Gracie (2007)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Gracie is a historical drama which premiered on US television in 2007.

 

Here is some basic information about it:    

 

** Produced by Davis Guggenheim, Andrew Shue, Elisabeth Shue, and John Shue

** Directed by Davis Guggenheim

** Screenplay written by Lisa Marie Petersen and Karen Janszen

** Based on a story written by Andrew Shue, Davis Guggenheim, and Ken Himmelman

** Run time: 95 minutes

 

This is a movie about sports and teenagers. Before you say you do not care much for movies about these topics, I have to tell you that this film is about much more than that.

 

It is about being your own person, about finding your identity. It is about doing what you really want, even if the people around you – family and/or friends - think that this is wrong for you.

 

Finally, it is a movie about equal opportunity; a movie which explores the notion that every person deserves a chance, whether this person is a boy or a girl; whether this person is a man or a woman.

 

This historical drama is loosely based on and inspired by a series of true events concerning the Shue family.

 

In 1972, when Elisabeth Shue was nine years old, she wanted to play football. Since this was in the US, she did not use the word “football.” She said she wanted to play “soccer.”

 

At the time, there was no girls’ team at her school, so she played on the boys’ team.

 

At the time, this was considered very strange, but it was allowed. She played with this team until 1976, when she was 13 years old.

 

The story is set in 1978, i.e. six years after Congress enacted title IX, which says that no discrimination is allowed based on race, religion or gender, in sports that are funded by federal money.

 

I do not want to spoil the viewing for anyone. This is why I am not going to say much about what happens in this drama. I will only tell you how the story begins.

 

Gracie is one of four children in a family that is crazy about soccer. Her father coaches her older brother Johnny, who is the captain of the local soccer team.

 

But one day, after Johnny misses a chance to score a goal for his team, he is involved in a traffic accident where he is killed. The family is devastated by this loss.

 

Gracie wants to take his place on the soccer team, but her family is against it; so is her best friend, and so is the school (the coach as well as the school board).

 

But she does not give up. She tries to show everyone that she deserves to have a chance to follow in the footsteps of her brother. It is not fair to turn her away, just “because she is a girl.”

 

This is how the story begins. And this is where my presentation ends. If you want to know what happens to Gracie and the people around her, you must watch the drama all the way to the end.

 

The cast includes the following:

 

The first group

** Carly Schroeder as Gracie Bowen

** Dermot Mulroney as her father Brian Bowen

** Elisabeth Shue as her mother Lindsay Bowen

** Jesse Lee Soffer as her older brother Johnny Bowen

 

The second group

** Christopher Shand as her friend Kyle Rhodes

** Emma Bell as her friend Kate Dorset

** John Doman as coach Colasanti

** Andrew Shue as teacher and assistant coach Owen Clark

 

Gracie was filmed at Columbia High School where members of the Shue family went to school.

 

The soundtrack contains a number of classic rock songs, many of which are from 1978.

 

In my opinion, one of the best songs is Heart of Glass by Blondie, which is featured on their third album Parallel Lines from 1978.

 

What do reviewers say about this drama?

 

Here are some results:

 

52 percent = Meta

58 percent = Rotten Tomatoes (the audience)

62 percent = Rotten Tomatoes (the critics)

62 percent = IMDb

 

In my opinion, these ratings are too low. On the other hand, I cannot go all the way to the top, because some scenes are a bit too long and too slow.

 

In my opinion, this historical drama deserves a rating of four stars (80 percent).

 

PS. Gracie is somewhat similar to the movie Bend it like Beckham starring Parminder Nagra and Keira Knightley, which premiered in 2002.

 

On the surface, this movie is about sports, but it is actually about much more than that.

 

*****

Bend it like Beckham

a movie about sport 

(and much more than sport)

starring 

Parminder Nagra and Keira Knightley

(2002) 

*****