Believe in Me (2006)

As stated many times in other reviews this is the story of Coach Jim Keith he was my Dad. I can tell you the book was written by Harold Keith. Harold was the Sports Information Director at the University of Oklahoma (1930-1969)as well as an author. The original title was "Brief Garland". Dad was Coaching at Sayre, Oklahoma when Uncle Harold researched the book. Uncle Harold would drop in from time to time and have Dad tell him storys. Some I am sure Dad embellished you'd have to know dad he was a great story teller. It was when Hollywood decided to make a movie out of it that the title changed to "Believe in Me". Mom and Dad were elated to be asked to go out to Moriarty, NM to be a part of the film. They were cast as extras as were the remaining "Girls" from when the book was researched. Watch the credits to see all of them. Bob Collector, Jeffery Donovan, Samantha Mathis and Bruce Dern all held a special place in my folks heart. Dad told me when he met Bruce Dern that Bruce asked if dad knew who he was Dad replied, "Your the man who shot John Wayne!" They got along great after that. For the sad news, I have to tell you I was with Dad on the morning of Dec. 5, 2011 when he passed on and went to be with Mom. He will be missed. As you know, Hollywood takes "Poetic Liberties" from time to time I am the little girl who is adopted at the end of the movie. I got lucky that day in 1960 when they adopted a BOY. I can't imagine a better set of parents. If you like sports or a story with a good ending and a few lessons learned in-between then buy this movie. You will not be disapointed. I will leave you with something Dad told me years ago that has helped me all my life. He said "Son you have to play the 4th quarter in the 1st quarter." Know what you are going to do when things are going your way and when they aren't. I still play the 4th quarter everyday. James Harold Keith

A young man shows up at a small-town Oklahoma high school, expecting to coach the boys' basketball team. Instead, he is informed that he will be coaching the girls' team. The girls' team has never done well in this town, but the new coach decides that he is going to treat them as if they are boys. That plan comes under some fire from his wife, but eventually the coach gets it right and the girls begin to win some games. This is an inspiring story of a man who thinks that girls deserve the same opportunities to play sports and to be successful at it as boys do. Unfortunately, not everyone in the small Oklahoma town agrees with him, but that just makes the story more interesting. This is an enjoyable and inspiring movie.

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This movie is solidly grounded in the story of a real coach and a real team. At the end of the movie, the actual person who inspired the film is shown being showered with the devotion of his players decades after they were on the basketball court together. Donovan, Mathis, and the young women who play ball are entertaining as well as in touch with the heart of this true story. Well-worth the purchase price.

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This is a charming, feel-good sports film based on the real life of Coach Jim Keith. I believe that the movie is loosely based on Coach Keith's first coaching position in the 1960s. He showed up to coach boys' basketball and was assigned to coach girls' basketball instead. To add insult to injury, the girls were one of the worst teams in the state of Oklahoma and were not used to having a regular training regimen. I am not sure how many of the subplots in the film were based on fact or were entirely fabricated, but these secondary stories really added to the main story of the girls' struggle to win the state championships against all odds. This, like so many good sports drama films, is a movie that uses a sports team to tell a story about a place and a time and is really about so much more than basketball. It also tells the story of girls' sports not being as important as boys' sports, school district power struggles, domineering parents refusing to let their girls play sports, young marriages & pregnancies, adopting children and more. I felt that the director did a fine job setting the scene for this film and everything seemed very believable.

The movie has a very mellow, easygoing pace, which I felt represented the 1960s setting well. The beginning was a little slow for me, but it picked up not too far in as I got involved in the characters lives. I wish that there had been a little bit more distinction between the players as I had a hard time keeping them straight. This was difficult as there was not real superstar player on the team so there wasn't even a few players that I could keep track of. Still, the girls all seemed to do a decent job and really got into their roles with the costumes, hair and make-up. The music was lovely and it was fun to hear some of the older songs again. I wish that they had incorporated the music better, though, as it always seemed that a song started playing out of the blue and that is what I would focus on and then it would stop rather abruptly. There is so much good music from the time period that I feel they could have woven it in and out of the story a bit better.

If you like feel-good dramas, sports dramas or biopics, then give this little charmer a chance. There are not many girls' sports movies out there, especially ones where they start from such lowly beginnings and are able to achieve so much. A great empowering film for families to watch together.

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What a shame that this movie did not get the advertizing that it deserved. This is a movie that I want to own and recommend to anyone of any age. I particularly liked watching the extras on the DVD which gets into the real people that are depicted in the movie.

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