Unlike the MPAA we do not assign
one
inscrutable rating based on age, but 3 objective ratings for SEX/NUDITY, VIOLENCE/GORE
and PROFANITY on a scale of 0 to 10, from lowest to highest,
depending on quantity and context.
Baseball story based on a true story, and taking place in Norway, Iowa, in 1991: Kent Stock (Sean Astin), a girl's volleyball coach, becomes the baseball assistant coach for Norway High School, which has won 19 state championships and produced many professional players. But not all's well, since the school board president schemes to merge the high school with a bigger school, and he thinks that failure is assured if the inexperienced assistant coach takes over the team. Also with Rachael Leigh Cook, Larry Miller, Amy Acker, Ann Wedgeworth, Powers Boothe, Tom Arnold and Michael Angarano. Directed by David M. Evans. [1:58]
SEX/NUDITY 2 - A man and woman are shown kissing: the woman is sitting on a kitchen counter, with the man standing between her legs; they are fully clothed. ► Several scenes show a man and woman sharing romantic moments, i.e. on a date, holding hands, etc. A teenage boy and teenage girl show obvious romantic feelings toward each other, through smiling and spending time together. ► A man mentions bailing his son out of jail while the son was naked (the son had been "streaking").
the review continues below...
VIOLENCE/GORE 3 - A boy is hazed by his teammates for playing baseball poorly by being held down and struck about the face repeatedly. ► A boy deliberately hits another boy with a baseball (he is not injured), and another boy is struck in the back with a baseball (he moans in pain and eventually is able to stand and continue to play). ► A catcher's hand is broken when a pitch goes wild (he moans and is later shown wearing a cast). ► A man has a heart attack and crashes a bus full of students -- no one is hurt and the man who had the heart attack is shown to be OK. ► A teenager steals a truck and is shown speeding. ► A boy is held back when he tries to fight another boy (no punches are thrown). A boy falls off a horse (he appears to be okay). ► A boy refers to "killing" the competition in the next baseball season. There is a reference to gambling on the outcome of a baseball game. ► There are several scenes in which teenagers spit on the ground as a sign of disapproval.
PROFANITY 4 - 1 exclamation that sounds like an F-word accompanied by an obscene hand gesture, 11 scatological terms, 6 anatomical terms, 8 mild obscenities, name-calling (stupid, shut up), 2 religious exclamations (a sign is shown saying "on the 8th day God created baseball," and a man refers to the "gods of baseball"). [profanity glossary]
SUBSTANCE USE - There are several scenes that depict teenagers drinking alcohol and a teenager is shown smoking and discussing cigarettes, cigars, weed, and six packs of beer. Teenagers and adults are shown smoking in several scenes. A teenager talks about where to get marijuana. A teenager tries to buy cigarettes illegally.
DISCUSSION TOPICS - Alcohol use, smoking, illegal drugs, spitting, fair play, good sportsmanship, perseverance, stealing, sex, romance, fighting, heart attacks, death of a parent, rebellion, respect, peaceful demonstration, economics, hazing, tradition, pride, history, integrity.
MESSAGE - Integrity and personal effort define success.
A CAVEAT: We've gone through several editorial changes since we
started covering films in 1992 and some of our early standards were
not as stringent as they are now. We therefore need to revisit many
older reviews, especially those written prior to 1998 or so; please
keep this in mind if you're consulting a review from that period.
While we plan to revisit and correct older reviews our resources are
limited and it is a slow, time-consuming process.
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