Home Team

Home Team. 1998 Allan A Goldstein.

As recommended by recently disgraced B-blogger Mahnfahrt Panzerflesh.

Some may regard this infantile footie flick to be one Mighty Duck up, but not I. Ex-Soccer hero (Steve Guttenberg), now disgraced degenerate gambler is given a shot at redemption by being the gruff handyman/footie coach at a deprived kids school Sounds wretched, perhaps it is, but, in truth, aren't we all just a little bit wretched sometimes? The inevitably fuzzy wuzzy conclusion is no valid reason to dislike it, but Guttenberg's boorish comedy antics just might be! The weird guy playing the kooky funeral director did all the proper big boy acting.

Guttenballs or Guttengoofy, YOU decide!!!!!!

Other then having already seen the exact same story in the past in a movie called "The Mighty Ducks", this was an OK movie.

This time, the action is on a soccer field, not a hockey rink. But it is pretty much the same. A loser with a hidden past takes on some misfit kids in a soccer team that never wins. He turns out to be a former pro player who lost it all during a gambling scandal.

While it is nice to see Steve acting again, his character is almost the same as in any of his other movies. And the fact that the plot is so obvious does not make this a very enjoyable movie.

Unless you are a Guttenberg fan, go ahead and skip this movie. I hope that Steve can get back to some real roles, like he had in Splash or Short Circut.

I can't believe I'm wasting my time with a comment - but this movie is weirdly bad. If 20 different directors were brought in to film different parts of the movie without having any idea of the storyline being filmed by the other directors, this is pretty much the result I would expect.

I also think some of the scenes were spliced out of order - things don't always seem to progress in order. The movie acts like we're already supposed to know about half the characters.

And Steve Guttenberg tries to do manic, a-la-Robin Williams comedy in this movie. Ewww. And the whole premise of putting an ex-con in charge of a bunch of kids just doesn't seem realistic in this day and age.

This movie was a waste of the celluloid it was printed on. It is a disastrous scene, much like a particularly gruesome train wreck.

Watching this is like trying to explain the meaning of life. The main plot point is that the character played by Steve Guttenberg is a party animal who's not supposed to gamble, because that would violate his parole. The kids he befriends refuse to play with him as coach for a while, because he gambles. BUT... a few minutes later, after they've won the championship, a large sum of money saves their shelter. And where did they get the money? GAMBLING!!! Add this to the creepy scenes at the funeral home (why exactly are there BEDROOMS in a funeral home?) and the useless peripheral character

Mr. Butler is a former pro soccer player whose partying ways landed him in trouble with the law. He must serve as a handyman at a dilapidated boys' home during his probation, and if gets fired or quits he goes to prison.

The boys who live at the home don't like Mr. Butler at first, but that changes eventually. Mr. Butler tries really hard to do a good job. Unfortunately, the house is falling apart and needs a lot of work.

Cookie is the nutty cook who loves to gamble on horses. Mr. Butler, despite having bet on soccer (one of the reasons for his legal troubles), gives him betting advice.

Karen, who runs the place, wants the boys to do something meaningful so she persuades them to start a soccer team. They do, reluctantly, and the team gets called Home Team. Home Team is terrible, and so far no one realizes exactly why Mr. Butler was a celebrity. He doesn't seem interested in coaching. At first. But when he gets his hands on a soccer ball ...

There are obstacles to overcome. That first team the Home Team played will play them again--doesn't this always happen in these movies? But will Home Team win this time?

Steve Guttenberg's antics didn't work for me at first--or for the boys--but they grew on me later.

When Mr. Butler asks Karen about her accent, she claims to be from France. I didn't notice an accent, and half the time I don't think there was one. Sophie Lorain, of course, is from Quebec.

The actors playing the kids re good enough. I don't recall anyone standing out.

It's pretty standard material for this type movie. Occasionally the boys talk about the bad experiences in their lives, which raises the quality somewhat.

Michel Perron looks and talks like Eric Stonestreet of "Modern Family", but it's not him. I was going to say Stonestreet really showed range as an actor.

The one standout performer is Carl Alacchi as the funeral director. He eventually agrees to sponsor Home Team. He is really quirky.

This is an okay movie. It is formula, of course, and not a particularly good example.