The Big Green

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The Big Green ★½ 1995 (PG)

British teacher Anna Montgomery (D'Abo) blows into a small Texas town determined to give the deprived kiddies a boost of selfesteem. With help from the town sheriff (Guttenberg), Anna organizes a soccer team that's supposed to give the kids a reason to live. Problems abound when the star player disappears just before the faceoff with the biggest, nastiest team in the league. Sound familiar? This is the soccer version of “The Bad News Bears,” “The Little Giants,” and “The Mighty Ducks.” The formula is less successful in this case, but some mildly amusing moments and a few fresh performances from the kids offer minor bright spots in this tired scenario. 100m/C VHS, DVD . Olivia D'Abo, Steve Guttenberg, Jay O. Sanders, John Terry, Chauncey Leopardi, Patrick Renna, Billy L. Sullivan, Yareli Arizmendi, Bug Hall; D: Holly Goldberg Sloan; W: Holly Goldberg Sloan; C: Ralf Bode; M: Randy Edelman.