The Big Green (PG, 1995)

Elma, Texas is a pretty boring place to live -- just ask the kids who wander through the overgrown fields and snooze through class. The football legends of the past are now unemployed parents; in other words, the town is washed up. But Miss Montgomery (Olivia d'Abo), the new exchange teacher from England, sees it differently. She Introduces the kids to the game of football "that the world knows," where the ball is round and skill trumps brawn. The kids reluctantly begin to learn the game and before they even have a team name, they are off to the big city to play a game. In an against-all-odds scenario, both boys and girls practice and play together and, yes, start to win games, largely thanks to the new kid in town, Juan, and his mad soccer skills. The only problem is that Juan's mother won't let him play because she is afraid that their family secret will be discovered. Sheriff Palmer (Steve Guttenberg) helps solve their problem in the nick of time.

Given the fact that so many people like to see the underdog come out in front, this sports movie satisfies, even if it is pretty predictable. What lends texture to the formula is the underlying struggle that the families of these kids are going through. One character comes from a broken home where her father drinks beer all day long. One kid is proud to claim that his dad has a job, whereas most parents are scraping by because the local "plant" has closed. Finally, there is a new kid in the class whose mother is afraid to put down roots, lest she get deported. Performances by the plucky Olivia d'Abo and the goofy Steve Guttenberg move the plot along.

Kids who are just getting into soccer will enjoy watching the team pull it together, though older kids might be a little bored by what is now old hat in the sports movie realm. Pretty clean fun for the family, nonetheless.