Fighting the Odds: The Marilyn Gambrell Story

I've not seen nor heard anything about this movie until today, I looked up the summary (below) and here is my assessment without being a movie critic: Being an ex-student at Smiley High School and having family and friends and their children attend Smiley, I can truly say that Smiley High School is not the perfect school but it is no tougher than any other school in Houston. It is not a school in the 'projects' as one commenter stated. To say that 'virtually all the students have at least one parent incarcerated' is bull! ALL THE SCHOOLS IN HOUSTON, OR ANY OTHER CITY/STATE HAVE STUDENTS WHOSE PARENTS HAVE BEEN OR ARE INCARCERATED, WHO'VE BEEN RAPED, ASSAULTED OR WHATEVER AND THAT DOES'NT MAKE THE SCHOOL A TOUGH SCHOOL. IT'S STUDENTS WHO'VE BEEN DEALT A BAD HAND....Wherever! DON'T TRY TO SELL A MOVIE ON PARTIAL TRUTHS! The program is to be commended, it's intent is awesome..to help the students take a different road than their parents, but do not portray the school as a whole of what it is not! There are no more nor less criminals or victims walking the halls of Smiley HS than in any other school in either a poor or rich neighborhood.

IT'S AN INJUSTICE TO OVERLOOK THE HARD WORK BY A GOOD PORTION OF THE STUDENT BODY WHOSE TRYING TO SUCCEED IN SPITE OF THEIR HARD LUCK OR THE LACK OF MONEY BECAUSE THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS WAS POCKETING IT INSTEAD OF UTILIZING AS IT SHOULD'VE.

MY sister has a written article where the principals, several teachers and students from M.B. Smiley HS were interviewed and they were in total disagreement in how the school and the characters were played out in the movie.

This is a true story about what education should be like in the United States. It's a story about one teacher who cared enough about the kids to do whatever it took to help these kids get their education and to graduate. This is a story about rising up above the perceived problems and taking charge of your destiny. This is the best movie I've seen in my life! Based upon the real life person Marilyn Gambrell who teaches these children to rise above the problems. She teaches them not only about the subject in school that she is there for, but she also teaches them about respecting each other & themselves. She also gets each one of these kids to graduate! The one kid that was expelled promised to come back next year. Through all of this, she even went up against the faculty when they wanted to ax her program. She went up against them because she believed in the kids that much. She took the worst kids in the district and made them into winners. This true story shows you how anybody can be a winner!

Fighting the odds was a very good movie, containing a great cast. Jamie Gertz did a phenomenal job, as well as Ernie Hudson and Sicily. This movie is a must see for not only kids with the same situations as the kids in the movie, but younger kids as well as teens. I felt really liberated as I watched this movie, I felt as if I should reach out to kids with similar situations in my city. Lifetime does not show this movie enough, and they should. Now that I've seen it, I'm going to get some kids at my school to watch it so they can maybe get some courage and see other kids going through what they are going through. So if you haven't seen it, now is the time to see it. It is inspirational, enjoyable, and for all to see.

Jami Gertz turned in a dynamite performance in this movie. She played an Ex-Parole Officer turned Part-Time Instructor. She endured skepticism and indifference from members of a high school with students enduring serious social problems in the real world. She gradually earned respect and admiration from the students and the instructors later in the movie. They later visit a state prison -- in which the fathers of many children have been incarcerated for numerous offenses. The plot maintained energy and direction during the movie. She grew a set of balls in this movie. The students endure the roles of what the real world was like upon winning trust from the children. In the end, all but one student graduated from school -- thus looking forward to more productive lives outside the drug-infested world of government housing, gangs, beatings, substandard employment opportunities, and misery of Houston. Way to Go!!

It was so awesome and inspirational! I enjoyed it so much! I watched it for Jami Gertz because she's such a wonderful actress and was pleasantly surprised to see Jorge Vargas (Auggie from Higher Ground) in it as well. I was also interested in it because it was based on a true story and I've always been such a sucker for true stories. Jamie Gertz was excellent! Jorge Vargas was wonderful! The trust and respect the real Marilyn Gambrell instilled in the kids was sensational. I truly believe the United States would benefit if more programs Like No More Victims were added to the school curriculum. I'm sure there are a lot of kids who seem like they're bad to the bone, and yet, they're hurting as much as anybody. Sadly, no one seems to realize this. Once again, I believe that we could all benefit from a program such as No More Victims. I would definitely recommend it for anyone desiring to watch something inspirational. I would also like to say kudos for such strength and character you see in the movie.