The Longshots (2008)
Average Rating: 5.2/10
Reviews Counted: 72
Fresh: 29 | Rotten: 43
The Longshots means well, but it's a largely formulaic affair, rarely deviating from the inspirational sports movie playbook.
Average Rating: 4.9/10
Critic Reviews: 22
Fresh: 7 | Rotten: 15
The Longshots means well, but it's a largely formulaic affair, rarely deviating from the inspirational sports movie playbook.
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Average Rating: 3.5/5
User Ratings: 22,317
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Movie Info
Former Limp Bizkit frontman Fred Durst directs Ice Cube and Keke Palmer in this battle-of-the-sexes sports comedy about a former high-school football star who coaches his niece to become the first-ever girl quarterback in the history of Pop Warner football. Based on a true story, The Longshots opens in the struggling American town of Minden, IL. The Minden Browns used to be one of the strongest teams in the Pop Warner league, but lately things have taken a turn for the worst. Recognizing that
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Cast
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Ice Cube
Curtis Plummer -
Keke Palmer
Jasmine Plummer -
Tasha Smith
Claire Plummer -
Jill Marie Jones
Ronnie -
Dash Mihok
Cyrus -
Miles Chandler
Damon -
Matt Craven
Coach Fisher -
Glenn Plummer
Winston -
Garrett Morris
Rev. Pratt -
Earthquake
Karl -
Michael Colyar
Ennis -
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The Longshots Trailer & Photos
All Critics (72) | Top Critics (22) | Fresh (29) | Rotten (43) | DVD (8)
The most surprising thing about the inspirational sports movie The Longshots is not that there isn't already an inspirational sports movie with that exact name. The big shock is that the director Fred Durst -- and he doesn't do half bad.
Top CriticA cliché-riddled, warm and fuzzy, small-town sports drama.
The Longshots is a likable enough Cinderella story, one whose heart is clearly in the right place, even if it winds up on its sleeve once too often.
This genuinely affecting movie, based on a true story, has a heart as big as a football field even when its plot points are telegraphed.
The Longshots (awful title, guys) plays every instrument in the cliché orchestra, but it at least plays them well, and its characters are likable enough to settle in with for a pleasant hour and a half.
Its charms, however slight or familiar, are present and its family-friendly characters and dialogue are refreshing.
Despite its roots in real life, much of The Longshots feels like Hollywood stirring the pot.
The script may have taken an hour to write, and I hope they got a bulk rate on generic inspirational music, but Cube and his young co-star, Keke Palmer, are plenty charismatic, and Durst doesn't knock over the camera.
It has a nice message, and despite the fact that I feel he's been totally emasculated over the years, Cube remains a solid actor.
Durst's surprisingly gentle and understated direction lends the proceedings authenticity even when they cover the most pro forma ground.
That's the problem with this well-intentioned celebration of the spirit of Title IX: it wants so badly to be liked that it tries to blend into the crowd. [Blu-ray]
Ice Cube brings his family film "A" game to The Longshots
A winner for the whole family.
It is unabashedly sentimental and, at times sincerely touching, mainly when Ice Cube and Palmer are alone together on the screen.
Cube and Durst have certainly survived worse career flops, but the chances of them working together again on a film? Let's just say it's a longshot.
It's rare to see a well-made movie that empowers young girls the way this one does. So who am I to complain about the plot being formulaic?
It's a by-the-numbers Hollywood movie, but a surprisingly competent one.
Yet another inspirational sports flick.
A Disney wannabe, Fred Durst's girl power sports flick is ho hum and very forgettable...
The based-on-a-true-story tale of Pop Warner's first female quarterback is a feelgood picture with not a single convention out of place that manages not to offend even if it also doesn't offer a single shred of originality.
...sensitive, well-attuned performances [from] Ice Cube and [Keke] Palmer...
Not maudlin enough to make it memorable
Audience Reviews for The Longshots
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Latest News on The Longshots
February 14, 2011:
Paul Walker Joins Fred Durst's Pawn Shop ChroniclesFred Durst has cast Paul Walker in his next project, a thriller titled "Pawn Shop Chronicles" that's...
October 1, 2010:
Fred Durst to Direct Pawn Shop ChroniclesFred Durst is lining up his next directorial gig: "Pawn Shop Chronicles," a project being described...
August 25, 2008:
Cube's Longshots Pay Off for Director DurstFred Durst knows no one expected him to trade in his backwards hat for a director's chair --...
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