12 MIGHTY ORPHANS (12A)
In the aftermath of the Great Depression, war hero Rusty Russell (Luke Wilson) transplants his wife Juanita (Vinessa Shaw) and two young daughters from Temple in Texas to the dustbowl of Fort Worth.
Husband and wife take teaching positions at The Masonic Home and School for around 150 orphans run by brutish disciplinarian Frank Wynn (Wayne Knight).
While Juanita concentrates on moulding girls into ladies, Rusty inspires the boys in the classroom and then heads outside to assemble a ragtag American football team, featuring grief-stricken new arrival Hardy (Jake Austin Walker), who was found by police at the scene of his father’s suicide by shotgun.
The boys slowly bend to Rusty’s will, with encouragement from avuncular school medic Doc Hall (Martin Sheen).
The newly-formed ‘Mighty Mites’ capture the public’s imagination, sparking a fierce rivalry with Polytechnic High School coached by Luther Scarborough (Lane Garrison).
Slavish in its adherence to sports movie tropes, 12 Mighty Orphans builds to the obligatory championship showdown where Rusty’s life lessons are tested.
Director Ty Roberts’ film huddles with Jim Dent’s bestselling book to celebrate the achievements of disadvantaged boys from Texas who inspired an embattled nation.
It’s wholesome, old-fashioned fare, Luke Wilson chews lightly on his football coach’s stirring speeches, but it’s Walker who emerges as this film’s most valuable player.
■ In cinemas now