buehrlefiftysix Review of The Perfect Game

The Perfect Game (2009)

This Was A Great Family Film & Real Life Story

[8/10 · 5 June 2012]

I am a big fan of baseball at all levels. I had read before that Mexico had won the Little League World Series in 1957 and 1958. What I hadn't read, was anything about this team. I had no idea what they had to go through just to make it happen. This could easily be considered the greatest baseball story of all time. They not only overcame the fact that they had never played organized ball before. They had to overcome financial issues, discrimination and not having a coach for a while. This team had some kids with real talent, and I think they won because they wanted it more. I thought the acting in this movie was a little forced, but it was not terrible. Cheech Marin does a good job playing the priest. It has some more famous child actors as well as Marin, including Jake T. Austin who plays Max on Wizards Of Waverly Place and Moises Arias who played Rico on Hannah Montana. I think all the kids do a pretty good job. The movie is supposed to have a relaxed, light-hearted and family friendly feel and it does. However, it does not have this in a cheesy way. It takes on racism, and shows how the Mexican team overcame racism not only for themselves, but for a black player from another team in a restaurant. It shows the impact that they left on the people who saw them play. A local Texas reporter who hates baseball eventually develops into a person who loves this team and wants to cover them at Williamsport. I like the part where they get advice from the groundskeeper, who turns out to be legendary Negro League player Cool Papa Bell. There were a lot of elements included in this movie that really make you think, that hold your attention and capture your imagination. I rented this from a Redbox and watched it twice before taking it back. This movie also made me want to learn more about the real life team and I found a lot of good articles. I would recommend this movie for any serious baseball fan, and for any family that is looking for a good film to watch together. It crosses that audience spectrum in the same way that The Sandlot, Angels In The Outfield, Little Big League and Rookie Of The Year do. This story/movie has become one of my favorites ever. Highly recommended. Don't expect an Oscar winner in production quality, but it's a great watch nonetheless.