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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

‘Big Green’ Predictable But Safe For Kids

Robert W. Butler Kansas City Star

About the best that can be said for “The Big Green,” the latest kids sports flick from the Disney assembly line, is that it isn’t offensive.

Mundane, predictable and uninspired, yes. At least it doesn’t make you angry.

Although come to think of it, anger would at least suggest a strong response to the material. As things now stand “The Big Green” is nothing more than an inconsequential blip in the radar screen of contemporary moviegoing.

Anna Montgomery (Olivia D’Abo) is a young English teacher spending a year at a school in Elma, Texas, a bump on the road slowly sliding into oblivion.

Her students are unmotivated, dull and defeatist - as is the entire town.

In desperation, Anna introduces her young charges to soccer, and they’re slowly drawn into the game. At the same time, the oafish sheriff’s deputy (Steve Guttenberg) signs on as assistant coach, mainly so he can ogle Anna at his leisure.

The kids suffer humiliations at the hands of experienced and better equipped teams from nearby Austin, but with the help of a talented new player from south of the border, the team - they call themselves the Big Green - moves on to the championship game.

We’ve seen it all before: the essentially anonymous youngsters built around one character trait (fat, bespectacled, short, surly), the formulaic final contest, the cliched practice montage.

Parents can send their kids into the theater safe in the knowledge that they’ll be exposed to nothing controversial.

Of course they won’t be exposed to anything interesting, either.

MEMO: These sidebars appeared with the story: “THE BIG GREEN” Location: East Sprague, North Division and Showboat cinemas Credits: Directed by Holly Goldberg Sloan; starring Olivia d’Abo, Steve Guttenberg, Jay O. Sanders Running time: 1:40 Rating: PG

OTHER VIEWS Soren Andersen/McClatchy News Service: Well people, (this is what happens) when you give Hollywood the idea that you never get tired of movies about klutzy kids who receive self-esteem implants through participation in team sports. You turn enough pictures like “The Bad News Bears,” “The Mighty Ducks,” “D2” and “The Sandlot” into hits and eventually you’re going to pay a price. That price is “The Big Green.”… For a movie that is supposed to be about plucky winners, “The Big Green” is a loser in every way. Bob Fenster/The Arizona Republic: While “The Big Green”is nothing new, it’s still a good choice for kids younger than 12 because it mixes comedy with good family lessons and leaves everyone feeling better. How often can you say that about a movie? But what will Hollywood do next: “The Mighty Big Green Speech Team?”

These sidebars appeared with the story: “THE BIG GREEN” Location: East Sprague, North Division and Showboat cinemas Credits: Directed by Holly Goldberg Sloan; starring Olivia d’Abo, Steve Guttenberg, Jay O. Sanders Running time: 1:40 Rating: PG

OTHER VIEWS Soren Andersen/McClatchy News Service: Well people, (this is what happens) when you give Hollywood the idea that you never get tired of movies about klutzy kids who receive self-esteem implants through participation in team sports. You turn enough pictures like “The Bad News Bears,” “The Mighty Ducks,” “D2” and “The Sandlot” into hits and eventually you’re going to pay a price. That price is “The Big Green.”… For a movie that is supposed to be about plucky winners, “The Big Green” is a loser in every way. Bob Fenster/The Arizona Republic: While “The Big Green”is nothing new, it’s still a good choice for kids younger than 12 because it mixes comedy with good family lessons and leaves everyone feeling better. How often can you say that about a movie? But what will Hollywood do next: “The Mighty Big Green Speech Team?”