BY MAGGIE SCOTT<\/p>\n
How many people know a town like Minden, Illinois, in the new family drama, The Longshots, where the get-up-and-go got up and went years ago? Where jobs moved out and people moved on to better lives somewhere else, leaving behind people like Curtis (Ice Cube), stuck at a losing moment in their lives when the bootstraps broke?<\/p>\n
Curtis tore out his knee and tore down something good he had built on the football field at Minden High School. Until the factory moved out, Curtis moved up for a while after that. Now, he\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s saving his odd job money for a sunny day in Florida in his “Git Outta Minden Fund.” Curtis would be the last to admit that he\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s got the “brain and heart” to do something about the tough times the preacher wants his flock to believe can get better if they “concentrate on what they have, not what they don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t have.” <\/p>\n
What Curtis has is a niece struggling to see a purpose in life. Jasmine (Keke Palmer) is dealing with rejection at school and insecurity at home. Mom is picking up extra hours at the diner and some kids are picking on the quiet girl who is beginning to believe everyone “thinks I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m an idiot.” <\/p>\n
Since Jasmine refuses to get involved in after-school activities, Mom pleads with Curtis for help keeping an eye on her. For five dollars an hour all Curtis is willing to do is “watch” Jasmine. Besides, she\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s “too weird and moody” for him to put much more of an effort into what he has no idea is going to be the turning point in not just his and Jasmine\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s lives, but the life of their community, as well. <\/p>\n
During one of their just-get-me-through-this-babysitting sessions, Curtis asks Jasmine to toss back the football he\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s always carrying. She does, and a light goes off. Is it possible? Did she inherit the talent her dad and Curtis had when they were teens? At first, it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s “whatever” when Curtis challenges her to try a few drills. She\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s got the grip, she\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s got the arm, she\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s got the target when Curtis puts his hands up to catch that perfectly spiraling pigskin. Could it be? <\/p>\n
Could she possibly be the answer to the question the coach (Matt Craven) is asking about whether this year\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s team is going to win any games? Curtis won\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t listen to Jasmine insisting she\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s going to be a model and models don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t play football. Striking a bargain that involves him buying her fashion magazines and him asking Jasmine\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s teacher out on a date if Jasmine will just go to the team try outs\u00e2\u20ac\u201d uncle and niece unite to tackle whatever obstacles a skeptical coach and taunting teammates toss at the girl who\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s got the best personal trainer and loudest cheerleader to get her to the goal line. <\/p>\n
Whatever Hallmark Hall of Fame clich\u00c3\u00a9s this underdog-makes-great melodrama is guilty of, it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s impossible to dismiss the inspirational power of the various messages it has about facing the past moving on from mistakes and losses and moving towards the future built on authentic self and honest vision. Kudos to those who have shared Jasmine’s story with us in this winning film.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
BY MAGGIE SCOTT How many people know a town like Minden, Illinois, in the new family drama, The Longshots, where the get-up-and-go got up and went years ago? Where jobs moved out and people moved on to better lives somewhere else, leaving behind people like Curtis (Ice Cube), stuck at a losing moment in their […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"ocean_post_layout":"","ocean_both_sidebars_style":"","ocean_both_sidebars_content_width":0,"ocean_both_sidebars_sidebars_width":0,"ocean_sidebar":"","ocean_second_sidebar":"","ocean_disable_margins":"enable","ocean_add_body_class":"","ocean_shortcode_before_top_bar":"","ocean_shortcode_after_top_bar":"","ocean_shortcode_before_header":"","ocean_shortcode_after_header":"","ocean_has_shortcode":"","ocean_shortcode_after_title":"","ocean_shortcode_before_footer_widgets":"","ocean_shortcode_after_footer_widgets":"","ocean_shortcode_before_footer_bottom":"","ocean_shortcode_after_footer_bottom":"","ocean_display_top_bar":"default","ocean_display_header":"default","ocean_header_style":"","ocean_center_header_left_menu":"","ocean_custom_header_template":"","ocean_custom_logo":0,"ocean_custom_retina_logo":0,"ocean_custom_logo_max_width":0,"ocean_custom_logo_tablet_max_width":0,"ocean_custom_logo_mobile_max_width":0,"ocean_custom_logo_max_height":0,"ocean_custom_logo_tablet_max_height":0,"ocean_custom_logo_mobile_max_height":0,"ocean_header_custom_menu":"","ocean_menu_typo_font_family":"","ocean_menu_typo_font_subset":"","ocean_menu_typo_font_size":0,"ocean_menu_typo_font_size_tablet":0,"ocean_menu_typo_font_size_mobile":0,"ocean_menu_typo_font_size_unit":"px","ocean_menu_typo_font_weight":"","ocean_menu_typo_font_weight_tablet":"","ocean_menu_typo_font_weight_mobile":"","ocean_menu_typo_transform":"","ocean_menu_typo_transform_tablet":"","ocean_menu_typo_transform_mobile":"","ocean_menu_typo_line_height":0,"ocean_menu_typo_line_height_tablet":0,"ocean_menu_typo_line_height_mobile":0,"ocean_menu_typo_line_height_unit":"","ocean_menu_typo_spacing":0,"ocean_menu_typo_spacing_tablet":0,"ocean_menu_typo_spacing_mobile":0,"ocean_menu_typo_spacing_unit":"","ocean_menu_link_color":"","ocean_menu_link_color_hover":"","ocean_menu_link_color_active":"","ocean_menu_link_background":"","ocean_menu_link_hover_background":"","ocean_menu_link_active_background":"","ocean_menu_social_links_bg":"","ocean_menu_social_hover_links_bg":"","ocean_menu_social_links_color":"","ocean_menu_social_hover_links_color":"","ocean_disable_title":"default","ocean_disable_heading":"default","ocean_post_title":"","ocean_post_subheading":"","ocean_post_title_style":"","ocean_post_title_background_color":"","ocean_post_title_background":0,"ocean_post_title_bg_image_position":"","ocean_post_title_bg_image_attachment":"","ocean_post_title_bg_image_repeat":"","ocean_post_title_bg_image_size":"","ocean_post_title_height":0,"ocean_post_title_bg_overlay":0.5,"ocean_post_title_bg_overlay_color":"","ocean_disable_breadcrumbs":"default","ocean_breadcrumbs_color":"","ocean_breadcrumbs_separator_color":"","ocean_breadcrumbs_links_color":"","ocean_breadcrumbs_links_hover_color":"","ocean_display_footer_widgets":"default","ocean_display_footer_bottom":"default","ocean_custom_footer_template":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"ocean_post_oembed":"","ocean_post_self_hosted_media":"","ocean_post_video_embed":"","ocean_link_format":"","ocean_link_format_target":"self","ocean_quote_format":"","ocean_quote_format_link":"post","ocean_gallery_link_images":"on","ocean_gallery_id":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[26],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1376","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-movie-reviews","entry"],"yoast_head":"\n