SparkMore n my opinion it was a great movie with some interesting elements, even though having some plot holes and the ending probably was just too messy and crammed together, but still fun to watch and not your casual movie that is similar to all other ones.

Keeley Coleman The thing I enjoyed most about the film is the fact that it doesn't shy away from being a super-sized-cliche;

Aneesa Wardle The story, direction, characters, and writing/dialogue is akin to taking a tranquilizer shot to the neck, but everything else was so well done.

Matylda Swan It is a whirlwind of delight --- attractive actors, stunning couture, spectacular sets and outrageous parties.

mmtasi-32443 The movie was excellent in many respects and the biblical foundation solid, and I'd highly recommend it, even though I don't agree with some of the suggestive clothing of the lead actress. Remember this is a Christian film intended for young girls. The Christian program "Crosstalk" agreed calling the lead actress' dress ungodly. On that point: "We are not to be molded into the image of the world" (Rom 12:2). Godliness and holiness are inward character qualities that bear outward fruit, which can include what a person chooses to wear. Modesty thankfully still matters in many Christian circles.

n-24613 What a movie. What a movie. Remarkable. I wish I could express the value of the parallels found in this movie... but unfortunately, there is not a number low enough. What a work of art. The acting was sub-par, but that mini-golf game was straight fire. I was taken aback at the complexity of the issues facing these kiddos. Weed? Porches? White slavery? That thing the girl forgot to do after dinner? This film left no stone unturned. I remember my high school days when I had to deal with similar issues for myself. I, too, joined the girls Cross Country team to run away from my problems. We did not win the state meet; we actually had to forfeit nearly every game. But, I digress. In addition to a wonderfully thought out script and top-notch directing, Remember The Goal's protagonist, Coach Kathy Ross-Gasolin, is a liar. At the beginning of the film she very clearly states, "I am only going to say this once: remember the goal." She then proceeds to say this multiple times throughout the film. I had to cover my children's ears. We can't go on corrupting our youth in this manner. All things considered, though, I can't think of any better way to spend $72 and 98 minutes of my life. Well done. Bravo. I, for one, shall always REMEMBER THE GOAL.

Tim Day In his My Year of Flops, Nathan Rabin coined the term "sh***y miracle" as a twist on the "so bad it's good" movie mentality. For Rabin, though, this designation didn't just mean that the film was enjoyable just because it was bad. These were films that were truly special, a hail mary of perfect badness. Rabin writes: "In a sh***y miracle, everything goes awry. It's not a matter of one sorry element dragging the rest down; it's every terrible component amplifying the awfulness of everything else. These shitty miracles represent the perfect storm of bad ideas and miscalculation. Everything must line up perfectly for a sh***y miracle to occur."REMEMBER THE GOAL is exactly that. A film that should join the ranks of BIRDEMIC, THE ROOM, SHOWGIRLS, and GIGLI as movies so terribly unwatchable that they are fodder for audiences everywhere to watch and enjoy as an epic cinematic car crash. Add the Christian movie element to the film, and miraculous is certainly an ironic term to describe the absolute train wreck of this film. Where does one start? Is it with the performance of Allee-Sutton Hethcoat as Courtney Smith-Donnelly and her monotone delivery of parables and inspirational anecdotes? Also, note that both actress and character have maintained hyphenated names. Hethcoat's delivery is so dry that it is well after a humorous line is delivered that you have to rewind in your head and realize it is written as a joke. Despite being the coach, she wears shorts to practice and yoga pants to class. As a science teacher at the local Chrisitan Academy, short skirts seem inappropriate attire for a chemistry lab, but director Dave Christiano's male gaze will not be denied. Beyond ogling the lead actress, the film has more than a few uncomfortable montages of teen girls running toward the camera. Feeling more like an 80s sexploitation film waiting to happen, Christiano's choice to shoot the teenage girls full body straight on--bounding and bouncing toward the camera is hilarious and uncomfortable all at once. But the misogyny doesn't end there. Coach Donnelly has a strategy to train her girls to run that the film promotes as some sort of secret and heretical idea (you know...like Jesus). However, even a layman to the sport understands the idea of pacing and training to run a stronger race...so the film sets up a twist ending that has no twist at all. But even Donnelly can't explain it to us. Another male coach from another school must first explain the strategy to the audience, leaving the female coach then to re-explain her master plan, which is no sort of master plan at all. Even here, men are smarter than the women. There is also an inexplicable symbol as the teammates and coach all put their fists together...and somehow that represents a team. Is it a cross? A "T"? Why does that represent team? So many questions.Why would a coach choose not to reveal their strategy at the risk of getting fired? I am certain Nashville has people of color in its population. Where are they? Why would an Athletic Director of a private school fire a coach mid- season? Why would that same AD hire a parent as a coach? Why do white girls from Nashville not sweat when they have run 3 miles? Why... ? (there are about 40 more of these)The film is filled with problems that aren't really problems. A 15- year-old girl isn't allowed to date, and apparently, that includes just stepping onto a boy's front porch. Friends smoke weed and then immediately give it up for no reason at all except "the power of prayer." A girl has self-esteem issues until her coach lovingly tells her that she wouldn't sell her to anyone at any price which hilariously works as a cautionary tale against human trafficking. One parent exclaims to her daughter after running a race "YOU'RE AWFUL!" as the rest of the team and nearby parents gawk. It is hilariously bad. But that is only one of the gems from the script. There are more like:"I CAN'T READ!!" "Christianity doesn't make sense." "Remember that thing I asked you to do after dinner?" "If I know Jesus like I think I do, he slipped out the back door."...and on and on and on. This movie isn't occasionally awful. It is consistent scene by scene and line by line. The parabolic platitudes of a female coach with her plastered smile and varied hair styles solve every issue, heal every wound, and also win championships. How does one then rank a movie like REMEMBER THE GOAL? As a film setting out to do what it is trying to do...it is awful. However, as an unintentional comedy, I laughed out loud more in this film than any other comedy I have seen this year. Choose how you see this movie and you will see either a stinker....or a sh***y miracle.

