The Final Season
From the director of The Sandlot comes the true story of an underdog coach and the team that must defend their legacy against insurmountable odds.
In the small town of Norway, Iowa, the high school baseball team, led by legendary Coach Jim Van Scoyoc (Powers Boothe, TV's Deadwood), has won 19 State Championships. But the small town heroes are dealt a series of unexpected blows that threaten to rob them of their 20th championship win. When talk of a school merger gets serious and Coach Scoyoc is fired, then replaced by his 24-year-old assistant, Kent Stock (Sean Astin, Rudy and The Lord of the Rings trilogy), failure seems inevitable.
Tom Arnold, Rachael Leigh Cook and Michael Angarano join an excellent ensemble cast in this inspirational family gem.
Member Reviews
The Formula's Getting Tired - revsdd
It's been done before, with reference to virtually every sport: basketball (Hoosiers and Coach Carter), football (Remember The Titans), hockey (Miracle and Mystery, Alaska), boxing (Rocky), track and field (Chariots Of Fire). The list goes on. This is the baseball version of the "underdog overcomes" formula as the high school baseball team struggles to overcome adversity in its last season before the school closes to win another state championship. Yes, it's inspiring. Yes, it's a true story. All that's true. But the biggest truth? The formula is getting tired! In this one, the Tigers of the high school in little Norway, Iowa face not only the above mentioned adversity, but also a school board that would like them to lose to shut the people up about the dynasty and all that the team means to the town and, to essentially sabotage them, hires a former girls volleyball coach to replace the former legendary coach who led them to title after title. Frankly, it seemed strange to me that the local school board was so willing to jump on board with the state to close the school. That whole tension was where the movie had some potential to break out of the standard formula but didn't really manage to do it. Where the movie was interesting was in its analysis of the place of the school in the life of the small town, and of the implications to the town of closing the school. But there wasn't enough of that analysis. The focus kept going back to the baseball team and its final season. (I know, that's the title, that's the purpose, but that final season wasn't that interesting.) The movie also completely failed to document the evolution of the team. They won their first game, then fell apart, then were suddenly a respectable 17-12, then were suddenly playing for the state championship. It never really seemed clear to me how the team pulled that off.
Basically, this is a tired formula and a rather disappointing movie as a result.Not bad... - karead
An average, watchable movie...based on the true story of the Norway, Iowa high school baseball team. Casting was well done with the exception of the replacement coach. They could have picked someone a little more athletic. But, he motivates the kids to win, despite being the underdogs.KUDOS FOR A WELL-EXECUTED FORMULA... - Ricardo
even if there was no originality whatsoever. Get a true sports story somewhere about semi-unbeatable odds, put a believable cast together, throw in decent acting, good suspenseful music, and the hint of romance, and you have got a good recipe.
This may not be nouveau cuisine, but it sure was a great hamburger, and we all like those from time to time
Member Reviews
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The Formula's Getting Tired - revsdd
It's been done before, with reference to virtually every sport: basketball (Hoosiers and Coach Carter), football (Remember The Titans), hockey (Miracle and Mystery, Alaska), boxing (Rocky), track and field (Chariots Of Fire). The list goes on. This is the ...Not bad... - karead
An average, watchable movie...based on the true story of the Norway, Iowa high school baseball team. Casting was well done with the exception of the replacement coach. They could have picked someone a little more athletic. But, he motivates the kids to win, ...KUDOS FOR A WELL-EXECUTED FORMULA... - Ricardo
even if there was no originality whatsoever. Get a true sports story somewhere about semi-unbeatable odds, put a believable cast together, throw in decent acting, good suspenseful music, and the hint of romance, and you have got a good recipe.
This ...