The Longshots

2008

The Longshots

Critics Consensus

The Longshots means well, but it's a largely formulaic affair, rarely deviating from the inspirational sports movie playbook.

41%

TOMATOMETER

Total Count: 71

61%

Audience Score

User Ratings: 22,651
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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 his old team needs some fresh blood in order to make a comeback, a former player (Cube) trains his 11-year-old niece, Jasmine (Palmer), to throw the ball like a true gridiron giant. While the powers that be scoff at the idea of a female quarterback, they soon begin to sing a different tune as Jasmine leads the Browns to the championships and an invigorating shot at redemption. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi
  • Rating:
    PG (for some thematic elements, mild language and brief rude humor)
  • Genre:
    Comedy, Drama
  • Directed By:
    Fred Durst
  • Written By:
    Doug Atchison, Nick Santora
  • In Theaters:
     wide
  • On Disc/Streaming:
  • Box Office:
    $11,389,715
  • Runtime:
  • Studio:
    The Weinstein Company

Cast

Ice Cube
as Curtis Plummer
Keke Palmer
as Jasmine Plummer
Tasha Smith
as Claire
Jill Marie Jones
as Ronnie
Dash Mihok
as Cyrus
Matt Craven
as Damon
Glenn Plummer
as Winston
Garrett Morris
as Reverend Pratt
Miles Chandler
as Damon
Malcolm Goodwin
as Roy
Michael Colyar
as Ennis
Dean Delray
as Andrew Kosowski
Earthquake
as Karl
Hugo Perez
as Edgar Mejavar
View All

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Critic Reviews for The Longshots

All Critics (71) | Top Critics (23) | Fresh (29) | Rotten (42)

  • It is unabashedly sentimental and, at times sincerely touching, mainly when Ice Cube and Palmer are alone together on the screen.

    Oct 18, 2008 | Rating: C+ | Full Review…

    Harper Barnes

    St. Louis Post-Dispatch
    Top Critic

  • 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.

    Aug 28, 2008 | Rating: B- | Full Review…

    Gregory Kirschling

    Entertainment Weekly
    Top Critic

  • A cliché-riddled, warm and fuzzy, small-town sports drama.

    Aug 22, 2008 | Rating: C- | Full Review…

    Adam Graham

    Detroit News
    Top Critic

  • 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.

    Aug 22, 2008 | Rating: 3/5 | Full Review…

    Gary Goldstein

    Los Angeles Times
    Top Critic

  • 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.

    Aug 22, 2008 | Rating: 3/5 | Full Review…

    Joe Neumaier

    New York Daily News
    Top Critic

  • 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.

    Aug 22, 2008 | Rating: 2.5/4

    Kyle Smith

    New York Post
    Top Critic
View All Critic Reviews (71)

Audience Reviews for The Longshots

  • Jun 12, 2010
    This story behind this movie was OK. I didn't think Keke Palmer played the role tough enough to play an 11 year old Pop Warner football player. Even for 11 year olds, it is a bruising game. But realism aside, it is an uplifting story.
    Red L Super Reviewer
  • Aug 08, 2009
    <I><b>The Longshots</I></b> is a predictable but enjoyable film about a young girl who just wants to blend in. She's a bit awkward and hides behind her books and is pretty much a loner. She would rather be left alone and seems pretty depressed about her father abandoning her. Her mother Claire works hard long hours and enlists her daughters fathers brother to look after Jasmine while she works. He refuses at first, but eventually agrees. He's not happy about the situation and she's not all that happy about the arrangement either. Curtis finds Jasmine to be rude, distant, and a bit weird since she ignores him behind her books. She doesn't care for him all that much either. She rags on him about his clothes and tells him a few times that he smells. Eventually they find a common interest, Football. Over the sport the two become very close and start to care a lot about each other. I am always more interested in the relationships between the characters. I enjoyed watching the relationship between the uncle and niece build up from being cold and distant to loving like a father and daughter relationship. Of course there was football in the middle of all that. Curtis helps Jasmine come out her shell by teaching her how to play football and by encouraging her to put herself out there. In turn she helped him peel off all the layers he had been hiding behind as well and become more than the smelly man who drinks beer out of a bag. It's a cute charming film. One the family could enjoy.
    &#9829;&#745;&#435;&#1048;&#1048; & Super Reviewer
  • Jan 31, 2009
    I felt rather pleased with this film, only to the extent that it was both funny and sweet.
    Joseph E Super Reviewer
  • Nov 20, 2008
    You should really see this...for the " come back kid " story in all of us. See this...it is packed with loads of fun...especially if you are a football fan!
    Fascade F Super Reviewer
See all Audience reviews

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