The Movie
Gracie Bowen (Carly Schroeder) is the only girl in a family of four children. Her dad (Dermot Mulroney), a former soccer star, coaches her brothers in his preferred sport, focusing much of his attention on his oldest son, high school soccer captain Johnny (Jesse Lee Soffer). Gracie is passionate about soccer, but as the movie is set in the 1970s, there aren’t really any girl’s teams and the boys definitely don’t want a girl playing on their team. Luckily, Johnny is always there to support Gracie and give her advice.
In a tragic turn of events, Johnny is killed in a car accident and the Bowen family is devastated. In her grief, Gracie decides to defy convention and try out for Johnny’s spot on the boy’s soccer team. Her family doesn’t offer much support at all, and everyone else ridicules her. Without any real form of support, Gracie begins to act out. Concerned, her father decides to coach her so that she will stand an honest chance when she tries out for the boy’s team.
Most inspirational sports movies involve overcoming adversity or finding strength within the self. This movie involves all that, but it goes a step further, because Gracie’s motivation isn’t only about her; it’s also about honoring her brother and mentor. If that weren’t enough, Elisabeth Shue, who plays Gracie’s mother, is the real-life inspiration for the character of Gracie. It isn’t often that you find an Oscar-nominated actress who serves as the inspiration for an athlete in a movie; in fact, it is almost always the exact opposite.
The DVD
Gracie comes as a single DVD in a standard case. The cover art shows a picture of Gracie, with a soccer goal in the background. It is simple, but attractive.
Video is presented in widescreen format. The picture quality of the movie is nice and crisp.
Audio comes in two flavors: Dolby Digital 5.1 surround, and Dolby Digital 2.0 stereo surround. I like options, so I am happy to be able to choose which type of audio to use. I like having the stereo surround option, in case I ever find myself watching the DVD on a computer or portable DVD player.
Special Features
Gracie doesn’t come with a lot of special features, but the ones that are present definitely have something to offer. The features include:
- Feature commentary with director Davis Guggenheim (who also directed An Inconvenient Truth)
- Feature commentary with siblings Elisabeth and Andrew Shue (Andrew co-wrote and produced the movie)
- Bringing Gracie to Film—a really good featurette about the true story on which this movie is based
- Theatrical Trailer
Overall
If you’re like me, you’re probably tired of the waves of cliché sports movies about the power of determination that have come out of Hollywood over the past few years. Thankfully, Gracie manages to tell the same sort of story without seeming like a blatant copy of every other inspirational sports movie. It is a nice change of pace, and I would recommend it to anyone.
Overall: 7.0