On Screen / Linda Cook

“The Longshots” is a sure shot for families

By Linda Cook | Friday, August 29, 2008 | () comments

You know, “The Longshots” contains a few cliches. But, as one of the characters says, it has heart, and that’s really all it needs.

Above all, it has characters who talk and act like real people, and you’ll be happy to meet them. Based on the real-life story of Jasmine Plummer, who at the age of 11 became the first girl quarterback to play in the Pop Warner competition, this is a charming film that’s just right for families.

The actual Jasmine was from Harvey, Ill., which becomes Minden, Ill., here. Keke Palmer (“Akeelah and the Bee”) plays Jasmine as a quiet girl who yearns to know a father she never has known. Her mother (Tasha Smith, “Daddy’s Little Girls”) is working extra hours as a waitress and wants Jasmine’s Uncle Curtis (Ice Cube) to stay with his niece in the afternoons. Curtis wants nothing to do with the situation.

Unemployed and depressed, he pretty much just wants to wander around with a bottle. But he finally agrees, and the two develop a tentative friendship. Curtis was a football player in high school, so he decides to teach Jasmine a couple of plays. She learns quickly and has a naturally good throwing arm. Eventually, Curtis talks her in to trying out for the high-school football team — and she makes it.

It’s the little touches in the film that make it solid entertainment. I love the look of “Minden.” because it does indeed resemble so many cities right here in the Midwest where unemployment is rampant because factories and businesses have closed.

Look at the yards and city streets that provide the backdrop of the film -- this looks like a place real people live, and not a Hollywood set. It’s shot with a lens that filters out a lot of the color, and that adds to the dinginess of the setting. The screenplay provides its characters with true-to-life dialogue and challenges that aren’t catastrophes. The actors are fine all around, but this movie belongs to the teen-age Palmer, who already has shown her acting skills in other films.

This is a solid movie about a talented girl. Quite the opposite of the awful “The House Bunny.” it could give girls (and boys, for that matter) the courage to succeed.

“The Longshots” is a sure shot for families.

3 stars

Stars: Ice Cube, Keke Palmer, Tasha Smith, Jill Marie Jones, Matt Craven and Garrett Morris. Directed by Fred Durst (yes, the Fred Durst of Limp Bizkit).

Screenwriter: Nick Santora and Doug Atchison.

Running time: 94 minutes.

Rated: PG for mildly foul language and adult themes.