Parents' Guide to Home Team

Popular actors, a cast of lovable tween boys, and a wholesome tone make this feel-good comedy a natural audience pleaser. Home Team starts with a compelling (but ultimately glossed over) true story and mixes in a slew of goofy secondary characters and situations. The production also feels like a family affair, with siblings, spouses, and other relatives of producer Adam Sandler and star James in various roles. There's definitely some verging-on-tasteless, Sandler-style humor in this film, including making steady fun of a character who is an alcoholic and a torrential bout of projectile vomiting.

But other bits are very funny, like Schneider's stereotypical hippie stepdad (who brings his special tea to games and "makes his own lavender soap"), an inept hotel manager, and the tween team's jubilant celebration party at the hotel pool ("this is what it feels like to win"). As a Super Bowl-winning coach down on his luck, James exudes the confidence of a successful man who knows his game. Lautner is his ideal counterpart, letting him take center stage both as actor and character. The boys on the team are portrayed as adorably innocent middle schoolers who keep a positive attitude in the face of total defeat and maintain their values even once they start winning. A scene where they all go as wingmen to sing back-up when one of their teammates serenades a girl he likes is memorably cute.