Wonderful character development!

I cannot think of one single thing that I would change about this film. The acting is incomparable, the directing deft, and the writing poignantly brilliant.

It's simply great fun, a winsome film and an occasionally over-the-top luxury fantasy that never flags.

I didn’t really have many expectations going into the movie (good or bad), but I actually really enjoyed it. I really liked the characters and the banter between them.

As the father of a daughter, I am always looking for the kind of film that matter-of-factly informs girls that, through desire and plain hard work, you can achieve your goals. That is a common, obvious message, but ask yourself how many movies are delivering that message to girls without also referring, whether overtly or by implication, to appearance and sexuality. The universe of those films is tiny. Well, finally, here is one!! Unfortunately, this movie was marketed poorly and did not do well at the box office. That does not mean, however, that it should die on the vine as a DVD. If you think a simple positive message of grit and determination for girls is worthy of wide distribution, then its going to take word of mouth to do it, because clearly the studios don't care. Spread the word about Gracie!!

Judging by the trailers you know this movie is going to be a tearjerker. It did not let down. They did not though dwell on certain subjects forever meaning the story progressed and in doing so kept you locked and wanting to see the rest of it. I was really impressed and shocked to find out the family aspect behind the creating of this movie. The story was just brilliant and I've watched Carly Schroeder grow up on T.V. in Lizzie McGuire. Mean Creek is a movie that showed she can do dramatic and can do something different then Teen Television and this movie sealed the deal. Dermot Mulroney as the father was by far one of the best castings in this film. You saw his give and take and his struggle to either help or be against the obstacles in front of him. Elizabeth Shu can do no wrong. This was a the perfect role and she did not over play it. She really did have the believability of a concerned mother in the 70's. Weighing everything around her. The siblings especially Johnny were casted great as well as Kyle and Peter. They gave such a believability to their roles that you loved and hated them at the right times and you really struggle for Gracie in the since where putting yourself in her shoes and saying well I would have done this but your not Gracie and you have to stick with her and watch her triumph. I recommend this to Anyone and Everyone especially families or just mom's and daughters to watch and enjoy!~!

'Gracie' is a movie about a girl who gets on the varsity boys soccer team after her brother, Johnny Bowen (Jesse Lee Soffer) who was the team star, dies in a car accident. Based on an experience of the Shue family, it has Elizabeth Shue playing Gracie's mother and another Shue, Andrew, as Coach Clark. Gracie Bowen is played by Carly Schroeder, who projects energy and guts, as the role requires. Dermot Mulroney is her father, Bryan Bowen, a former soccer player and a bit of a star in his time himself, but with childhood issues that give him some trouble as a parent. He has coached the family boys as if soccer, for all of them, has always been the only thing, while Gracie was protected but overlooked. But the fact that she nails a shot, on a bet, with bare feet in the opening sequence shows she's got the potential to be a star herself. Her struggle to be accepted at a time when girls didn't play soccer in America (this takes place in the late Seventies) is a way of moving forward when a kind of opening appears; it's also a chance for the family to redeem itself and progressing beyond its grief.'Gracie's' final trajectory leads (somewhat implausibly) to a predictable final big game triumph; but what makes the body of the movie different and good is its focus on training--the training, moreover, of a female athlete, and her endless struggle to prove herself. The story is more about the discipline of sport, the long hard process of conditioning, than the drama of games and wins. Gracie first has to convince her father to coach her despite his not unnatural concern that she isn't tough enough to play against boys. Her mother tells her she must be content as a girl with being second best. She doesn't buy that. Carly Schroeder makes Gracie's passion and conviction appear strong but never forced. Despite the ending this is, for once, a sports film not so much about the dramatic play and the roar of the crowd as it is about practice, practice, practice. The training is as close up as we got in Robert Towne's excellent 1982 'Personal Best,' which starred Mariel Hemingway and was a landmark for its realistic cinematic treatment of a track and field competitor. Again, maybe inevitably, the lesbian issue comes up in 'Gracie' as it does more prominently in 'Personal Best.' This time it appears only as a false stereotype, but at one point even Gracie's very up-front best friend Jena (Julia Garro) has doubts, while her sometime boyfriend, Kyle Rhodes (Christopher Shand), who wanted her for a long time but seemed hard to trust, indeed becomes an enemy at tryout time.The movie's lessons have to do with a family unsure of itself accepting layers of grief, but the fresh image is of a young girl who can be a tough and skillful athlete no matter what anybody thinks. Gracie may get some of its depth and particularity from the involvement of the Shue family. It's a family affair in more ways than one. Director Guggenheim is Elizabeth Shue's husband, and Carly Schroeder's brother plays Gracie's younger brother Mike. The summer's American family films are rarely as unpretentious but solid as this one.

I was fortunate enough to attend a Preview of this movie at the beginning of May in Houston. Two of the actors were in attendance, Carly Schroeder and Andrew Shue. It was obvious from the way both of them talked about the movie that it was going to be very special and close to the hearts of the Shue family. It certainly wasn't a disappointment. It was one of those 'feel good' movies where, as a viewer, you are just so passionately rooting for the lead character. Carly Schroeder did a wonderful job in her role and was an inspiration. I would highly recommend going to see this movie, especially if you are a soccer fan or any sports fan. This is a great family movie, so take you children to it, you won't regret it!