We Want The D

On the surface, Disney's THE BIG GREEN is about as paint-by-numbers an underdog kids' sports movie can get. All the stereotypical plot points with none of the charm, this could have been another ingracious entry into We Want The D's dreaded bottom ten, but was saved by the oddly relevant portrayal of Small Town America on the decline. The setting of this week's movie is a Town that Voted Trump, a town where nine out of ten parents found themselves out of work when the local factory (of what?) closed down; a town where a foreign exchange teacher (a what?) can toss out the curriculum in favour of throwing her mixed-age class in a sport none of them have ever played; a town where the kids play a dangerous game involving cheeetos and pigeons just to feel alive. This town and it's citizens managed to capture Vicky, Nolan and Jill's imaginations, at least the times they weren't playing soccer.