LITTLE ANGELS

LITTLE ANGELS stars Dean Cain in a family comedy about a successful but conceited college football coach who must do community service and coach a soccer team of apathetic young girls with no experience playing the sport. LITTLE ANGELS is a funny, cute sports comedy with a strong message supporting family, faith and repentance, but the first two acts could be trimmed a little bit, and there’s brief but light foul language, so it merits caution for younger children.

The movie opens at the national college football championship. Coach Jake Rogers, played by Dean Cain, and his team wins their second National Championship in a row. However, on the last touchdown, he lets a girl kick the extra point, and she misses the goalposts. After the game, Jake makes a joke with the Athletic Director about girls playing football. The next day, the Board of Trustees fire the Athletic Director and suspend Jake for the entire football season.

The Trustees have also hired a new Athletic Director, Charli Martin. Charli, spelled without an “e,” turns out to be a female. She informs Jake the Trustees want him to do 50 hours of community service and attend sensitivity counseling. The sensitivity counselor turns out to be a bit of a jerk, and the community service hours involve coaching a local group of girl soccer players, the worst in the league. The team doesn’t even have a name.

Of course, Jake doesn’t really want to be there. Surprisingly, the girls don’t seem to either. So, Jake has a terrible time igniting a fire under the girls. Also, the new athletic director, Charli, catches Jake using Bluetooth earbuds while trying to call the plays of his college football team for the Assistant Coach, Darren. Jake also finds out that one of the girls on his team Tevy, is Charli’s adopted daughter.

Jake begins to take the soccer team seriously when he realizes that the coordinator for the soccer league, Richard Dragon, coaches the best team in the league, the Dragons. So, he takes some of the millions of dollars he’s earned as a famous college football coach to hire for one day Brandi Chastain, the former Olympic soccer player who now runs a charity teaching soccer to young girls.

However, the girls still need some help. So, he offers to tutor the twin girls of the owner of the nearby Mexican restaurant and even replace them at the restaurant, if they will play for the team. The twins have gobs of soccer talent, and their talent inspires the other girls.

Also, the girls have decided to call themselves the Angels. This pleases one of the girls on the team, who’s always reading her Bible. The Angels start winning games, inching their way toward the playoffs. However, can they beat the Dragons? Also, will Jake stick with them when the college decides to end his suspension and let him coach the football team?

LITTLE ANGELS takes a little long to get to the final act. Despite that, it’s a funny, cute sports comedy with a heartwarming, fun finish. Dean Cain’s interactions with the girls and with the romantic interest, the new Athletic Director, Charli, played by Helena Mattsson, are fun. His rivalry with the Dragons coach is pretty funny.

LITTLE ANGELS has a strong moral, pro-family worldview with some positive Christian content. The selfish and greedy male lead repents and changes his ways. His interaction with the new Athletic Director and her daughter makes him realize that, up to now, his life has been pretty empty because he has no family to share it. Also, at the end, he compares being part of a team to being part of a family, where everyone looks out for everyone else. Finally, the little girl who’s always reading her Bible, mentions the idea of “eternal salvation.” She also prays for the team at a crucial moment.

However, LITTLE ANGELS has three light obscenities, one light profanity and some scenes where cheating and bullying occurs. So, MOVIEGUIDE® advises caution for younger children.