SCREEN IT! PARENTAL REVIEW: MIRACLE

"MIRACLE"
(2004) (Kurt Russell, Eddie Cahill) (PG)

Alcohol/ Drugs	Blood/Gore	Disrespectful/ Bad Attitude	Frightening/ Tense Scenes	Guns/ Weapons
Mild	Minor	Mild	None	Mild

Imitative Behavior	Jump Scenes	Music (Scary/Tense)	Music (Inappropriate)	Profanity
Mild	None	None	None	Mild

Sex/ Nudity	Smoking	Tense Family Scenes	Topics To Talk About	Violence
Minor	None	Mild	Moderate	Mild

QUICK TAKE:: Drama: A hockey coach sets out to train his team of amateurs for the 1980 Olympics and a possible match with the feared and formidable Russian squad.

PLOT:

It's 1980 and Minnesota hockey coach Herb Brooks (KURT RUSSELL) has been tapped to lead the American team into the Olympic Games to be held in Lake Placid, NY. Saying good-bye to wife Patti (PATRICIA CLARKSON) and their kids, Herb sets off for Colorado Springs where he's to select those who will try out for the team.

Among them is goalie Jim Craig (EDDIE CAHILL), Jack O'Callahan (MICHAEL MANTENUTO), Robbie McClanahan (NATHAN WEST), Mark Johnson (ERIC PETER-KAISER), Buzz Schneider (BILLY SCHNEIDER) and Mike Eruzione (PATRICK O'BRIEN DEMSEY) who's eventually named team captain.

With the help of assistant coach Craig Patrick (NOAH EMMERICH) and team physician Doc Nagobads (KENNETH WELSH), Herb sets out to mold the individuals into a well-disciplined and physically fit team. As the games begin, Herb pushes his team as hard as he can in hopes that they might be able to defeat the feared and seemingly unbeatable Soviet team.

WILL KIDS WANT TO SEE IT?: If they're into hockey or are fans of anyone in the cast, they might.

WHY THE MPAA RATED IT: PG: For language and some rough sports action.

CAST AS ROLE MODELS:: KURT RUSSELL plays the no-nonsense hockey coach who assembles his Olympic team and trains them as hard as humanly possible so that they might have a chance to beat the Soviets.
PATRICIA CLARKSON plays his loving and supportive wife who occasionally has her patience tried by his dedication and blind obsession.
NOAH EMMERICH plays Herb's assistant coach who occasionally thinks he pushes the players too hard.
KENNETH WELSH plays the team physician.
EDDIE CAHILL plays the team's goalie who's recently lost his mother.
PATRICK O'BRIEN DEMSEY plays the team captain.
MICHAEL MANTENUTO, NATHAN WEST, ERIC PETER-KAISER and BILLY SCHNEIDER play other Olympic athletes on the team who put their differences aside to play the best that they can.; PATRICIA CLARKSON plays his loving and supportive wife who occasionally has her patience tried by his dedication and blind obsession.
NOAH EMMERICH plays Herb's assistant coach who occasionally thinks he pushes the players too hard.
KENNETH WELSH plays the team physician.
EDDIE CAHILL plays the team's goalie who's recently lost his mother.
PATRICK O'BRIEN DEMSEY plays the team captain.
MICHAEL MANTENUTO, NATHAN WEST, ERIC PETER-KAISER and BILLY SCHNEIDER play other Olympic athletes on the team who put their differences aside to play the best that they can.; NOAH EMMERICH plays Herb's assistant coach who occasionally thinks he pushes the players too hard.
KENNETH WELSH plays the team physician.
EDDIE CAHILL plays the team's goalie who's recently lost his mother.
PATRICK O'BRIEN DEMSEY plays the team captain.
MICHAEL MANTENUTO, NATHAN WEST, ERIC PETER-KAISER and BILLY SCHNEIDER play other Olympic athletes on the team who put their differences aside to play the best that they can.; KENNETH WELSH plays the team physician.
EDDIE CAHILL plays the team's goalie who's recently lost his mother.
PATRICK O'BRIEN DEMSEY plays the team captain.
MICHAEL MANTENUTO, NATHAN WEST, ERIC PETER-KAISER and BILLY SCHNEIDER play other Olympic athletes on the team who put their differences aside to play the best that they can.; EDDIE CAHILL plays the team's goalie who's recently lost his mother.
PATRICK O'BRIEN DEMSEY plays the team captain.
MICHAEL MANTENUTO, NATHAN WEST, ERIC PETER-KAISER and BILLY SCHNEIDER play other Olympic athletes on the team who put their differences aside to play the best that they can.; PATRICK O'BRIEN DEMSEY plays the team captain.
MICHAEL MANTENUTO, NATHAN WEST, ERIC PETER-KAISER and BILLY SCHNEIDER play other Olympic athletes on the team who put their differences aside to play the best that they can.; MICHAEL MANTENUTO, NATHAN WEST, ERIC PETER-KAISER and BILLY SCHNEIDER play other Olympic athletes on the team who put their differences aside to play the best that they can.

