The Big Green

I had not watched this since I was a kid and honestly hardly remembered anything about it . We recently watched it on Disney plus and it was great ! I smiled the whole way through . I felt like it took some great life lessons and packed them into a very entertaining and funny story .

I think it's a great reminder of what a family movie should be : simple , clean and leaving you with a great moral lesson . Great for all ages .

The students in a small Texan town have a new teacher from England (Olivia D'Abo). She is trying hard to motivate and communicate with her pupils, with only limited success. Limited, that is, until she gets her students excited about soccer. She assembles a ragtime team, with no uniforms, and teaches them about the fundamentals of soccer. The team, with a mixture of girls and boys, begins playing matches. They lose. The teacher enlists the help of the local sheriff (Steve Guttenberg) and, together, they help the team improve. But, will they succeed in winning soccer games? This is another stroll down Mighty Ducks lane but it is still a good film for children. It's themes of hard work and teamwork are undeniable and very worthwhile. The actors, the script, and the Texas setting form a touching and funny film. If you want to find a good family film for a night at home, try this one. Big grins will pop up over The Big Green.

If you're looking for a sophisticated piece of art, "The Big Green" is not it. This is a family film for elementary school kids. I watched this movie for the first time when I was nine, and I absolutely loved it. I loved cheering for the underdog, and from my nine-year-old point of view, all the events were realistic and all the characters were believable. I especially loved Larry, who was hilarious in his delusions. I watched this film again tonight and realize that it is a clichéd film, but only because I'm much older and more cynical. However, this does not take away the fact that it brought back the days when I resolutely believed that the harder I worked, the more it would pay off and that anybody could be a winner. It is optimistic, heart-warming and uplifting for that inner nine-year-old.

Certainly not a masterpiece but in an era where as a kid watching endless movies aimed at kids with sports that aren't necessarily globally recognised, it was refreshing to see soccer as the focal point. It remained a child hood memory as the one soccer movie I could relate to as I loved soccer. My kids also relate to this more than mighty ducks and sandlot or rookie of the year as it is a sport they are familiar with day to day in Australia.

The plot being cliche, or overused gags or cashing in on a genre does not matter when watching it or sharing the movie with your children, to them it's just a fun movie they can laugh and enjoy with a sport they understand.

OK, the Big Green is not academy award quality. But it features a fine cast, led by Steve Guttenberg. It is set in rural Texas, and the kids on the soccer team don't have much confidence in their ability to win the big one. But a teacher transfer from England, a gorgeous woman at that, helps turn them around. The scene-stealer is Milt Oberman (who is most qualified as a stand in for Danny DeVito) as the referee in the final game, delivering a riveting, if somewhat understated, performance. This is a great feel-good movie to watch especially with your kids or grandkids. But adults should all enjoy it also.