Gracie

This semiautobiographical drama is very much a family affair: it's loosely based on the lives of actors Elisabeth and Andrew Shue, who both appear onscreen; another Shue brother helped produce; and Elisabeth's husband, Davis Guggenheim (An Inconvenient Truth), is the director. Gracie takes place in the late 1970s, when New Jersey teenager Gracie Bowen (Carly Schroeder)—the only sister to three soccer-obsessed siblings—loses her beloved older brother (Jesse Lee Soffer) in a car accident and decides to fill the void left on his soccer team by personally taking his place. Her shattered father Bryan (Dermot Mulroney), a former soccer star himself, tells Gracie that she couldn't possibly keep up with the boys, while traditional mother Lindsay (Elisabeth Shue) also tries to dissuade her heartbroken daughter. But Gracie's determination eventually wins over the skeptics among her family, friends, and schoolmates. The resemblance to Elisabeth's real-life experience notwithstanding, Gracie is a standard-issue schoolyard sports drama packed with all of the accepted character types and clichéd situations (not the least of which, of course, is the climactic Big Game). Yes, the tone is uplifting, the performances are earnest, and the screenplay hits every expected note, but Gracie lacks the originality that would separate it from a myriad of similar films. Optional. [Note: DVD extras include two audio commentaries (one with director Davis Guggenheim, the other with producer/costars Elisabeth Shue and Andrew Shue), a 27-minute “Bringing Gracie to Film” production featurette, and trailers. Bottom line: a solid extras package for an undistinguished sports drama.] (E. Hulse)