The Longshots (2008, Dimension Films)
(Purchase at Amazon)

Let’s face it, I knew going into watching The Longshots that I wasn’t the intended audience. I could have watched it alone and written a snarky review about how Ice Cube’s transformation from Earth’s most pissed-off rapper to most cuddly family film star is nearly complete, but I chose to watch it with my family.

My daughter, Sophie, is a big fan of Keke Palmer, star of Akeelah and the Bee and the hit Disney channel movie about double dutch jump roping, Jump In. I, too, have been impressed with the young Miss Palmer, who was able to hold her own in Akeelah and the Bee opposite two mighty actors, Angela Bassett and Laurence Fishburne. I was also curious to see how well Fred Durst — yeah, that dude from Limp Bizkit — was able to direct a film. Throw in a supporting role by Garrett Morris, and people, I was ready to watch The Longshots.

The film is based on the true story of Jasmine Plummer, the first female quarterback ever to lead a team in the Pop Warner football tournament. In the film, Jasmine (Palmer) is a wallflower who keeps her nose buried in books and has no friends. Her divorced mother, Claire (Tasha Smith) implores her daughter to get involved in extracurricular activities, but Jasmine is happy keeping to herself. When Claire has to take on longer hours at the diner where she works, she reluctantly asks her brother-in-law, Curtis, to babysit his niece after school. Curtis (Ice Cube) is an out of work factory worker and former high school football star whose one shot out of the poor Louisiana town where they live was ruined when he screwed up his knee tripping on a street curb. Curtis wants nothing to do with his niece (partly from guilt, because her father is his deadbeat brother) and only agrees to watch Jasmine when Claire promises to pay him. It’s when Curtis and Jasmine come together that the film picks up the pace and become a little more interesting. Up until then, you have a lot of setup (and marginal direction from Durst). (more…)