'You Gotta Believe' Divides he Critics

         On August 30, 2024, Well Go USA Entertainment released 'You Gotta Believe', which has earned a mixed reception from critics, currently holding at 44% on Rotten Tomatoes. In the film, "After dedicating the season to a teammate's ailing father, a group of underdog youth baseball players makes it all the way to the 2002 Little League World Series, culminating in a record-breaking showdown." The ensemble cast includes Luke Wilson, Greg Kinnear, Sarah Gordon, and Lew Temple. Read the full review round-up below.

Photo by Frankie Lopez on Unsplash

       Mary Kassel of Screen Rant writes, "Despite the touching true story You Gotta Believe is based on, the new sports drama is scattered & fails to appeal to its audience when it counts." Adding, "With choppy pacing and a weak connection between the dual narratives, it's hard to care about the characters. The dichotomy of joy and tragedy is an essential part of life. However, You Gotta Believe can't find a tonal balance that doesn't make the jumps between training montages and melancholic moments in a hospital quite jarring. Incorporating hardship and loss into a sports narrative is possible. You Gotta Believe is similar to the underdog tale, The Long Game. But while The Long Game is also based on a true story, it has a concrete payoff and is easy to follow."

        Douglas Davidson of Elements of Madness praises the film, stating, "There are two hard lessons to learn when it comes to parenting: you only get one chance to take care of someone’s childhood and what’s a random day to you contains a critical memory for a child. Becoming a parent means becoming a custodian for someone’s joy and pain, through their best days and their worst, as you do what you can to raise and guide a new life. This is what folks mean when they talk about the sacrifices they make for their kids because the moment that child arrives, their needs (emotional, psychological, nutritional) all take precedence over your own. Sometimes that means making the hard choices between what’s comfortable for yourself and what’s detrimental for them. This is only half of the true story that makes up the tale of Bobby Ratliff and his sons Robert and John which is the basis for the new Ty Roberts (12 Mighty Orphans) film You Gotta Believe, in select theaters August 30th. A story of little miracles, You Gotta Believe incorporates all that audiences love about baseball with a heartwarming and often hilarious story of underdogs refusing to quit despite the odds, balanced against a tale of loss that resonates whether you’ve been touched by terminal illness or not."

       Patrick McDonald of HollywoodChicago.com says, "Guess there is critical cryin' in baseball. Anyway, It was a decent family pic that didn't take itself too seriously, even in the Luke Wilson BRIAN'S SONG-type coach. I also dug the way dir Ty used creative camera moves in the baseball scenes. NOT CRYIN'!"

       Todd Jorgenson of Cinemalogue notes, "The kids are charming enough and the story is inherently inspirational, although this cheesy throwback relies on cliches while yanking aggressively at the heartstrings."