978 South Orange, New Jersey, the story was inspired by Elisabeth Shue’s teenage soccer career.
Gracie is the only girl in a family of three brothers. Her father Bryan (Demot Mulroney) is a former soccer star and coach who had pushed his son Johnny to excel at the sport. When Johnny is tragically killed, Bryan is devastated and falls into a grief-fueled depression.
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Grieving for her brother, Gracie is obsessed with soccer, but her school does not have a varsity girls soccer team. As a tribute to her brother, Gracie wants to fill his slot on his team. Gracie’s mom, Lindsey (Elisabeth Shue) is not crazy about Gracie’s interest in soccer, but she supports her daughter’s campaign to win a spot on the boys’ soccer team.
There are many hurtles to overcome, such as the school’s policy against inter-gender sports. Gracie’s dad, Bryan is dead set against her playing with the boys’ team. No matter how skilled she is at the game, she doesn’t have the physical mass to compete with the scrappy male players. The boys are too strong and she will get hurt. Undeterred, Gracie practices on her own to the detriment of her grades.
When all her efforts to play on the boys’ team are thwarted, Gracie is frustrated and starts to act out. This leads her to a downhill slide into dangerous behavior. Her father sees this happening and decides to coach her and do what ever it takes to get her on the soccer team. He even quits his job to devote his full time energies to coaching Gracie.
On the surface, every sports movie cliche` is shamelessly exploited by filmmaker Davis Guggenheim, who co-wrote the script along with Andrew and Elisabeth Shue, Karen Jansen, and Lisa Marie Petersen. Still, the stellar cast and lack of gushing sentimentality make this sports film different and entertaining. Sure, a monkey could predict where the story is headed, but there are a few surprises. Carly Schroeder portrays Gracie with just the right chemistry of teen angst and dogged determination. Her stunning blue eyes flash with acting talent. But it’s obvious that her thin frame is no match for the much bigger and stronger boys.
As father Byran works with Gracie, their mutual interest in soccer helps to overcome their grief and form a solid bond between them. Oddly, at times, Gracie loses her confidence, especially when she plays with the rough and tumble boys’ sand-lot players. But, she lifts herself up and continues to play with her brother’s spirit to guide her. It’s an uphill struggle for Gracie to get up to the level of the boys’ team. However, dad is supportive and drives her hard.
The boys soccer coach has been against Gracie playing on his team from the beginning. When dad finally gets the School Board’s permission to let her try out, the coach is dubious that she will make the team. So, she goes to the try-out and works hard to make the cut.
Shockingly, Gracie finds out that she is out-classed physically on the field with the boys, and she gets banged up badly. The coach is not impressed, but he admires her spunk and determination. Still, he has to think about winning and doesn’t need a weak link on his team. Director Guggenheim built the momentum to eke out every drop of whoopie from this scenario as the story reaches its climax. It’s way too familiar to savvy viewers. Of course, the movie is aimed at young fanatical soccer players and fans who grow up mysteriously liking football instead of soccer. No matter how many sports movies are released, audiences really like them, especially young people. Soccer is wildly popular among a certain age group and they will love this picture.
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