Alley Cats Strike (2000)

Powerful

As Good As It Gets

Good films always raise compelling questions, whether the format is fiction or documentary fact.

There is, somehow, an interesting story here, as well as some good acting. There are also some good scenes

I guess this movie didn't aim to perfectly accurately portray the sport of bowling, but seriously, it could've done a lot better. I did like the school scenes, as they're totally on the spot. Students just don't see bowling as a sport anymore. After watching the bowling scenes, I'm thinking "no wonder competitive bowling gets so little acknowledgment! This movie is totally unrealistic!" Instead of giving in to demands from young people, they should be marketing bowling at its most professional level, to draw people in THAT direction, and not vice versa. That's the only way to make seriously bowlers, which will do a lot of good for this declining sport. If they had shown that bowling takes a lot of finesse and skill, and endurance and consistency, then maybe those schoolkids would accept it more from the beginning. Instead all it talks about is modernizing, and making it "fun". Putting laser lights and fog machines and loud music undermines the integrity of "real" bowling. I sure wouldn't go there!

SOME SPOILERS! This movie is about learning to understand--even accept--other peoples' point of view and working together for a common cause regardless of any remaining differences. As the movie progresses different examples of how to do this are shown, such as Alex going to a party by Todd's friends that he wouldn't normally attend, accompanying Todd to get decorations for the bowling hall, and getting a truce between his team members and Todd for the remaining days until the contest. Todd rallies his friends to revive the bowling hall. Alex and his friends learn to have a positive, winning attitude, and Todd learns about style and playing for fun without the pressure to win at all costs, and yielding to a better performer when it counts. One great example that might get overlooked occurs about twenty minutes from the beginning: in the bowling hall Todd mentions the rumour that Alex got his clothes in the alley behind the hall. Instead of getting mad, Alex handles this with humor, poking even more fun at himself, saying he got them from a <catalog> he found in the alley, and Todd's "Whatever..." shows he gets the humor, and the confrontation is defused, rather than escalating. Reality check: it's true that this only works if the accuser accepts the humor, but when it works you can feel the reduction in tension. As Dexter says in "The Cure" (ties for #1 with "On Golden Pond" in my list), "It's worth a try."

Alley Cats Strike, a film that mixes hip swing music with bowling, concerns the athletic rivalry between two highschools and a group of retro outcasts who love to bowl.East and West Appleton have an intense sports rivalry. They've gone head to head against each other in just about every sport imaginable until East Appleton proposes bowling. Of course, none of the jocks can bowl. "Only losers bowl," claims the West Appleton mayor.The West Appleton athletic council confronts the outcasts about bowling for the school. The kids don't really care about the school or winning but since no one else can bowl as good as them they do step up to the plate. As they film winds down, the group who were once the brunt of jokes, gain the respect of the school and the "real" jocks.The film, although simple and predictable, is very good. The young cast including Schmid, Ri'chard and Cuoco, are excellent. The director, Rod Daniel's seems to have been influenced by Scorsese. At times throughout the film, the action pauses while the narrator(Schmid) explains to the audience what is really happening. I loved that!I didn't expect much from the film going in but I was surprised. Check it out!

This movie was excellent! Disney has done it again with this latest tv movie. The whole family will love this movie, especially if you've ever been bowling. I hope to see the cast of Alley Cats Strike reappear in future movies - they were great. I give it 2 thumbs up!