La force du silence

When this movie came out in the late '80s, it spoke out about nuclear proliferation. But the central themes of passion and commitment resonate beyond the time and the cause. Even if you don't agree with or understand Chuck's refusal to play Little League until all the nuclear silos are cleared, you have to believe in his determination to be the one person who makes a difference.

You don't have to be a sports fan or a political activist to be affected by this film, which combines laughter, tears, dedication and not a few plot twists. Newcomers to the fandom of William Petersen will appreciate his performance as a very conflicted father, trying to do right by his family and his country.

... about Little League baseball pitcher Chuck (Joshua Zuehlke) who, after taking a tour of a nuclear missile silo, has a terrible dream about nuclear Armageddon that inspires him to refuse to pitch anymore games as long as nuclear missiles exist in the world.

His story gets picked up nationally, where it strikes a chord with NBA superstar "Amazing Grace" Smith (Alex English). He decides to refuse to play as well, and he moves to Chuck's small hometown. They are soon joined by more professional athletes, as the world's sportspeople all take up the cause. Their innocent campaign has consequences, though, such as angry locals, as well as disapproval from the highest levels of power.

Co-starring William L. Petersen and Frances Conroy as Chuck's parents, Jamie Lee Curtis as Amazing Grace's sports agent, Lee Richardson as a shady financier and power-broker, and, in his first big screen role in 7 years, Gregory Peck as the U.S. president.

This is silly stuff, operating at a child's level of naivete. The message is a nice one, if in no way practical. There were a few of these anti-nuke films in the waning days of the Cold War, and most were terrible. The acting is passable in this one, if nothing memorable, and there aren't any stand-out moments scriptwise, either. It's technically well-made, with Robert Elswit on cinematography and Elmer Bernstein providing the score.

Possibly worth it for a historical perspective, albeit a pedestrian one.

Chuck as played by Joshua Zuehlke is a young Little League pitcher with nothing on his mind but the pressure of the season opener. But his small Montana town is the home of some nuclear missile silos and he gets a tour of one. He's a bright kid and when he questions what if they're used and the other side uses them as well, he gets an answer that's all too graphic.

Young Mr. Zuehlke gives up the Little League in protest and his small human interest story catches the attention of professional basketball player Amazing Grace Smith played by Alex English. Partly due to a fairly recent personal tragedy he's suffered he joins the young Little Leaguer out in Montana and then some players from other professional sports join as well.

The two athletes professional and amateur are the story, dwarfing such name players as Jamie Lee Curtis who is English's sports agent and Gregory Peck as the President of the United States who finds his hand in negotiating with the Russians compromised.

Amazing Grace And Chuck got dated and very quickly by the collapse of the Soviet Union. We started having to deal with a much different world than what President Peck was confronted with. There are no easy answers out there and the threats have multiplied with both ecological and biological terror a possibility as well.

Still Amazing Grace And Chuck was a sincere effort at presenting the pacifist point of view.

I saw this movie years ago and have never forgotten it.

The story is of a young boy protesting nuclear weapons by refusing to play Little League baseball. Professional players join in his fight when they hear of his cause. While in this day and age its somewhat unlikely, it offers a great feeling of hope, of truly believing in something, and sacrificing luxuries for the greater good of the world. I love this movie, its not flashy but it touches the heart. Maybe I am a sap, but I don't think I have had one viewing of this movie without being brought to tears. See this movie at least once. Its worth it.

If you show this movie to your children, there is an emotional (but not graphic) death in this movie.

This movie is BAD. A stupid premise, a bad script, less realism than Disney could hope for, and poor execution.

It is bad in every possible dimension of badness. Bad acting, bad directing, bad writing, bad script, bad editing...

Well, maybe it wasn't THAT bad, but LORD, it wasn't good!