The Longshots (2008)

"The Longshots," on the surface, is a movie we've seen countless times before -an underachieving team, freshly motivated, become real competitors as they ride from one victory to the next. What sets "The Longshots" apart, however, is the central relationship between a sullen girl and her out-of-work uncle.

The film is about Jasmine Plummer (Keke Palmer), the first girl quarterback to play in the Pop Warner football tournament.

Jasmine, who lives with her mom, Claire (Tasha Smith), is an eleven-year-old more at ease reading books than socializing with classmates. She's tried to get involved in after-school activities, but is teased and soon retreats to her books.

When Claire's work schedule is changed to a later shift, she asks Jasmine's Uncle Curtis (Ice Cube) to look after her in the afternoons. Reluctantly, Curtis agrees. Both Jasmine and Curtis initially resent this arrangement, but try to make the best of it. One day, Curtis, a former high school football player, tosses around a football with Jasmine and sees that she has a good eye and a strong arm. He talks Jasmine into trying out for the local team, telling her she owes it to herself to pursue something she does well.

The story is set in the fictional town of Minden, economically devastated since a local factory -the town's major employer -closed down a few years ago. Many shops on the main street are closed, idle men hang out on the streets, and a general air of resigned despair permeates people, buildings, and the town itself.

The film's second act focuses on Jasmine's making the team and turning around its fortunes from also-ran to winner. The team's success energizes the town, giving it something to be proud of.

"The Longshots" delivers a far different experience than I anticipated. Director Fred Durst devotes considerable time to the growing relationship between Jasmine and Curtis. We really get to know them and have a firm grip on their personalities, fears, and frustrations. In a non-rushed series of scenes -some with gently comic moments -we come to like these two people and care about what will happen to them.

Ice Cube is very good as Curtis, a man whose self-esteem has taken a hit in the years since his high school glory days. His Curtis is a decent guy who genuinely cares for his niece, partly because his brother, Jasmine's father, has abandoned her. His suggestions are never bullying. They are presented with logical back-up and rationale. He relies upon Jasmine to weigh the suggestions and decide for herself whether to pursue them. Ice Cube is wonderfully expressive, and perfectly conveys what he's thinking, a technique invaluable in acting for the camera.

Ms. Palmer provides a sympathetic yet spirited Jasmine. As she comes to know her uncle better and like him, she listens to him and comes to have faith in herself and respect for her own athletic ability. By playing football, she is making her uncle happy, but is also tapping talents she never knew she had.

What "The Longshots" doesn't contain are scenes of excessive team putdowns of Jasmine, big arguments about a girl playing football, and a melodramatic family home life. Director Durst has wisely cut to the chase, staying with the story of Jasmine, Curtis, and the team's effect on Minden, and avoiding the cliches.

Rated PG, "The Longshots" is an excellent family film -a movie that can be enjoyed equally by a young audience and their parents.

This was a touching and well made movie!

I'm not even into football but I was rooting for this little girl all the way...then I was rooting for this community!

Bottom line this was a great family film that pulls at your heart strings and makes you root for the underdog!

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Longshots has a good story. It also has terrific performances by both Ice Cube and Keke Palmer, which won't go unnoticed to the viewer. The problem with the film is that it doesn't go deep enough to really tap into the emotional core of the film the way other sports films have done, such as "Remember the Titans" or "Rudy." At an hour and a half, I feel that they could have added another 20-30 minutes to really make this movie fly. The movie is still watchable, fun entertainment, for the most part.

Longshots is based on a true story of a young girl who wants to play football, and becomes the first girl to ever play in the Pop Warner Superbowl. Jasmine Plummer lives with her mother. Her father has left the family and is nowhere to be found. She spends her spare time reading, and she's ridiculed by her classmates at school for always having her nose in a book. Her one desire in life is to become a model. Her mother has to take on extra hours at work, and so Jasmine is left with her unemployed uncle, Curtis. At first, and a bit predictably, Jasmine and Curtis have a difficult time getting along, seeing that they don't have much in common. Curtis doesn't go anywhere without his football, and Jasmine is the same way with her books. When Curtis is playing catch with a friend, the ball lands at Jasmine's feet (yes, we've seen this formula a number of times), and Jasmine delivers a near-perfect pass. Suddenly, it dawns on Curtis to help Jasmine develop her skills of becoming a quarterback that even she doesn't know she has.

Keke Palmer is one of today's best upcoming actresses. She was fantastic in "Akeelah and the Bee," and she matches Ice Cube in every scene. Evidently, she trained very hard to be able to throw a football. There is a hilarious scene when Jasmine is trying to put on all of her football equipment, and she lets out a piercing scream of disgust when she realizes she's holding a jock strap.

Ice Cube is equally good as her uncle, Curtis. Curtis is a man who is feeling the pains of being stuck. He feels that he should have left the little town they live in, which is all but dead due to the economy. He spends his days hanging out at the field, and little else. He wears the same clothes for days. However, finding a companion in Jasmine, Curtis discovers that he now has something to do with his time that is worthwhile.

I would have loved to see more development between Jasmine and Curtis. The story had something really special going on between these two characters, but there simply isn't enough time to devote to them, as the story shifts to Jasmine's football training, a few games, and then, of course, the championship game in Miami.

There are a couple of scenes when her father comes back. I would have also liked to have seen this dynamic played out a bit more as well as the strained relationship between Jasmine's father and Curtis, who now bitterly resents his brother for abandoning Jasmine. These three characters are really the most interesting in the film. Even a budding romance between Curtis and Jasmine's teacher feels contrived and unreal. It is also unnecessary.

The football scenes are fine, and they play themselves out in typical fashion. There isn't anything we haven't already scene in other films, which is another reason why I feel that movie short-changed itself in the characterization and the relationships. The heart of the movie seemed to lie there, so I was hoping for something deeper.

In any case, Longshots is a good film that can certainly be enjoyed by the whole family. However, the movie could have been so much more than it ended up being.

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This is a very good Family Movie and Ice cube is such a great Actor.I recomend it to family's.It shows what can happen when you beleive in

Yourself.and how much courage this Girl has to go for what you beleive in.I also enjoy Keke palmer.she is a great actor as well.

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i ordered this movie for my kid brother who loves this movie and i am so glad and happy he loves it so thank you for the great price.

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