Elma, Texas is a small struggling town. Anna Montgomery (Olivia d'Abo) is the new teacher from England. Sheriff Tom Palmer (Steve Guttenberg) is taken with the beautiful newcomer. The kids are bitter and defeated. Anna gets them to play soccer. They are soundly defeated by the reining champs Knights coached by ruthless Jay Huffer. Kate Douglas and Juan Morales are the team's best players. Kate's father is a drunk. Juan is new and his mother is actually an illegal immigrant.

This is weak even for a formulaic Disney family movie. It fails for several reasons. It's not funny. Guttenberg is still trying to be his devil-may-care rascal character but he's finally finished. He's no longer funny. The kids should be the central characters anyways, but they're not. On top of that, the kids playing Kate and Juan are not the most charismatic. The soccer is boring and predictable. There is nothing good although there is nothing offensive either.

HOW MANY MOVIES ARE THERE GOING TO BE IN WHICH AGAINST ALL ODDS, A RAGTAG TEAM BEATS THE BIG GUYS WITH ALL THE MONEY?!!!!!!!! There's nothing new in "The Big Green". If anything, you want them to lose. Steve Guttenberg used to have such a good resume ("The Boys from Brazil", "Police Academy", "Cocoon"). Why, OH WHY, did he have to do these sorts of movies during the 1990s and beyond?! So, just avoid this movie. There are plenty of good movies out there, so there's no reason to waste your time and money on this junk. Obviously, the "green" on their minds was money, because there's no creativity here. At least in recent years, Disney has produced some clever movies with Pixar.

This movie is great for kids, and any kid should see it. Many teens and adults may find this movie wasteful, but anyone who keeps an open mind and makes efforts to "read between the lines" can really see that there is a lesson to be learned.

As in reality, there are many towns such as the fictional rural town this movie takes place in. In such towns (with closed industrial mills and no jobs,) you will find kids with too much time on their hands like in this movie. At the beginning, the kids didn't see a point to their lives and just didn't care. Sheriff Tom Palmer (Guttenberg) didn't have much of a life either. Anna Montgomery comes to town as the school teacher and really turns them around. She really teaches them to believe that they are no less of people than anyone else and that with hard work and persistence, one can achieve their goals. They don't even know how to play soccer in the beginning, but it goes to show that hard work, heart, persistence, belief, and teamwork can go a long ways. Anna Montgomery is a terrific teacher, coach, and leader. Towards the end, anyone can tell that they are changed for the better and learn to believe in themselves on and off the field, thanks to true leadership.

I admit, this is not a movie with tons of adventure and excitement. Though it may not be a classic like Forrest Gump or Citizen Kane; it really is a great family movie and really goes to prove a point. I recommend it to anyone with a family and a heart to see the good that can come with good leadership and teamwork.