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Carly Schroeder, Elisabeth Shue, Dermot Mulroney. Sports drama. Written by Lisa Marie Petersen, Karen Janszen. Directed by Davis Guggenheim.

FILM SYNOPSIS: Set in 1978, Gracie is an inspirational film about a teenage girl who overcomes the loss of her brother and fights the odds to achieve her dream of playing competitive soccer at a time when girls’ soccer did not exist. Based on true events from the lives of the Shue family (producer and co-star Andrew Shue, Academy Award-nominated actress Elisabeth Shue, the film is directed by Academy Award-winning director Davis Guggenheim (An Inconvenient Truth), who happens to be part of the family, being married to Elisabeth Shue.

Fifteen-year-old Gracie Bowen (Carly Schroeder) is the only girl in the family of three brothers. Their family life revolves almost entirely around soccer: her father (Dermot Mulroney) and brothers are obsessed with the sport, practicing in the backyard’s makeshift field every day from morning ‘til night. Tragedy unexpectedly strikes when Gracie’s older brother Johnny (Jesse Lee Soffer), star of the high school varsity soccer team and Gracie’s only protector, is killed in a car accident. Struggling with grief over her family’s loss, Gracie decides to fill the void left on her brother’s team by petitioning the school board to allow her to play on the boys’ team in his place. Her father, a former soccer star himself, tries to prove to Gracie that she is not tough enough or talented enough to play with boys. Her mother, Lindsey Bowen (Elisabeth Shue), already an outsider in the sports-obsessed family, is no help either. Undeterred, Gracie proves herself and manages to bring her family together in the face of their tragedy.

PREVIEW REVIEW: There have been several female celebrities of late in trouble with the law and seemingly lost emotionally. My theory, for what it’s worth, is that if a young girl has a supportive, healthy relationship with her dad, she won’t be looking for love and acknowledgement in all the wrong places. This movie points that out. The lead’s father, more comfortable with his sons, doesn’t know how to talk to or show affection for his daughter. And when her beloved older brother dies, she feels adrift. So, the movie is about more than a girl wanting to play a man’s sport. It’s about fathers and daughters. The film has a lot to say and it handles the subject not with much subtlety, but certainly with sincerity.

The only trouble for me is that I don’t get soccer, period. Let alone why a girl would want to play it. I guess I’d have a difficult time sending my little girl out to play a sport I knew would injure her. I’m afraid I’d have been one of the bad guys, I’d have said no. But, as I said, the film isn’t really about this sport, but about communicating your love for your child.

Carly Schroeder (Firewall, Prey) shows spunk and determination and though I’m not an expert, her ability with a soccer ball seems genuine. The pacing is good, but the filming of the actual “big” game is less than convincing. It’s not a great sports film, but the filmmakers have made a solid goal with its message.

Distributor: Picturehouse