kfrancis427 Review by Memphis Soccer Mom Nashville screenwriter and filmmaker Dave Christiano obviously did not select the subject of his newest movie REMEMBER THE GOAL on the popularity of meta-tags. He has courageously embraced perhaps the least well-known and least popular team sport in high schools, and written a script about something that barely existed forty years ago in America: a girl's high school sports team. It opened on screens Friday, Aug 26, trailing the Rio Summer Olympics. Runners everywhere may have to tie on their sneakers and do a little cross country jaunt of their own to find one of the select theaters screening it. REMEMBER THE GOAL is showing this week in Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee (Bartlett & Nashville), Texas and Auburn, New York. Click on state map to see which theaters at //www.fiveandtwopictures.com/theaters-map/Though there was one all female sport teams in America in 1866 at the college level, it was not until the Title IX Educational Amendment passed in 1972, with these words: "No person in the United States shall, on the basis of sex, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any education program or activity receiving federal financial assistance", that a revolution of sorts was launched in sports for women. 'In 1972 there were fewer than 32,000 women competing in intercollegiate athletics, according to an Associated Press article. Today more than 110,000 women participate in college sports and the number of female athletes in high school has increased from about 300,000 to 2.13 million. (See //www.pbs.org/pov/trueheartedvixens/timeline/) The narrative feature takes place on a campus as did favorite films like Good Bye, Mr. Chips (Peter O'Toole-'69), Mr. Holland's Opus (Richard Dreyfuss), and more recently Blind Side (Sandra Bullock). The girls' sport team angle differs from A League of their Own (1992) starring Geena Davis and Tom Hanks in the fictionalized account of the first real (AAGPBL) professional women's baseball league in 1942, as the team in REMEMBER THE GOAL is not historically bound, with big stars giving their names to the production.The majority of the cast appear to be fresh faces and newcomers. Under the direction of Mr. Christiano, each line is clearly articulated and believable. I was impressed by the minimal distractions from the story line by props, sets, costumes, or irregular camera movements. Each scene had what it needed to work and nothing excessive. I found the pace steady, deliberate and in keeping with the tag line of the movie, "Cross Country is a lot like Life." This independent filmmaker utilized the beauty of sunlight in nearly all the scenes. Using high quality digital film equipment of the Ari Ultra Primes and Zeiss Super Speeds MK I lenses shot on a 4K Red Epic, the result is a visually stunning movie. The story line of the movie follows the basic screen formula of a character beset by troubles while trying to reaching a goal. In this case the lead character is a woman, a new coach only a few years older than her students. She has to endure many challenges to her authority which the typical male coach would not. A few subplots provide instructive examples of Christianity at work, the warp and woof of this film's fabric.The movie raises some interesting discussion points, such as obedience to parents, which is a Biblical teaching. The girls on the cross country team are caught in a bind between following the rules of the coach who is acting in loco parentis, a long honored tradition, and obeying conflicting advice of parents who choose to question this coach's methods. There is no foul language in this movie despite heated arguments. This is a movie set in the here and now. People have a lot of freedom and have to make choices about how to respond to undesirable situations which come up. But these conflicts are about words and actions, rather than guns, bullets and violent explosions.While some may question why the coach's did not justify her strategy or brag about previous accomplishments, others may understand that could have placed a heavy burden on the team. The coach makes the decision to let her actions speak for themselves. She obviously embraced teachings about controlling hurtful words or was taught it wasn't her place to argue with or contradict her employer and this belief inspires Coach Smith-Donnelly's reserved, controlled responses during emotionally challenging moments. Again, a discussion point to consider for viewers of this thought-provoking film. I enjoyed the music in the film. During the final race for the State Title, I would have liked to have seen a boom, or drone view shot from overhead, and a little longer milking of the money shot at the end of the State Meet, perhaps slow motion. But the scene brought me to tears as it was anyway. And everyone knows the budget limitations an independent filmmaker faces, as opposed to the big studios. This family movie illustrates the verse I Corinthians 10:31, "Therefore, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do everything for God's glory." The film is rated PG by MPAA.