The Perfect Game
HEADLINE: ** Faith, Family, Miracles, and Politically Correct **
Title: THE PERFECT GAME
Quality: * * Acceptability: +1
SUBTITLES: None
WARNING CODES:
Language: L
Violence: V
Sex: S
Nudity: None
RATING: PG
RELEASE: August 8, 2008
TIME: TBD
STARRING: Clifton Collins, Jr., Cheech Marin, Emilie de Ravin, Jake T. Austin, Lou Gossett, Jr., Bruce McGill, Patricia Manterola, Moises Arias, and Jansen Panettiere
DIRECTOR: William Dear
PRODUCERS: Mark W. Koch, Daniel de Liege, David Salzberg, Christian Tureaud, W. William Winokur, and Michael O. Gallant
EXECUTIVE PRODUCERS: None
WRITER: W. William Winokur
BASED ON THE BOOK BY: W. William Winokur
DISTRIBUTOR: Lionsgate Films
CONTENT: (CCC, BB, PCPC, So, Acap, AP, L, V, S, AA, M) Very strong Christian worldview with some strong Bible references, lots of prayers, lots of positive descriptions of God and Jesus, strong Catholic priest, strong black minister, mitigated by many moral problems and politically correct socialist, anti-capitalist, anti-American elements such as mean factory owner, factory workers go out on strike to listen to their children play Little League baseball, boy disobeys father to play baseball, coach lies as a major plot device, one lie rebuked, another not addressed, a revisionist and positive view of illegal immigration, a negative view of patriotism, a hostile view toward police, and the white Little League teams; six light obscenities; very little violence includes boy hit by baseball and boy steps on glass; no overt sex although young Mexican boys who are too young want girlfriends and coach is coached on his love interest by young boy who's seen as an expert on women; no nudity; lots of alcohol in some scenes, especially to get drunk; no smoking; and, some ritualistic superstitious behavior.
GENRE: Sports Drama
INTENDED AUDIENCE: All ages
Please address your comments to:
Jon Feltheimer, CEO
Lionsgate AKA Lions Gate Films
(Roadside Attractions)
2700 Colorado Ave.
Santa Monica, CA 90404
Phone: (310) 449-9200; Fax: (310) 255-3870
Website: www.lionsgatefilms.com
SUMMARY: THE PERFECT GAME is based on a true story about an impoverished Little League Baseball team from Mexico winning the Little League World Series because of their faith in God and Jesus Christ. The ending is inspiring and powerful but the rest of the movie is corny and includes troubling moral moments, such as lying and politically correct, anti-capitalist, anti-American elements.
IN BRIEF:
In THE PERFECT GAME, a Mexican immigrant named Cesar returns to Monterrey, Mexico after the St. Louis Cardinals baseball franchise refuses to make him a coach. He works at a steel plant and tries to drink away his anger. Meanwhile, the local priest is trying to give the children in this impoverished town some hope. He hits upon the idea of having them play baseball. The priest ropes Cesar into forming a team. They have four weeks to become a Little League franchise. Prayers are answered, miracles happen, and they defeat the Mexico City team to go to America. There, they start defeating each American team on their way to the championship.
THE PERFECT GAME is corny up until the climax, which hits the emotional ball out of the park. Since audiences are most moved by endings, most people will like this movie. Faith in the movie is very strong. Prayers in the name of Jesus are miraculously answered. Although the faith is strong, there are some troubling moral moments, including lying and politically correct elements about race and that show capitalism and the United States in an unfair, bad light.
NOTE from Dr. Ted Baehr, publisher of Movieguide Magazine. For more information from a Christian perspective, order the latest Movieguide Magazine by calling 1-800-899-6684(MOVI) or visit our website at www.movieguide.org. Movieguide is dedicated to redeeming the values of Hollywood by informing parents about today's movies and entertainment and by showing media executives and artists that family-friendly and even Christian-friendly movies do best at the box office year in and year out. Movieguide now offers an online subscription to its magazine version, atwww.movieguide.org. The magazine, which comes out 25 times a year, contains many informative articles and reviews that help parents train their children to be media-wise consumers.
