Gracie - B-

Recently released on DVD.

In the late 1970s, a family obsessed with soccer suffers when the oldest son dies in an automobile accident. Their only daughter Gracie wants to follow in her brother’s footsteps and play on the high school varsity team. There is no female team so she must toughen up to play with the boys. Her father (Dermot Mulroney) is unsupportive at first but after she flunks some classes, steals the car, and acts as jail bait for some local college studs, he sees the error of his ways.

Directed by TV director Davis Guggenheim, the movie feels like a television movie, playing it entirely too safe with plotting, directing, and dialogue. Everyone feels to be running in low-gear. Even the musical choices seem stale. But the movie turns around when Elisabeth Shue stands up at an appeal to speak on her daughter’s behalf. The former Oscar-nominee not only gives a great performance, she pours much-needed emotion into the film. Makes sense. The movie is based on her teenage years. Needless to say, the ending is as predictable as it gets. But, if you don’t feel anything during the final scenes, you need to have a cardiologist check out that thing in the center of your chest – because there’s something wrong with it. B-

B- for this? Maybe Eastern Promises is a B+.