Review of The Longshots (2008) by Jen P — 02 Sep 2008

The Longshots.

directed by Fred Durst.

written by Nick Santora.

starring Ice Cube, Keke Palmer, Tasha Smith, Jill Marie Jones, Matt Craven, Garrett Morris, Alan Aisenberg.

This film is certainly easy to dismiss outright as manipulative, predictable and hackneyed. In a sense it is guilty of all three offenses against taste but manages to transcend these limitations to convey a story that is effectively sweet and wholly earnest in its telling.

This is the true story of Jasmine Plummer, an 11 year old girl who in 2003 was the first female to lead her Pop Warner team all the way to the championship game. She is portrayed in this film by Keke Palmer who possesses a tangible charisma that is apparent from the first moment she appears on screen. There?s a shot of her in church and the camera lingers on her face for at least fifteen seconds. She appears stoic and determined with a hint of sadness. It?s as fine an introduction to her character as one could ever hope to achieve. The film is directed by Limp Bizkit front man Fred Durst who is equally famous for nailing Britney a few years back. He manages not to get in the way of this simple tale of a girl who didn?t even know she liked football until that fateful day when her uncle Curtis (Ice Cube) was playing catch with the good Rev. Pratt (Morris) and the ball rolled near the bench upon which she was seated deeply engrossed in a book. Curtis asks her to fetch the ball and throw it to him which she begrudgingly does. She fires a perfect spiral to her uncle who, based entirely on that one throw decides to teach his niece the finer points of being a quarterback.

The town in which this film is set is depressed after a factory, one of the major sources of employment, shut down leaving many out of work. There is a feeling of resignation to the town as everyone seems to be barely going through the motions and struggling just to get through the day. Curtis is one of those affected by the closing and he?s been unemployed ever since. He?s also still mourning for the loss of his mother who passed away two years ago. Curtis wears the same clothes every day and spends his time wandering about drinking Bud tallboys and hanging out at the practices of the local Pop Warner team. He used to be a football star, winning three MVP medals, and lighting it up on the field into high school. But, fate played him a nasty trick and he tore ligaments in his knee which effectively destroyed his further football plans. So, he drifted, went to work at the factory, and put his money away in a fund he was planning to use to get out of dodge.

Jasmine?s mother Claire (Smith) is portrayed as a hard working waitress who has to take extra shifts to cover her bills and take care of Jasmine. Jasmine is left alone during the day and Claire asks Curtis to watch her for a few hours in the afternoon. Curtis hesitates but finally relents when Claire offers him $5 an hour. At first, the relationship is strained; neither one wants to be associated with the other and the tension is palpable. Curtis convinces his niece to toss the pigskin around and it?s readily apparent that the girl has real talent for the game. Curtis refines her technique and soon she looks like a bona fide quarterback. This leads Curtis to a novel idea. He approaches Coach Fisher (Craven) and asks for a tryout. Coach rejects Curtis but his assistant notices Jasmine and Curtis playing catch. This gets the coach?s attention and he gives Jasmine a shot. She wows them during her tryout and makes the team.

From here it?s just a matter of waiting for Jasmine to demonstrate her innate ability on the field. As a viewer you know what?s coming until you don?t. The film does a fantastic job of raising the excitement level with each game, each throw. Despite dozens of similar films over the years, what sets this film apart is the purity of its intent. It knows what it is and what it wants to do; it executes flawlessly and the result is a deeply moving film that most definitely manipulates the emotions through music and scene selection. There is no question that this film isn?t particularly new or innovative. Stylistically it doesn?t have much to offer although cinematographer Conrad W. Hall does manage to convey the dire state the town is in through numerous shots of dilapidated buildings and the dirty factory which was once such a center of activity for the town. So, all we are left with is the interactions between the characters and the performances which allow for these interactions to shine as well as they do.

The film does dabble with sentimentality on occasion but the actors don?t let it linger and merely move on to the next scene. Until that moment when Jasmine realizes for herself that she is gifted, the mood of the piece is downcast if not wholly despondent. Curtis shuffles about carrying an old football to remind himself of who and what he used to be. He interacts with what appear to be homeless men and they seem to be his only friends. The town seems to have abandoned itself to its fate and lacks even a modicum of energy. But once Jasmine sees what she is, the film transforms and it has everything to do with Palmer?s infectious smile. It truly is a marvelous thing that ignites the film and brings it clearly into focus. At first she sits on the bench but we know this obstacle is temporary. Still, it builds tension so that the moment she takes the field is decisive and intense.

The strangest thing about this film is that Jasmine doesn?t come up against very much resistance. She is let on the team after minimal fuss and there are no parents to pipe in that they don?t want their boys playing with any damn girl. She is merely allowed to play and it?s pretty much smooth sailing until her useless father Roy (Malcolm Goodwin) shows up five years after abandoning his daughter for reasons he cannot articulate. He toys with Jasmine?s emotions and disrupts her rhythm which throws off her game. He comes in to latch onto his daughter?s success and makes promises he does not keep. Throughout the entire film Jasmine wears her father?s watch, waiting for the day he will return. This estrangement causes Jasmine immeasurable suffering and she struggles to comprehend why he isn?t around. Football comes in at the right time to take her mind off of her pain while managing to build up her confidence.

Naturally, everyone becomes obsessed with Jasmine?s story and the national media begins to cover it as well. Rev. Pratt decries the way the town is misrepresented by the media. He spurns an effort by the entire town to clean up main street; the town flickers to life as people work together to do something of vast significance. Indeed, this is a film that celebrates the intricacies of small communities where people pay attention to each other and simple pleasures are coveted and prove vital to the health of everyone concerned.

The performances in this film are all stellar and carry the film beyond its limitations. Ice Cube gives a nuanced, thoughtful turn as a deeply wounded man who finds something at last to bring him back into himself. This is Ice Cube, who also produced, as one always expected him to be. He instantly creates a character who is likable and deeply sympathetic. Curtis is a man who we know has struggled to regain the promise that once defined him and Ice Cube never lets us forget the difficulties Curtis has encountered through that struggle. Keke Palmer is the true find here. She possesses a natural charisma that startles once it is unveiled in the course of pure performance. She engages the audience from start to finish; this is clearly her film and she carries it well. With grace and an elegance of form she brings Jasmine into focus and wins the audience over by simply displaying a mesmeric, glowing confidence that comes through in every frame. Tasha Smith creates a character that is sturdy and entirely real. She is playing a stock character yet manages to infuse it with a strength and fortitude that grounds the film in its determined intent of holding hard work up as an unassailable virtue. Smith is vital to the story because she is the backbone that has allowed Jasmine to flourish despite the absence of a father who abandoned Jasmine as a little girl.

Overall, this film achieves a level of poetry through its performances and the easy, deliberate way it goes about telling its story. It doesn?t over achieve or try to do too much with the material at hand. It merely lets the narrative unfold at a natural pace and sells it through a careful navigation through the lives of complicated characters who are well rounded and fleshed out. It doesn?t do anything particularly novel but it doesn?t have to. It proves to be emotionally satisfying and filled with quiet moments that add up to a film that does everything it sets out to do. It?s edifying to see something with such an unabashed positive message that resonates long after the final credits have rolled. Yes, we?ve seen this all before in many guises but rarely with this much heart and determination. It?s truly a film that challenges a clinging cynicism that immediately rejects such films as over-sentimental and hackneyed. That would be an unfortunate mistake with this film. This is a film that deserves to find an audience that appreciates tightly woven narratives and gob-smacking performances.