Synopsis
True story of Kent Stock, who in the early '90s gives up a job and ditches his wedding plans to take over as head coach of the Norway High School baseball team. Kent must win over his players and convince them and himself that he can fill their former coach's shoes and that they can go out winners. In the summer of 1991 Norway High's baseball tradition ended on a triumphant but sombre note.
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Cast
- Sean AstinKent Stock
- Michael AngaranoMitch Akers
- Powers BootheJim Van Scoyoc
- Rachael Leigh CookPolly Hudson
- Tom ArnoldBurt Akers
- Larry MillerRoger Dempsey
- Mackenzie AstinChip Dolan
- Jesse HeneckePrincipal Halbestrom
- Lucinda JenneySheryl 'Chic' Van Scoyoc
- James GammonJared Akers
Recommendations
- 63
TV Guide Magazine
Yes it's as corny as Kansas in August, but this admittedly formulaic sports drama is base on a true story and has something important to say about the fate of many small Midwestern American towns whose popular sports teams fall victim to school consolidation. - 60
L.A. Weekly
Formulaic but not cynical, The Final Season has some sweet, thoughtful passages in what is otherwise just one more well-meaning inspirational sports movie. - 58
Seattle Post-Intelligencer
There are too many unearned runs to fully embrace this underdog triumph. - 50
Variety
There's not quite as much corn in The Final Season as there is in the Iowa farm fields that run through it, but it's close. - 50
ReelViews
Evans' goal is to do for high school baseball what "Hoosiers" did for high school basketball, but to mention both titles in one sentence is almost an insult to a picture that many rank as the first or second all-time sports film. - 50
Washington Post
Nathan Wang's score borrows blatantly from "The Natural" and is slathered on thick in all the big emotional scenes. They establish the right nostalgic mood, but it's broken with that loud "ping" of a metal bat every time a kid gets a hit. - 50
Chicago Reader
This takes place in the same sort of pathologically sports-obsessed hamlet as "Friday Night Lights," though in contrast to that movie's grim honesty there's enough heartland schmaltz here to embarrass John Mellencamp. Remarkably, the movie rights itself once the actual season begins, focusing on game strategy more than the usual heart-stopping pep talks. - 40
The Hollywood Reporter
Poor writing, an indifferent production and sincere but often wooden acting make "Season" one big strikeout.
