The Perfect Game (2009)

Based on a true story, a group of boys from Monterrey, Mexico who became the first non-U.S. team to win the Little League World Series.

Director:

William Dear

Writers:

W. William Winokur, W. William Winokur (book)

Stars:

Clifton Collins Jr., Cheech Marin, Moises Arias

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Jake T. Austin	...	Angel Macias
Jansen Panettiere	...	Enrique Suarez
Moises Arias	...	Mario Ontiveros
Ryan Ochoa	...	Norberto Villarreal
Gabriel Morales	...	Ricardo Treviño
Carlos Padilla	...	Baltazar Charles (as Carlos Padilla Lenero)
Tony Revolori	...	Fidel Ruiz (as Anthony Quinonez)
Mario Revolori	...	Gerardo Gonzalez (as Mario Quinonez Jr.)
Alfredo Rodríguez	...	Jose 'Pepe' Maiz (as Alfredo Rodriguez)
Clifton Collins Jr.	...	Cesar Faz
Cheech Marin	...	Padre Esteban
Emilie de Ravin	...	Frankie Stevens
Bruce McGill	...	Mr. Tanner
Patricia Manterola	...	Maria
David Koechner	...	Mac Thompkins

Storyline

Based on a true story. In 1957 a rag-tag, shoeless, poor group of kids from Monterrey, Mexico shocked the world by winning 13 games in a row and the Little League World Series in the only perfect game ever pitched in the Championship. These kids, led by their priest and a down-and-out former major leaguer embark on a journey through the southern US and up into Williamsport, PA for the Championship game. They encountered many adversities including nearly being deported and the bigotry that wouldn't allow them into certain restaurants or travel on certain buses. They never lost their faith and eventually captured the hearts of both nations. This is a heart-warming inspirational story in the tradition of "Rudy", "Hoosiers", "Coach Carter" or "Friday Night Lights".

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Plot Keywords:

poor | dirt road | year 1957 | kids | monterrey mexico | 

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Taglines:

Nine Boys. Against All Odds. World Champions.

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama | Family | Sport

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG for some thematic elements

Details

Official Sites:

Former Official site for the film - site no longer active. [United States] Official distributor's page for the film. [Australia]

Country:

Canada USA Mexico

Language:

English Spanish Latin

Release Date:

16 April 2010 (USA)

Also Known As:

A tökéletes csapat

Filming Locations:

Los Angeles, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$12,500,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$207,329, 23 April 2010, Limited Release

Gross USA:

$1,089,445, 13 June 2010

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$3,878,993, 13 May 2010

Company Credits

Production Co:

IndustryWorks Pictures,HighRoad Entertainment,Prelude Pictures

Technical Specs

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital SDDS

Color:

Black and White (film clips and archive photographs: Los pequeños gigantes [1960]) Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

One of the ten production companies credited for this film is Stanford Financial Group, the holding company for convicted Ponzi schemer Allen Stanford. This was one of only two known films ever credited to Stanford Financial Group (the other was The Ultimate Gift (2006)), which was liquidated by the U.S. Government in an effort to partially refund bilked investors.

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Goofs

In the first scenes of baseball in McAllen, all the shots that show background have mountains or tall hills. The terrain around McAllen is a river delta and is flat.

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Quotes

Umberto Macias: Chores can wait for a champion.

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Connections

Features Los pequeños gigantes (1960)

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Soundtracks

To The Victor
Written by Michael Carr

User Reviews

Appalled!!!

I went to the movies last night and I saw the preview for this film. I have heard about this story all my life, and I am glad someone is making a modern version of it. There is an much older Mexican film version, but it doesn't get much airtime. But I must say that I was Appalled by what I saw in the preview.

First of all, let me say that I am sucker for a good underdog sports story. I come form a region where baseball is the top sport, as opposed to soccer, which is king in most of Mexico. One of our native sons is Fernando Valenzuela, who helped the Dodgers win the 1981 World Series. Among my favorites I can name Major League, Hoosiers, Glory Road, and the great German film Das Wunder Von Bern. But I am also a stickler for accuracy.

The film portrays the players as coming from an impoverished background, which is true. However, My jaw fell to the floor when I saw Monterrey depicted as a two-burro village where the children played ball in the dirt choked streets with pigs and chickens serving as bases. I went to college in Monterrey, and I lived there for four and a half years. Monterrey has been one of the leading industrial centers and largest cities in Mexico for over 100 years, well within the time frame of this story. An impoverished URBAN setting would have been more appropriate.

The scene that showed the players crossing into Texas from Mexico at a nearly-forgotten, out-in-the-middle-of-nowhere border crossing also made me gag. As anyone with basic elementary school geographical knowledge would know, there is a big river smack in between Texas and its neighboring Mexican States. It is called the Rio Grande, which, coincidentally, means "big river" in Spanish. There are a great number of automotive, pedestrian and rail bridges spanning this river.

The scenes in Texas seem to be something that would have take place in the 1940's rather than the 1950's. Texas was still very rural in the 50's granted, but the clothing styles and hairdo's on the women seem a decade out of place. There was plenty of bigotry in Texas at the time, and that seemed well depicted.

I normally do not take offense when my country is misrepresented like this in a film, mainly because some people just can't help being ignorant. I do admit that there are severe poverty issues here and yes, there are still many places that don't have pavement. But... COME ON!!!! Do your research!!!! Does anyone remember Ross Perot's claim that a Mexican's biggest ambition in life was to own an outhouse? Yours Truly Arturo Wagner Navojoa, Sonora, Mexico