Film

The Longshots (2008)

Director: Fred Durst

Movie review

From Time Out Chicago

Based on a true story, The Longshots has all the elements of a classic feel-good sports film: the lovable team of misfits, the scrappy girl, the burned-out ex-player and the “down-on-their-luck townsfolk who are rejuvenated by the team’s unexpected success” angle. Unfortunately, Durst blends all of these time-honored components with the same skill level that he brought to the stage with his crappy band Limp Bizkit.

Granted, Ice Cube is pretty awesome as Curtis, the unemployed former football player transformed from beer-swilling bum to beer-swilling Knute Rockne. Charged with the initially unwelcome task of minding his niece Jasmine (Palmer), Curtis teaches her how to play football and later persuades her to try out for the local Minton Browns. Despite all of the clichés, The Longshots has its moments (such as when Curtis stumbles into his niece’s class for career day and explains why what he does isn’t a pyramid scheme) but doesn’t quite score. The film needs a more tangible antagonist—Jasmine’s Mean Girls–y classmates just don’t cut it. Perhaps if the final game had been against a ritzy prep school and WASPy kids with names like Trevor and Hamilton, the formula would’ve been more satisfying.