The Longshots

While one can only imagine that an inspirational sports movie about a teenage girl playing football that stars Ice Cube and features direction by Limp Bizkit front-man Fred Durst would be nothing short of atrocious, the reality is that it really isn't that bad. Granted, the film follows the given formula with little embellishment, care of Durst's flat, matter-of-fact direction and a screenplay that reads more like a professional obligation than anything resembling a heartfelt narrative might, but the story is clear, coherent and pleasant enough. Keke Palmer is entirely affable and the overall message of learning to cope with the many inevitable disappointments in a world full of human vulgarity and injustice is quite honourable and forward thinking for fluff such as this. The roughly true story follows Jasmine (Keke Palmer), a shy, bookish girl who mourns an absent father and struggles at school on a social level. With various children referring to her as "dookie" (a sly euphemism for poo), Jasmine falls deeper into depression, which spurns panic in her overworked mother Claire (Tasha Smith), whose solution is to hire her deadbeat alcoholic ex-brother-in-law Curtis (Ice Cube) to spend time with Jasmine after school. While initially the pair find little in common, they eventually bond over football, with Jasmine showing a great deal of promise as a quarterback, leading to her involvement with the local team and subsequent success. The DVD includes brief conversations with both Durst and Cube, where Cube discusses his interest in the underdog story and Durst discusses his interest in working with Cube. Never does it seem like Durst is particularly concerned with the subject matter of the film. Also included is a generic "making of" featurette and a look at the real Jasmine Plummer, which points out the many liberties that were taken in the translation of her life story to the big screen.