‘You Gotta Believe’ strikes out finding baseball drama
“You Gotta Believe” does its best to be the “Rocky” of baseball movies. Leading off that effort is that it is based on the true story of a Fort Worth youth baseball team that went from a losing season to the 2002 Little League World Series.
The batting order for the production directed by Ty Roberts (“12 Mighty Orphans”) and written by Lane Garrison includes a member of the coaching staff being diagnosed with cancer, a head coach who has never shown a real interest in the team and group of players who would all be picked last in a pickup game. It is not a Murderer’s Row but more like a Cliché Alley.
Despite having that kind of cinematic batting order, the film fouls off too many opportunities for real emotion and strikes out on turning these lovable losers lovable enough to make an audience care. The best the film can do is score a few points for those who get nostalgic over the game of baseball and for being family friendly.
The Fort Worth team finished the season with a losing record. Part of that is because their head coach, Jon Kelly (Greg Kinnear), is an absentee mentor for the players. He’s actually relieved when the season ends and he can focus entirely on his day job.
Before he can pack away the equipment, Kelly is approached to coach the local all-star team in that year’s Little League World Series. His initial reaction is to walk away but his friend and fellow coach, Bobby Ratliff (Luke Wilson), has been diagnosed with cancer and he may not have many more opportunities to see his sons play baseball.
Garrison missed an opportunity to fill in some plot holes with the putting together of the all-star team. There is no great reason given why Kelly was pressed to coach the all-stars and it is weird to think parents on other teams – with better players – didn’t ask for their children to be an all-star pick. If Garrison has the answer, he never reveals it.
This sets up a predictable sequence of practice sessions where Kelly suddenly realizes his misfits are kind of fit. That leads into a series of preliminary games before they make it to the finals. That is not a spoiler because the real story can be found on the Internet.
Roberts must have known that the practice sessions and early games would not be that interesting. He tries to spice them up with some fancy camera work that includes changing the speed and showing events from various points of view. The efforts end up being far more distracting than interesting.
There was no way for the players to fill in the entertainment gap. This film is as if “The Bad News Bears” was remade but this time without any humor. The players just come across as the kind of typical sports outcast that tend to be in the background of better films.
Kinnear’s character shows an apathy toward the team in the early moments. The Oscar nominee had no trouble finding that tone as his recent career has cast him in roles that have little shape or form. With movies like “You Gotta Believe,” “Sight” and “Good People,” Kinnear comes across more as a lure for viewers than an important part of the storytelling.
One of the biggest questions looming over the project is why it took more than two decades to turn the diamond tale into a feature film. The actual run by the Fort Worth team was big news for ESPN but the fire died quickly.
It is even being eclipsed by this year’s Little League World Series finale that was far more dramatic than the one from 20 years ago. Find a recording of that recent game if you want pure sports excitement.
That means that this telling of that real story lacks the kind of raw materials that make productions in the sports genre naturally dramatic. This is a case of whether you know the story or never heard of the Texas team, the trek around the bases is not compelling enough to be a hit. It is little more than being just a safe space for families and baseball fans.
Movie review
You Gotta Believe
Grade: C-
Cast: Gregg Kinnear, Luke Wilson, Sarah Gadon, Lew Temple, Molly Parker.
Director: Tyler Roberts
Rated: PG for thematic content, language
Running time: 104 minutes.
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