The Mighty Macs 2009

Roger Moore, Orlando Sentinel: This tiny Catholic school for women dominated the sport at a turning point in history, and this plucky, old-fashioned sports drama sets the scene and tells the tale with a lot of heart and a dash of wit. Read more

Ty Burr, Boston Globe: "The Mighty Macs'' sticks so closely to the underdog-sports-movie playbook that it's practically generic. Read more

James Rocchi, MSN Movies: Too bad it's simply not that good, wobbling up on its way to the backboard and rolling on the rim before eventually making its point when what we were hoping for was a slam dunk. Read more

Neil Genzlinger, New York Times: Sometimes a film feels a bit too pat and yet is impossible to resist. Read more

Nick Schager, Time Out: A saga whose cliched corniness (marriage isn't everything! athletics save the school!) would be practically sinful if not for the mighty Gugino... Read more

Keith Phipps, AV Club: Formulas work if you know how to work them, but writer-director Tim Chambers, making his theatrical debut, only gets the beats right part of the time. Read more

Michael Phillips, Chicago Tribune: [A] low budget, high-fructose but generally effective rouser... Read more

Gary Goldstein, Los Angeles Times: [It's] given such old-fashioned, kid-gloves treatment that its potential warmth and excitement caves under the weight of writer-producer-director Tim Chambers' good intentions. Read more

Joe Neumaier, New York Daily News: There's something refreshingly unpushy about the movie and its beliefs, and Gugino seems to be sauntering through on her way to a different, spikier movie, the kind that is her stock in trade. Read more

Kyle Smith, New York Post: The blandly inspirational sports flick "The Mighty Macs" is warm- spirited but all too obvious, even as the charms of its lead performer Carla Gugino help sell this familiar story. Read more

Carrie Rickey, Philadelphia Inquirer: Pleasing rather than rousing, informational rather than inspirational, Macs is more of a sit-in-the-bleachers-and-clap than a stand-up-and-cheer affair. Read more

Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times: There is nothing to complain about except the film's deadening predictability and the bland, shallow characters. Read more

Mick LaSalle, San Francisco Chronicle: Sports movies live and die by what takes place on the court or in the field, and this one feels rather rote. Read more

Colin Covert, Minneapolis Star Tribune: It's sure not new, but somehow it never gets old. Read more

Joe Williams, St. Louis Post-Dispatch: Without resorting to any trick plays, "The Mighty Macs" is the equivalent of high-top Converse All-Stars: timeless and effective, but perhaps not flashy enough for the kids at the mall. Read more

Joe Leydon, Variety: Writer-director Tim Chambers does little to generate suspense, and appears determined to immediately defuse any situation that even hints at the possibility of unpleasantness. Read more

Melissa Anderson, Village Voice: The Mighty Macs appears to have been made on a budget equivalent to the cost of a WNBA fleece hoodie. Read more

Stephanie Merry, Washington Post: Stop me if you've heard this one: A hapless, obscure underdog team overcomes countless disadvantages to become undisputed champions. Read more