NEVER GIVE UP

Name: NEVER GIVE UP
Item: NEVER GIVE UP
Author: Cooper Dowd

"Faith and Family Support and Guide Us"

Content: +2 Moderately questionable elements.

Entertainment Quality:

	None	Light	Moderate	Heavy
Language
Violence
Sex
Nudity

Credits →

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What You Need To Know:

NEVER GIVE UP tells the story of tennis player Brad Minns, who loses his hearing at age three. Instead of sending him to deaf school, Brad’s parents decide to teach him to read lips and buy him expensive hearing aids. The movie shows Brad at age seven having trouble in school and learning to play tennis, making the varsity high school team as a freshman, trying out for his college team, and trying out for the United States team at the 1985 Deaf Olympics. Throughout Brad’s struggles, his mother and father won’t let him give up.

NEVER GIVE UP is a little slow to get started because of some uneven acting and switching back and forth in time. However, the movie’s second half is more involving. It leads to a great climax and inspiring resolution. The second half seems more cohesive, with more detailed, more interesting character relationships. Even better, the third act puts Brad’s Christian faith at the

forefront. NEVER GIVE UP always extols the love and support Brad receives from his parents. This aspect of the movie is truly heartwarming.

Content:

(CC, BBB, L, V, N, A, M)

Dominant Worldview and Other Worldview Content/Elements:

Strong Christian worldview with very strong moral, pro-family elements where prayer helps protagonist meet his toughest challenge in sports, faith and trust in God are extolled, parents always encourage son to apply himself and never give up, protagonist has strong relationship with mother and father and brother, and family works together

Foul Language:

Three light “butt” vulgarities, and one light MG profanity which is muffled

Violence:

Young girl launches two spitballs through a straw at deaf student in their class, and some falling down during vigorous tennis matches include one against the fence

Sex:

No sex

Nudity:

Upper male nudity when Olympic athlete takes a shower, and someone steals his clothes as part of a prank and has to put a sign saying “No tennis balls” in front of his privates when he goes to retrieve his clothes

Alcohol Use:

No alcohol use

Smoking and/or Drug Use and Abuse:

No smoking or drugs; and,

Miscellaneous Immorality:

Deaf character experiences bullying and prejudice from the hearing world and from deaf people at a college who use sign language rather than wear hearing aids and learning to read lips like him.

More Detail:

NEVER GIVE UP tells the inspiring story of tennis player Brad Minns, who lost his hearing at age three and struggled to overcome but became a top-rated medal-winning international athlete. NEVER GIVE UP is a little slow to get started because of some uneven acting and switching back and forth in time, but the movie’s second half is really involving and leads to a great climax and resolution that puts Brad’s Christian faith at the forefront, while extolling the love and support of his parents, who are committed to seeing Brad succeed.

The movie opens with the final match for the Deaf Olympics gold medal in 1985 between Brad Minns and previous gold medal winner Jeff Osborne. Brad is behind two games to zero and is about to lose the rubber match. However, after praying to God for help, Brad starts coming from behind and wins his first game. All he has to do now is win the next two games against the best deaf tennis player in the world.

As the game progresses, the movie inserts scenes from Brad’s past. Diagnosed with nearly complete hearing loss at the age of three, his parents decide not to send Brad to deaf school. Instead, they decide to teach him to read lips and to buy Brad an expensive pair of hearing aids.

Other flashbacks include Brad at age seven having trouble in school but learning to play tennis, Brad making the varsity high school tennis team as a freshman at age 14, Brad trying out for the college team, and then Brad trying out for the United States team at the 1985 Deaf Olympics. Despite Brad’s struggles, his mother won’t let him give up. Also, there’s a nice little scene

between Brad and his older brother where the brother lets Brad read his lips to learn the lyrics to the touching Beach Boys song “In My Room.”

Eventually, Brad’s father accompanies him to the Deaf Olympic tryouts in Washington, D.C. To make the Olympic Team, Brad must face deaf tennis player Jeff Osborne, who’s thrown off by Brad’s style of play. After beating Jeff the first time, Brad wonders if he can make it through the international lineup at the Deaf Olympics. That’s where the movie picks up the resolution of his match with Jeff for the Gold Medal.

NEVER GIVE UP is a little slow to get started because of some uneven acting and switching back and forth in time. However, the movie’s second half is really involving and leads to a great climax and inspiring resolution. In the second half, the filmmakers give the actors more to do. Also, the rivalry between Brad and Jeff becomes more interesting.

Even better, the conflict and resolution in the third act puts Brad’s Christian faith at the forefront. Also, NEVER GIVE UP extols the love and support Brad receives from his parents throughout the story. This aspect of the movie is truly heartwarming.