YOU GOTTA BELIEVE (2024) Review

YOU GOTTA BELIEVE is a sports drama based on the inspiring true story of a Little League team from Dallas, Texas who defy the odds. The movie tells the team’s journey through the eyes of Robert, the first baseman, whose father, Bobby, has terminal cancer. The boys rally around their teammate and dedicate their season to Bobby. Coach Jon begins to take coaching the boys seriously, and the team’s underdog story begins. Eventually, the team has a chance to prove themselves at the Little League World Series.

YOU GOTTA BELIEVE is a fantastic addition to the sports drama genre. It has a heartfelt story of perseverance, team camaraderie, and never giving up. The movie is based on the true story of Robert, his father’s battle with cancer, and their amazing Little League run in 2002. YOU GOTTA BELIEVE tells an inspiring, well-structured story with some phenomenal acting. The movie isn’t explicitly faith-based, but it has a brief moment of prayer. However, YOU GOTTA BELIEVE also has several relatively light obscenities and one light humorous innuendo. So, MOVIEGUIDE® advises caution for younger audiences, especially pre-teen children.

(BB, CC, L, V, S, A, M):

Dominant Worldview and Other Worldview Content/Elements:

Strong moral worldview, with a strong father and son relationship, stresses the importance of never giving up, sticking together as a family and as a team, and perseverance through hardships, plus a man prays to God in one scene;

Foul Language:

Six or seven obscenities (including one BS word, a crude reference to male anatomy, and four or five “d” words), plus there’s a use of “mother-sucker” and a man ill with cancer throws up throughout the movie;

Violence:

A player gets injured, and his ankle is swollen, a man in the movie has cancer, and players get into a brawl, but no blood or gore is shown;

Sex:

No sex scenes, but there’s a quick light joke/innuendo about sex or lovemaking that’s easily missed (someone jokes that a woman should put her husband on a “schedule”);

Nudity:

No nudity;

Alcohol Use:

Man drinks a beer, and someone asks for a drink as a joke;

Smoking and/or Drug Use and Abuse:

No smoking or drugs; and,

Miscellaneous Immorality:

A younger brother has a rabbit’s foot that he hopes will allow his brother to run fast, but it doesn’t work, and he throws it away, plus the boys on the Little League team are fond of calling each other and opponents names (none of the names are very graphic or obscene, but this continues throughout the movie).

YOU GOTTA BELIEVE is a sports drama about the true story of a Little League baseball team in Dallas, Texas that banded together and dedicated their inspiring, underdog season in 2002 to their coach, Bobby, who has terminal cancer and is the father of the first baseman, Robert. YOU OTTA BELIEVE is an incredibly well-told story, with loads of heart and inspiring moments, about an underdog team that defies all odds, and the movie promotes family, perseverance, looking out for other people, and prayer, but there is some foul language and name-calling.

Bobby and Jon coach a little league team in Dallas Fort Worth, Texas. Their regular season comes to an end after a tough loss in their final game of the season. Bobby tries to encourage Jon to take the team more seriously next year.

Jon and the team are offered to represent their district as an All-Star team. However, Jon is reluctant to say yes after their difficult season.

Meanwhile, Bobby passes out one day while throwing to his son, Robert, at home. He learns he has terminal cancer. While Bobby begins treatment, Jon agrees to take on coaching the Little League team to represent their district.

Competition is high, but Jon and other people begin to seriously coach the team. As the underdogs, they dedicate their season to Bobby, and their inspiring run to the 2002 Little League World Championship begins.

YOU GOTTA BELIEVE is a great sports drama about an underdog team that defies all odds. It also has a heartfelt story about a father’s love for his son and perseverance in the face of terminal cancer. YOU GOTTA BELIEVE stresses the importance of family, never giving up and sticking together as a family and as a team.

There is a scene where Bobby asks God to not take him away from his family, but the movie doesn’t have an explicitly Christian worldview. “You Gotta Believe” becomes their mantra in the movie, but that belief is directed inward toward themselves, or outwards toward their teammates, not toward God or faith. YOU GOTTA BELIEVE also has a brief scene where Robert’s younger brother has a rabbit’s foot charm that he hopes will allow his brother to run fast. It doesn’t work, however, and he throws it away.

YOU GOTTA BELIEVE has some truly inspiring and heartfelt moments. However, due to brief foul language, and adult themes of cancer and death, Movieguide® advises caution for children and young teenagers.