"Gracie": Kicking and Screaming

Sometimes the worst movies result from the best of intentions, a notion that Gracie lives up to in spades. On the surface an earnest and unassuming, albeit somewhat hokey, sports-oriented drama, Gracie uses each of its 95 minutes to not only regurgitate every cliche of the genre known to man but also to ruin its noble premise with a painfully simplistic and darn near condescending storytelling approach.

The time is 1978, and the place is South Orange, New Jersey. Gracie Bowen (Carly Schroeder) is your average teenage girl, full of spunk and energy but whose dad (Dermot Mulroney) won't let her play soccer with her three brothers. It's a sport that means a lot to the Bowen clan, although this legacy is in danger of coming to an end after the eldest brother, the school soccer star, dies in a tragic accident. But while her dad is quick to abandon all hope, Gracie isn't about to let her beloved brother's memory slip away so easily. She plans to honor her sibling by trying out for the boys' soccer team and showing everyone what she can do. It's easier said than done, however, as not only is it a time in which girls weren't all that encouraged to take part in sports, Gracie's own father refuses to train her for fear that she'll get hurt. But despite an army of detractors and her own waning self-confidence, Gracie sets out to improve her skills and show the world that she has every right to play with the big boys.