New on DVD: Baseball, Marriage, and Druggies

What has Hollywood produced for your viewing pleasure this week? 

The Perfect Game

Kids' Sports Movie

The Gist: Based on a real-life story, a Mexican little league team fights 1950s racism and poverty to play in the little league world series. Read our full review. 

The Ups: This underrated movie tells a great story of underdogs who surprised everyone with their success, even themselves.

The Downs: You’ve seen great sports stories before, so this feels like well-trod territory. However, it’s based on a real story, so it’s hard to hold that against it.

The Verdict: If you have a baseball fan in your family, watch it.

Be Aware: Rated PG for some thematic elements, including racism and drinking.

Jumping the Broom

African-American Romantic Comedy

The Gist: When Sabrina and Jason decide to marry (jumping the broom into the land of matrimony, in black tradition), their crazy families have to get along at least long enough for the wedding to go through. Sabrina comes from a wealthy family, called booshie in African-American slang. Jason is much more ghetto. Turns out, however, that neither selfishness nor love know an economic strata.

The Ups: Produced by Pastor T.D. Jakes, this film highlights the importance of marriage, faithfulness, and family healing. The characters are well-rounded and mostly likeable, but not so goody-two-shoes that they can’t learn a thing or two. Plus, they’re funny.

The Downs: Like “Christian” movies, African-American movies are made for a narrow demographic. Some quite good movies are underrated because they’re not made for a general audience. This film is a little too cliché to be excellent, but it has a lot of heart and good characters. Its moral core is refreshing in a libertine world filled with raunchy movies.

The Verdict: Take a risk and watch it.

Be Aware: Rated PG-13 for some sexual content. Sex is discussed and sometimes implied, but the moral viewpoint is that it should be reserved for marriage.

Your Highness

Alleged Comedy

The Gist: Two princes in vaguely medieval times go on a quest to save their kingdom, but are stymied by a curvy competitor who happens to be Natalie Portman.

The Ups: Nope. Not one. Portman is surely regretting this role.

The Downs: Where to start? The title is a pun on smoking marijuana, which is a big part of the movie. There are lots of juvenile jokes, including crude sexual jokes, jokes about poo, jokes about a certain part of the male anatomy. Actually, calling them jokes is overstating the matter. They may, in someone’s brain, have started life as ideas for jokes, but that brain was too addled by herbal substances to interject any actual funny.

The Verdict: No, no, no, no. Peter, Paul and Mary, no.

Be Aware: Rated R for the above reasons and language, which is also not funny.