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 a grieving new arrival Hardy (Jake Austin Walker).
The boys slowly bend to Rusty’s will, with support 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).
It’s wholesome, old-fashioned fare, Luke Wilson chews lightly on his stirring speeches, but it’s Walker who emerges as this film’s most valuable player.
In cinemas from Friday