The Big Green
| The Big Green | |
|---|---|
Theatrical release poster
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| Directed by | Holly Goldberg Sloan |
| Produced by | Dennis Bishop Roger Birnbaum |
| Written by | Holly Goldberg Sloan |
| Starring | |
| Music by | Randy Edelman |
| Cinematography | Ralf D. Bode |
| Edited by | John F. Link |
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Production
company |
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| Distributed by | Buena Vista Pictures |
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Release date
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September 29, 1995 |
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Running time
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99 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $12,000,000 |
| Box office | $17,725,500 |
The Big Green is a 1995 family sports comedy film by Walt Disney Pictures starring Olivia d'Abo and Steve Guttenberg, written and directed by Holly Goldberg Sloan. It also stars Bug Hall, Chauncey Leopardi, and Patrick Renna. The film is about the antics of a soccer team consisting of a misfit group of small town kids who are coached by a teacher from England.
Teacher Anna Montgomery (Olivia d'Abo), who is on an exchange program from Surrey, England, is placed into a school in the tiny (and fictional) town of Elma, Texas. She struggles to connect with the children at first, as they believe they are underachievers after receiving the lowest test scores in the state for four years running. She is also shocked to learn that the children think very little of everything. So instead of teaching geography to the inattentive class, Ms. Montgomery breaks the globe in an attempt to introduce the kids to a new game. After some confusion, the children begin to learn the game of soccer. Then at the end of the first session, Ms. Montgomery tells them that they have been entered into a league in Austin, Texas, but their first game was the next day. At this point, the town Sheriff's Deputy Tom Palmer (Steve Guttenberg) becomes co-coach while at the same time enamoring Montgomery.
The team travels to Austin to play against the Knights, who are the state champions and undefeated for that season. Because none of the kids have learned the rules, they do not know how to play and lose 18–0. They lose heart and do not want to play anymore, until they discover the talent of new classmate Juan Morales (Anthony Esquivel), but have to persuade his mother to let him play. Once Juan joins the team, they go on a remarkable run to the finals, with a record of eight wins, two losses, and one tie, and in the finals they meet the Knights. As the town goes crazy for the final, hometown boy and current Knights coach Jay Huffer (Jay O. Sanders) returns to Elma, and finds in the bar the drunken father of Kate Douglas (Jessica Robertson), one of the players, who tells Huffer that Juan and his mother are illegal immigrants, leading to an investigation that ultimately forces them to flee to avoid deportation.
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Wikipedia