Baseball-themed family tale with bullying, potty humor.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 8+?
Any Positive Content?
Violence & Scariness
some
A family is grappling with the accidental death of a father. A child is hit with a bat on the face, breaking his nose and leading to anxiety and nightmares. The bat accident involves blood, the child in shock, mention of ER, and flashbacks to surgery. Kids tease and bully each other without significant consequences, including name-calling, pushing and shoving, pranks, hazing, creating memes of others' misfortunes, food fights, self-deprecating fat jokes, and threats about an underwater monster. A college-aged man recalls his father being overly hard on him, and he has trouble showing more sympathy for his little brother. A boy pees himself and other children laugh at him.
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Potty language and insults like "butt," "turd," "wussy," "jerk," "nerd," "weird," "shrimp," "chump," "pee," "farts," "booger." Also "heck," "freaking," "geez," "Oh my God," and a joke about not wanting to shorten the name "Richard."
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Sports teams and clothing and equipment brands. Amazon, FaceTime, the movie Field of Dreams. Sponsored products like Organyc and Phonak are notably seen and/or discussed.
Sex, Romance & Nudity
very little
A girl promises a boy a kiss if he passes a swimming test, and she later gives him a peck on the cheek. A pair of teenagers are seen making out in the woods.
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Campers tease, haze, and bully each other, but they also show each other support and compassion. Ben and Nora meet halfway to reconcile after an argument. Jordy demonstrates perseverance and resilience in overcoming his anxiety brought on by an accident. A family works through its grief at losing a loved one. A camp head counselor offers a supportive and positive summer experience to children. A boy realizes he can serve as a role model for others.
Positive Messages
some
Family can overcome difficulties together. Kids are capable of more than we give them credit for.
Diverse Representations
some
The campers are a racially and ethnically diverse group, while the main family of characters is White. Two kids discuss being born deaf, and the implants, surgeries, and exercises that have helped them gain the ability to hear. A professional athlete, who is Black, is also deaf and encourages a boy to overcome his fears. A chubby kid makes self-deprecating jokes about his weight. The camp counselor says we all have different beliefs, and believing is what's important.
Kids can learn the negative impacts of bullying and see children overcoming difficulties with support from friends and family. They can also learn about the sport of baseball.
Parents Need to Know
Parents need to know that Rally Caps is a book-based, true story-inspired children's film about a boy overcoming his fears following a serious accident and the death of his father. The child is hit with a bat to the face, breaking his nose and involving blood, shock, mention of going to the ER, and flashbacks to surgery. He perseveres to overcome this as well as the death of his father. Kids tease and bully each other without significant consequences, including name-calling, pushing and shoving, pranks, hazing, creating memes of others' misfortunes, food fights, self-deprecating fat jokes, and threats about an underwater monster. A boy pees himself and other children laugh at him. Potty language and mild insults abound. Teens kiss. To stay in the loop on more movies like this, you can sign up for weekly Family Movie Night emails.
This is an inspiring, feel-good baseball movie which shows diverse characters successfully overcoming adversity. My family enjoyed this film for a family movie night.
I am a middle school librarian and my student book club read the Rally Caps novel and then had a discussion with one of the authors. The book and movie allowed my students to learn more about hearing loss and cochlear implants and to see the characters experiencing inclusivity. The loss of the main character’s father was handled realistically as well as the family’s journey after their loss.
I plan to show the film to my student book club members. I can’t imagine giving this film any less than five stars! This movie will especially be enjoyed by baseball fans or anyone who has ever attended overnight camp.
What's the Story?
At the beginning of RALLY CAPS, Jordy (Carson Minniear) gets his nose broken when an errant bat hits him in the face during Little League try-outs. Scarred, Jordy vows never to play baseball again, although it's his family's greatest pastime and his deceased father's wish for him. Mom Nora (Amy Smart) and grandpa Herb (Judd Hirsch) decide to send Jordy to summer camp with his big brother, Rob (Ben Morang), who will be coaching baseball there. Rob is away at college and estranged from his mom over a disagreement at his dad's funeral. The whole family is still in mourning, and Jordy is additionally grappling with anxiety from his accident. Will the friends he makes at camp help him overcome his fears?
This sweet summer camp film with positive reinforcing messages feels like a labor of love. Rally Caps also has the look and feel of a TV movie, as well as some distractingly obvious product placement. If you can get past that, and the potty humor, the film achieves what it sets out to do, which is to present a story of kids overcoming difficulties with the help of family and community. The camp and some of the characters and cast suggest the filmmakers have personal connections to the material, which adds more heart to the film as a whole.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about how Jordy and other characters in Rally Caps demonstrate perseverance and resilience in the face of emotional and physical difficulties. How do these character strengths help them grow up and also strengthen their relationships?
This film has sport celebrity cameos. Did you recognize any of them? Why do you think they chose to participate in this movie?
Did you think the way the kids treated each other at camp was realistic? Have you ever been to camp?
What helps Rob turn a corner on his anger and resentment?
Research shows a connection between kids' healthy self-esteem and positive portrayals in media. That's why we've added a new "Diverse Representations" section to our reviews that will be rolling out on an ongoing basis. You can help us help kids by
suggesting a diversity update.
Common Sense Media's unbiased ratings are created by expert reviewers and aren't influenced by the product's creators or by any of our funders, affiliates, or partners.
By Jennifer Green
,
based on child development research. How do we rate?
