Films about children’s baseball tend to be more often good than not. They usually have the formula of funny banter among teammates and coaches, an underdog story, a misfit team, and memorable characters. Ty Roberts’ film You Gotta Believe almost gets this formula correct but doesn’t quite hit the home run.
Based on a true story, You Gotta Believe centers on the Westside All-Stars of Fort Worth, Texas, as they make the journey to the Little League World Series. The Westside All-Stars were known as the worst team in the league. Jon Kelly (Greg Kinnear) is unwilling to coach the team because he’s lost the love of the game. Instead, he wants his friend, Bobby Ratliff (Luke Wilson), to coach the team because of his enthusiasm for the game and how the kids gravitate to every word he says. After Bobby reveals he has skin cancer, Jon decides to take the offer to coach the team as long as Bobby coaches alongside him.
“…Westside all-star team of Fort Worth, Texas, as they make the journey to the Little League World Series.”
This film has a few good things going for it. First, the story is a true-life heart-breaking story. It is an underdog story that makes you not only root for the team but also the man who is coaching the team, hoping that he wins his battle with cancer. The film also has a well-cast group of adults leading the way. Luke Wilson, Greg Kinnear, Molly Parker, Sarah Gadon, and even beloved The Sandlot actor Patrick Renna have a significant role in the film. On a personal note, my father and I have made it a tradition to watch the Little League World Series since I was a child. We still catch at least a couple of games every year, so the fact that there is now a film about that very specific portion of sports is great.
With all of the positives this film has going for it, it also lacks in some areas. The main thing this film lacks is memorable characters when it comes to the all-star team, which is tricky considering the type of film it is. Since it is a film based on a true story, it hits on making the cast look like a real Little League team. The tricky part is that it needs to have characters that stand out since it is a film. The majority of the children in this film look very similar to each other. They all have the same haircut, and aside from the two main children, I still had trouble remembering who was who, even though some of them have nicknames. Also, I felt that there were missed opportunities to add more comedic dialogue, which I feel was much needed to lighten up the tone. There could have been much more memorable moments between the team if there had been more back-and-forth banter, which could have also created more personalities for the characters.
In baseball terms, You Gotta Believe delivers the base hit to keep the team in the game in the 9th inning but does not get the run needed to win the game. In film nerd terms, the film does enough to get you through to the end of the film but lacks the feel-good moments as well as the impactful dialogue that could have made this film an instant classic. Despite this, the story is very inspiring and that should be enough to make you want to give the film a watch.
"…an underdog story that makes you not only root for the team but also the man who is coaching the team..."
