You Gotta Believe
You Gotta Believe
You Gotta Believe: In the late 1970s with the New York Mets aiming for the pennant, Tug McGraw instilled belief into the fans, a slogan that propelled them during the historic run for the end of 1973. This belief is also applicable in this relay that revolves around another set of great underdogs, a team of Fort Worth Little Leaguers, who captured everyone’s hearts and traveled all the way to the Little League World Series in 2002. It’s an earnest film that suffers tonally, containing flat representations of the characters involved and far too many clumsy cliches regarding commitment and support towards each other.
In order to away with pretense from the start, I will say out loud what all three of the flicks under review: “The Sandlot” is the film “You Gotta Believe” wanted to be, and they even got actor Patrick Renna from that movie into the cast. It starts off with triumphant horns on the soundtrack, and all the cut scenes that revive the memories of childhood sports: a baby pitcher places his fingers on the baseball’s stitches, there’s a sun ray shot from behind him and the crowd cheering. Terror this time! Barely a minute later, it shifts to comical high pitch, featuring poor catches, a batter too busy making time with his teammates’ sister to notice a pitch being thrown at his head, and an outfield flying off a foul ball and colliding with a popcorn machine. The grips say 9-0. Coach Jon Kelly is in the dugout auditing his law firm’s billable documents. As the team’s Yogi Berra and Sparky Anderson, his best friend and co-coach Bobby Ratliff recalls they had a d ocetaless minute sex scene or promised a fight. Both men have sons on the team. Fine by Jon. Only if somebody shut them up for good: it was the “last game of the season.” They might as well be the worst team in the league, but at least it’s all finished.
But as it turns out there is more to come as well. Kliff (Renna) requests Jon to train this all-star team in what seems more like Jon’s out of form west-side team because the other teams refuse to play. If they fail to field a team at the state qualifiers for the Little League World Series, their sponsorship will lapse. He declines the invitation. But in that chain, the worst thing comes closer, Bobby is reported to have brain tumor. Jon in return says he does not resist the offer to coach the no-star all-star team for two reasons; one because it means the world to Bobby, and the second his grandfather’s cancer reminds him enough that life is too will not be remembered as a corporate law and rule follower. With just 10 days in hand for the first game Jon enlists a drill sergeant (Lew Temple) to take charge of their conditioning and Martin Roach a former pro pitcher to assist with pitching. Somehow, practically out of nowhere, they win the very first qualifying match of theirs, and when a star pitcher from the opposition team retired they went on to finals in Pennsylvania. After receiving the necessary details, just about believing is all that is left.
Texas natives Director Ty Roberts, co-screenwriter Lane Garrison, and star Luke Wilson team up again in the sports-themed underdog story 12 Mighty Orphans. Similar to that movie, You Gotta Believe also portrays a deep love of sports as well as an appreciation for the athletes and coaches who do not compete in order to achieve records, but rather bring out the best in all participants. The young team members are nice kids and Kinnear and Wilson do have some chemistry with young actors. However, the picture is also filled with a number of camera gimmicks and it is trying to do too much at the same time with Jon as the underdog, family at the center of a terminally ill loved one with numerous other tales. ‘‘Cute’’ schoolyard jokes where numerous insults are even potty-based along with instances of schoolyard ignorance, like 11-year-olds asking what taxes and strippers are, are inappropriately elevated so that entire team’s dialogue heavily relies on them. But somehow in 2002 they all sing the title song of the show from the 60’s in which they appeared previously.
When the adults have their turn to speak, it tends not to get any better.
The ever-so-talented Molly Parker and Sarah Gadon are unfortunately subject to playing the ever-encouraging wives. Every so often, Jon and Bobby take it in turns to deliver cliched motivational verbal barrage that is slightly reminiscent of mixing fortune cookies and Yoda. “Winning is just one of the things that you cannot expect all the time, but the others together as a team yes,” goes one didactic turn. “What I have and the number one thing is what I give,” says another.
The film features different themes that are in opposition yet struggle to appeal to the viewers – the team coming together, Jon realizing what mattered after the profession cut him away, Bobby facing late stage cancer, his kids imagining that the dad they loved had a chance, even that somehow winning was significant. Those parents with young kids who think of it as a nice encouraging tale of a person wishing to be a part of an underperforming Little League team are going to be very disappointed. There’s too little baseball and too much of a family remorsing a profound loss. Those more keen on the narrative of the grown ups will be disappointed too; there is too much baseball. Steee-rike.
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- Genre: Drama, Family, Sport
- Country: United States
- Director: Ty Roberts
- Cast: Luke Wilson, Greg Kinnear, Sarah Gadon
