It's too bad that Gracie's story seems bent on staying on the surface of such familiar turf, rather than digging deeper to reveal what propels her.
Gracie (2007)
Tomatometer
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Reviews Counted:31
Fresh:15
Rotten:16
Average Rating:5.4/10
Consensus: Gracie can be rousing and touching in spots, but is ultimately undone by its predictable story arc and a lack of nuance.
Theatrical Release:Jun 1, 2007 Wide
Box Office: $2,922,776
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’... 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 as well, being married to Elisabeth Shue. The film also features a terrific 1970's soundtrack including classic songs from Boston, Blondie, Aretha Franklin, and the Boss, Bruce Springsteen. Living in South Orange New Jersey, 15 year old Gracie Bowen (Carly Schroeder) is the only girl in a 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 boy's high school varsity soccer 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 finds reserves of strength she never knew existed, and persists in changing everyone's beliefs in what she is capable of, including her own. Gracie not only forces her father to wake up from his grief and see her as the beautiful and strong person that she has always been but she also brings her family together in the face of their tragedy. -- © Picturehouse [More]
Starring: Carly Schroeder, Dermot Mulroney, Elisabeth Shue, Andrew Shue
Starring: Carly Schroeder, Dermot Mulroney, Elisabeth Shue, Andrew Shue, Julia Garro, Jay Patterson, Christopher Shand, Jesse Lee, Jack Walker
Director: Davis Guggenheim
Director: Davis Guggenheim
Screenwriter: Karen Janszen, Lisa Marie Peterson
Producer: Davis Guggenheim, Andrew Shue, Elisabeth Shue, Lemore Syvan
Composer: Mark Isham
Studio: Picturehouse
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Reviews for Gracie
Ends up more like a middling after-school special than an insightful look at family dynamics.
[Actress Schroeder] gives Gracie a credibly rugged edge, building her into a mini-tower of blond ambition and almost rescuing the role from cliché. Almost, but not quite, not when burdened with a script so proudly rooted in uplift's trite traditions.
It’s a nice film and the Shue family, honestly, they should be proud of what they’ve done.
Gracie is a gentle, easygoing picture -- it's not exactly dramatically gripping, but somehow, its spirit carries it through.
Everyone who made this movie had his or her heart in the right place, even though they got so much wrong.
Meant to be a thrilling inspiration, it only feels a little like a teacher-recommended Afterschool Special.
It's puzzling to watch someone present her own life in terms of cliché.
A nicely confident Schroeder strides though the movie as if it's a masterpiece, and Mulroney is equally charismatic. But they can't quite save Gracie from feeling like a vanity project.
With so much invested in this film, Gracie represents the culmination of a family dream, so you can't really blame it for wearing its heart on its sleeve.
Gracie, a tale about a teen girl blazing trails in soccer, is worthy, but it's also formulaic to a fault.
All the film's good intentions are still somewhat undercut by its corn content.
A truly winning American soccer movie has yet to be made, but Gracie is good enough to play for a tie.
It's a sweet and uplifting film, and though quite predictable, gives us a family drama that showcases simple truths about overcoming seemingly impossible odds and leaves you with a warm and very satisfying feeling deep down.
Does Gracie work as a movie? Just close enough, and closer still for a young soccer player who may already know her sports movie clichés but also recognizes when they touch on something once and truly felt.
A familiar underdog story told with unusual sensitivity, Davis Guggenheim's Gracie depicts the obstacles faced by a young girl who dreams of playing on her high school soccer team.
It's a trite, indifferently told underdog sports story that could only have been redeemed by perfect execution.
It would be easy to dismiss this drama about a high school girl who goes out for the boys' soccer team as something we've all seen before. But that would be ignoring the movie's plucky appeal.
Only auds not exposed to similar inspirational sports scenarios will doubt for a second that she'll eventually succeed.
Latest News for Gracie
September 20, 2007:
Box Office Guru Preview: Jovovich vs. Alba in Multiplex Mayhem
Jodie Foster will find herself in the middle of a catfight over the number one spot this weekend. The star of current chart-topper The Brave One will face challenges from Milla... More...
June 03, 2007:
Box Office Guru Wrapup: "Pirates" #1, "Knocked Up" Strong #2
Disney still claimed the most popular film in the land with "Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End" despite a drop that was sizable even by tentpole standards.... More...
May 31, 2007:
Box Office Guru Preview: "Knocked Up" Expecting Solid Arrival
Call it the weekend of the actor/producer. Three new films with stars that do double duty behind the scenes (or have good agents that can snag a free credit) enter a marketplace... More...
May 31, 2007:
Critical Consensus: "Knocked Up" Is A Knockout; "Mr. Brooks," "Gracie" Less So
This week at the movies we've got matters of life ("Knocked Up," starring Katherine Heigl and Seth Rogen), death ("Mr. Brooks," starring Kevin Costner and... More...
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