Keanu Reeves and some other people in minor roles in this one. It's rated PG-13. Wife picked it up and I had no idea what it was going to be. I figured it was going to be a "Mighty Ducks" but with baseball or something.
What it turned out to be. . . I have no idea what the hell they were thinking. Who is this movie's target audience? I never saw "Boyz in the Hood", but I'm calling this a mix of "Mighty Ducks" and "Boyz in the Hood". It was about an inner city baseball league where I THINK all the kids are from the projects. Just some teams are sponsored by companies that put more money into the teams. The featured team is of course the one with the least amount of money. There were SOOOOO many similarities between this movie and Mighty Ducks it wasn't funny. I could match up damn near every character with their Mighty Ducks counter part. However, every kid on the team was "Bitch" this and "Shit" that and flipping each other off and "Damn" and rap music, etc. There is no WAY I would let my kid watch this movie. A bunch of inner city project kids cursing each other out, fighting constantly, etc. Then you get to watch the kids try to avoid the gang bangers on the way home to the projects, dodging bullets from the gang wars, getting robbed and beat up for their back packs, etc. Again, I never saw "Boyz in the Hood", but everything that was in the commercials was in this movie.
So, it was a very harsh violent portrayal of the Mighty Ducks in gang ridden projects where good kids can prevail as long as they don't get shot or mugged on the way home or something. At least none of the moms were crack whores. It was crazy.
All that being said, it was a decent watch. I'll admit that I can sit and watch the Mighty Ducks and be entertained. Yes, it's corny at times and stuff, but, it's Disney and I expect that. This movie entertained me as well. MANY times, I was thinking "Ya. Right." as the coach (Reeves of course) gets the kids to all get along and stop fighting and stuff with two sentences. So the kids go from "Bitch, I'll kick your punk ass." and then fighting calling each other damn bitch and hells shit ass and stuff to "Good try man, that was all right". WAY corny. At the same time, you do hope the kids make it home and feel bad when bad stuff happens to them. OH YA!!! The coach. He's not just a guy who got a DUI or whatever. He's a gambling addict with the mob beating him up and doing the coaching thing to make enough money to pay the bookies so he can keep his life and his thumbs. But he keeps gambling and stuff. So, there's the threat of death looming over the coach as well.
It was indeed a dark and crazy Disney tail of how people on the wrong side of the tracks can do good as long as they don't die, or something.
I want someone else to watch it cause I'd love to hear their opinion.