![]() ![]() They are, admittedly, not helped by some truly awful ADR work that plagues the film. ![]() Though many of them are still working, there's a terrible stagey feel about almost all the kids. Even for a Disney TV movie, the performances here are pretty rubbish. But the new profile, and the inclusion of team Captain Todd McLemore (Robert Ri'chard) in their circle has Alex questioning who he is. West Appleton's school team is made up of Alex Thompson (Kyle Schmid) and his friends, who eschew high school popularity in favour of ironic appreciation of the retro 50's vibe of his fathers bowling alley. Having arrived at a tie, the rules determine that 10 pin bowling will be the deciding sport. Two high schools are about to be combined into one, so this year marks the last time that the rivals will compete for the "Mighty Apple" trophy. I approached it hoping for a MST3K style experience to mock, but unfortunately it was just "mostly rubbish" as opposed to entertainingly awful. Next on the Disney Plus run though, a 2000 made for TV movie "Alley Cats Strike". As Dexter says in "The Cure" (ties for #1 with "On Golden Pond" in my list), "It's worth a try." Reality check: it's true that this only works if the accuser accepts the humor, but when it works you can feel the reduction in tension. Instead of getting mad, Alex handles this with humor, poking even more fun at himself, saying he got them from a he found in the alley, and Todd's "Whatever." shows he gets the humor, and the confrontation is defused, rather than escalating. One great example that might get overlooked occurs about twenty minutes from the beginning: in the bowling hall Todd mentions the rumour that Alex got his clothes in the alley behind the hall. Alex and his friends learn to have a positive, winning attitude, and Todd learns about style and playing for fun without the pressure to win at all costs, and yielding to a better performer when it counts. Todd rallies his friends to revive the bowling hall. As the movie progresses different examples of how to do this are shown, such as Alex going to a party by Todd's friends that he wouldn't normally attend, accompanying Todd to get decorations for the bowling hall, and getting a truce between his team members and Todd for the remaining days until the contest. ![]() SOME SPOILERS! This movie is about learning to understand-even accept-other peoples' point of view and working together for a common cause regardless of any remaining differences. I loved that! I didn't expect much from the film going in but I was surprised. At times throughout the film, the action pauses while the narrator(Schmid) explains to the audience what is really happening. The director, Rod Daniel's seems to have been influenced by Scorsese. The young cast including Schmid, Ri'chard and Cuoco, are excellent. The film, although simple and predictable, is very good. As they film winds down, the group who were once the brunt of jokes, gain the respect of the school and the "real" jocks. The kids don't really care about the school or winning but since no one else can bowl as good as them they do step up to the plate. The West Appleton athletic council confronts the outcasts about bowling for the school. "Only losers bowl," claims the West Appleton mayor. They've gone head to head against each other in just about every sport imaginable until East Appleton proposes bowling. East and West Appleton have an intense sports rivalry. Check it out!Īlley Cats Strike, a film that mixes hip swing music with bowling, concerns the athletic rivalry between two highschools and a group of retro outcasts who love to bowl. At times throughout the film, the action pauses while the narrator(Scmid) explains to the audience what is really happening. ![]() Alley Cats Strike, a film that mixes hip swing music with bowling, concerns the athletic rivalry between two highschools and a group of retro outcasts who love to bowl. ![]()
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