Bobby Ratliff (Luke Wilson, Old School, The Royal Tenenbaums, Bottle Rocket) loves the game of baseball, and enjoys coaching his sons’ little league team, even though the Fort Worth team just finished last for the season. His reluctant assistant coach is his best friend, Jon Kelly (Greg Kinnear), a lawyer who’s often distracted at practices, working on cases in hopes of landing a partnership at his law firm. With the season over, Bobby is already starting to plan for the following year when he learns that he has an advanced form of cancer, and likely won’t get to see his sons play baseball again. So he asks Jon to promise to take over the team.
Jon doubts his abilities as a coach, so when he is presented with the unique opportunity to let his team to compete as the All Star team at the regional qualifier for the Little League World Series, he’s a bit reluctant. However, Jon realizes this is an opportunity to give his friend the chance to watch his boys play baseball one last time. And so, with just ten days before their first game, he enlists the help of assistant coach Mitch Belew (Lew Temple, Unstoppable) to help turn things around and whip these underdogs into shape, and with a little luck, they may just win a game. However, Jon may have underestimate the heart of this team and their dedication to Bobby—as the kids start doing the impossible, it looks like they may actually have a chance to make it to the 2002 Little League World Series!
You Gotta Believe is based on a true story, and is a fun, entertaining underdog sports film with lots of humor and heart. The film follows the emotional journey of the Ratliff family as Bobby, his wife Patti (Sarah Gadon, Ferrari, Dracula Untold), and sons Robert (Michael Cash) & Peanut (Joaquin Roberts) deal with Bobby’s diagnosis and treatment. We also get a look into the lives of Jon and his family—wife Kathy (Molly Parker), and son Walker (Etienne Kellici), the team’s pitcher. Jon is having a tough time both at home and at work. Despite his 20 years on the job, Jon has been struggling to get respect ever since the son of the founder took over the firm. At the same time, he also feels the pressure to figure out how to coach this team, so they can truly honor Bobby.
At the core of the film is this great underdog sports story, with a really fun band of misfit players, some great baseball action, and of course, the requisite cameo from The Sandlot star Patrick Renna (“You’re Killing Me, Smalls!”). Throughout the film we meet the 12 players who make up the Westside team. They start off as the worst team in the league, and must prove they truly can be All Stars. We see how the coaches are able to help the kids hone their skills and correct their techniques—such as figuring out the best way to coach the team’s MVP Chris Rivera (Seth Murchison), helping the bespectacled Scooter see/hit the ball, teaching Walker to control his pitches, and getting the constantly-distracted Mark to keep his eyes on the game rather than focusing on trying to impress Scooter’s older sister Caroline (Ashley Emerson).
The film keeps the baseball action interesting and exciting, making use of fast- and slow-motion to vary things up, and some really creative ball’s-eye-view shots to put the viewer in the middle of the action. Despite the slightly darker storyline of what Bobby is going through, the film still maintains a fun, upbeat tone, with lots of humor, plenty of sight gags, witty dialogue and comedic situations. Overall, I found it to be a fun, uplifting and sometimes emotional film the whole family can enjoy together. This is destined to become a classic in the same vein as The Bad New Bears, or The Sandlot.
Well Go USA has released You Gotta Believe on 4K Ultra HD, Blu-ray, DVD & digital. We were sent a watermarked digital screener to review. Since this may or may not represent the final retail product, I won’t really comment in great detail on the audio and video presentation of the release. That said, the audio and video quality on my screener was excellent. There was no digital bonus material available to screen, but the press release for the physical release states that it should include “a Little League special featurette”.
What’s Included:
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Specs may vary by platform/retailer.
- 2160p / Widescreen 2.39:1
- HDR10
- Audio: English 5.1 Dolby Digital Plus
- Subtitles: English
Film: (1:44:32)
Extras:
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The digital release doesn’t appear to include any bonus material.
Listed for the physical release is “a Little League special featurette”.
Final Thoughts:
You Gotta Believe is a fun and entertaining underdog sports story with lots of humor and heart. It is creatively shot, has a great cast, quirky characters and situations, and an overall upbeat feel. The film is now available in both physical and digital formats, and is a movie the whole family can enjoy together. Anyone who is a fan of baseball or underdog sports comedies/dramas should look at adding this to their collection.
You Gotta Believe 4K UHD
43% Off $39.98 $20.64 (as of December 25, 2024 01:29 GMT -05:00 – More infoProduct prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on [relevant Amazon Site(s), as applicable] at the time of purchase will apply to the purchase of this product.)
You Gotta Believe Blu-ray
41% Off $34.98 $16.99 (as of December 25, 2024 01:29 GMT -05:00 – More infoProduct prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on [relevant Amazon Site(s), as applicable] at the time of purchase will apply to the purchase of this product.)
You Gotta Believe DVD
50% Off $29.98 $13.99 (as of December 25, 2024 01:29 GMT -05:00 – More infoProduct prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on [relevant Amazon Site(s), as applicable] at the time of purchase will apply to the purchase of this product.)
You Gotta Believe
$19.99 (as of December 25, 2024 01:29 GMT -05:00 – More infoProduct prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on [relevant Amazon Site(s), as applicable] at the time of purchase will apply to the purchase of this product.)
