The girl doesn’t know what to do. She’s a wreck, everyone in the household, including usually stalwart mom Lindsey (Elisabeth Shue), hanging tough by only the thinnest of threads. But when inspiration does strike, no one in the family remotely wants to help the grieving sister let alone believe in her cause. Tough-minded Gracie will not be deterred, however, and even if her school doesn’t offer a girl’s soccer program than by golly she’ll honor her brother by doing the only other thing left open to her and that’s playing on the boy’s varsity team instead.

I admit upfront I am more than a little bit tired of sports-themed films. Just this year we’ve already sat through The Flying Scotsman, Lucky You, Blades of Glory, Pride, Starter for 10 and Stomp the Yard. Last year there were even more, and looking at what is still in store for the rest of the year I already see at least another five or six on the coming attractions press releases delivered to mailbox almost daily.

While I’ve been more than fair to these films (probably even a bit over-nice, some would argue), that didn’t make my minuscule enthusiasm towards watching another one rise in any measurable amount. Yet Gracie defeats these lowered expectations with surprisingly warm-hearted and emotionally resonant aplomb. The longer I sat there watching it, the more I began to realize just how great movie it was, and by the time it reached its suitably cheer-worthy conclusion I was more than willing to applaud right along with the rest of the majority of the audience cheering their way out of the theater.

I think what I liked most about this was how utterly fearless the film was. It sets itself right at the same eye-level of its pint-sized protagonist and then never waivers from staying there. Gracie isn’t a star right away, she has to work at it, and her first attempts to wow the boys with her skill aren’t anywhere near as easy or as candy-coated as the usually tend to be in films like this. This girl takes her lumps, cries a few tears, considers quitting and then somehow finds the strength to get right back up once again.

She’s a fighter. More than that, she’s also a real person. Young Schroeder doesn’t try to make her a saint, doesn’t shadow her as an almighty force to be reckoned with. Gracie is instead nothing more than a young girl grieving for the loss of her brother, hungering for the admiration of a father and thirsting for a chance to prove she’s every bit as good as the boys everyone is always telling her she’s more insignificant than. This girl makes mistakes, throws tantrums and does the wrong thing. But she also doesn’t give up, and in the end it is that tenacity of spirit that, not only wakes up her family, starts waking up a community that didn’t even know it was asleep.

Okay, sure, a lot this tends to border on cliché. It isn’t like we haven’t seen this story before, after all, and even if it is partially based on the real-life events lived by the Shue family (Elizabeth was the inspiration for Gracie, while Andrew’s script parallels the family’s very real emotions surrounding the tragic death of their older brother Will) there is a ton of Hollywood sentimentality here virtually impossible to get away from.

Still, I liked this movie. Schroeder is excellent, while veteran Mulroney is even better. These is the first great role he’s had in I don’t know how long, and as much as I liked him in the vastly underrated Georgia Rule this is the performance fans of his have really been waiting ever so long for. Shue is also quite good, but her brother’s script doesn’t really do the actress any favors leaving her only a couple of admittedly strong scenes to try and make an impression, the rest of the film belonging four-square to her two costars.

I can’t say I’m ready for more films like this one. As much as I like athletics, and as big of an athlete I am myself, I’m getting a little bit tired of having football-soccer-tennis-spelling-swimming-dancing-basketball-skating (so on and so forth) be the metaphor for living life to its fullest. Be that as it may, Gracie is a good movie. Heck, I’d even go so far as to say it struck a well-earned goal right to the center of my very own sports-loving heart.

Film Rating:  êêê  (out of 4)

(Click here for an interview with Andrew Shue and Carly Schroeder)