A Mile in His Shoes

I like the movie but also the way that they portray Asperger's Syndrome, is so wrong. How do I know? Because I've been diagnosed with it since I was 11. We're not some sensitive child-like people, we are more like somewhat cold average person, with somewhat more logical brains. It's weird to see someone I would call my equal not be someone who could hold a proper conversation.

This story was certainly inspiring and touching. It starts with a coach (called "Murph", or Mr. Murphy) for a little league team with the worst name of all time, the River Rats, trying to find some real talented players for the already-started baseball season. His car gets stuck in a muddy ditch near a farm, where he comes across a really talented teen with a powerful throwing arm. It turns out the kid, named Mickey, is high-functioning autistic, being born with Asperger's Syndrome. This made his father super protective of him and, when first asked by Murph, was hesitant to allow his son to try out for the River Rats. But with enough convincing of his son's natural talent, the dad lets Mickey try out for the team.

Of course, there are a lot of cheesy montage moments, but I'm glad the film didn't focus on Mickey's failures. He actually did a great job whenever he was on the pitcher's mound for a game. What the film did that I might not have liked was give us a villain, a jealous teammate who didn't like being sidelined while Mickey stole the spotlight. This helped to unite the team and support Mickey, but still, why did this story need a villain? Being autistic in a loud, demanding sport like baseball should have been the focus of the story itself, but there wasn't any real obstacle other than the jealous teammate.

The other things I found a bit weird was Mickey's dad and (No spoilers!) the resolution of the entire rising action. For a story, you need a climax and a resolution, but for a realistic look on a boy with autism in our fast-paced world, everything seemed to work out perfectly in the end for a Disney-esque feel-good ending. And Mickey's dad was so overly critical and harsh, to the point of being such an obstacle in himself. But if he were to be the main obstacle, then fine. But why have an over-bearing father and a villain both be part of the rising action? Just choose one and expand on it.

I was glad that the film included religion. If this was Disney, you know they'd shy away from it like it was a monster. But the film understood the importance and significance of religion in the lives of real people. For that, this film an its message certainly gives it a good rating on my part. If you want a clean, feel-good film about sports and an underdog, then watch this film. I was lucky enough to discover it on Netflix. I hope you guys can catch it there too before it gets removed in the future. If you are looking for a gritty, realistic story, then perhaps this story is not for you. But maybe the book is.

I don't like sports films mainly because they never show the character building aspects but instead the cheats, poor sports and users abound ... dean cain is neither an actor nor a baseball coach ... the guy that played micky's father was a selfish bore ...

This is a painfully "heartfelt" and "heartwarming" movie that goes over the top and spares no cliché in its effort to gain your sympathy for the main character, a naive kid with Aspergers Syndrome and a talent for pitching. The biggest problem with this movie, for me, is the depiction of Aspergers syndrome. The main character is shown as a Forest Gump type character with emotional issues. In reality, Aspergers people usually have normal or even above-average intelligence. I have known a number of people with this syndrome, and none of them have been as dim as the kid in this movie. Still, it was at least sympathetic toward him even as it tried too obviously to be emotionally manipulative.

5.7 stars.

I'm a stickler for playing by the rules of filmmaking. When some independent movie like this one is released, I expect the scriptwriter and director to stick to the system. I was very disappointed in the presentation of 'A Mile in His Shoes' and after 48 minutes, I stopped the movie and removed it from my watchlist on Prime. Where to begin...

This is not an accurate portrayal of Asperger syndrome (I don't know if they call it that anymore, but in 2011, probably still did). Big fat no-no. If you can't get the characteristics of the condition right, DON'T bother making the movie. Watching the actor misrepresent everything about it is an automatic thumbs down. I don't blame him, it's obviously the director's fault. In reality, the character would be intelligent and likely appear to be over-nerdy, yet this guy seems more mentally challenged and prone to odd mood swings and fits, and that's not normally how it goes. He asks the coach if he thinks a tomato or an orange is more round, then he says potatoes aren't round. This is what a mentally challenged person would say, but an Asperger person would think a question like this was juvenile and half-witted. It might mimic autism, and while Asperger may be on the spectrum, they are different.

Next, I noticed the baseball games were not realistic for college play (or any play), I think the score was wrong when the other team hit a homer, the announcer said it was 3-0, and they put 2 points on the board instead of 3. Again, big fat no-no for people who watch baseball and appreciate accuracy. You get the scores wrong, it's time for you to look for another job, not only as a scorekeeper, but as a filmmaker (get what I did there?). Next, the other pitcher was apparently pitching a shutout, yet his team was like 0-12, (zero wins and twelve losses-a really bad record) so what were the odds he would be pitching a shutout if they were a winless team, and why would coach (Cain) replace him with the new guy to finish the game? It doesn't track at all.

Let's rewind to his decision to draft him in the first place. He puts this challenged young man on the team, and can he even catch a baseball? We don't know, but he grew up on a farm and seemingly has zero baseball knowledge or skills, yet he's pitching soon after and if he's never played baseball, NO, NO, NO. He'd have to learn to catch and hit the ball as well. Most pitchers have to bat at some point. It's just LAZY, LAZY, LAZY filmmaking and it's an insult to film buffs like myself.

I feel like the theme is how playing baseball can help people cope with their mental challenges. It helps people focus their special skills on the sport. It's a wonderful idea, so next time let's get it right so the audience can enjoy the movie instead of dissecting it.

This is one of Dean Cain's better performances. He doesn't have the option of being too cheesy or corny in this more serious role. That's the only upside of this experience, but it was short-lived.