CAST, CREW, & TECHNICAL INFO

HOW OTHERS RATED THIS MOVIE

Curious if this title is entertaining, any good, and/or has any artistic merit?
Then read OUR TAKE of this film.

(Note: The "Our Take" review of this title examines the film's artistic merits and does not take into account any of the possibly objectionable material listed below).

OUR WORD TO PARENTS:

The following is a quick look at the content found in this PG-rated drama. Profanity consists of at least 24 hells, while other expletives and colorful phrases are also uttered. One instance of non-explicit, sexually related dialogue is present, a player is seen in his underwear and some panties are given as a gag gift.

Violence consists of standard hockey checking (some of it rather harsh), a brief fight and some archival, wartime footage of bombs dropping and exploding. A few bad attitudes are present, as is some tense family material, while some characters drink beer.

Should you still be concerned about the film's appropriateness for yourself or anyone else in your home, you may want to look more closely at our detailed listings for more specific information regarding the film's content.

ALCOHOL OR DRUG USE: We see archival footage briefly dealing with Billy Beer.
People have drinks at a costume party.
Some of the players have beer.
The players and coaches have beer. We later see some more of the players drinking.

BLOOD/GORE: One player has a little blood from his nose following a fight.

DISRESPECTFUL/BAD ATTITUDE: One of the potential players doesn't like another one and there's a brief fight.
Some may view Herb's coaching tactics and attitude as bad, but he's pushing his players as hard as possible so that they might be able to win.
Herb purposefully badgers and belittles his players during a match to motivate them (it works).
Some of the Soviet players seem to have bad attitudes (during matches) toward the Americans.

FRIGHTENING SCENES: None.

GUNS/WEAPONS: We see archival footage of war-time bombs dropping and exploding.
There's talk of the Soviets performing nuclear tests.
We see a picture of a Soviet tank in a newspaper.

IMITATIVE BEHAVIOR: Phrases: "Hell no, we won't go," "What the hell /happens if we do/is wrong with you/is he doing here?" "Doesn't have a shot in hell," "In case their game goes to hell," "Hell of a spot," "Sure as hell," "Panzy," "Clown," "Jeez," "Kick in the ass," "Load of crap," "Like hell there is," "Hell of a look," "I wish like hell," "You're a hell of a hockey player," "Screw himself," "Get the puck out of Afghanistan" (seen as a written message to the Soviets), "Busted his ass," "You're damn right," "You candy ass," "Hell of a move," "Kicked the crap out of Czechoslovakia," "Beat those commie bastards" and "Screw 'em."
Herb purposefully badgers and belittles his players during a match to motivate them (it works).

JUMP SCENES: None.

MUSIC (SCARY/TENSE): None.

MUSIC (INAPPROPRIATE): None.

PROFANITY: At least 24 hells, 4 asses, 4 damns, 2 craps, 3 uses of "Oh my God" and 1 use of "Swear to God."

SEX/NUDITY: Herb comments on a fight between two players as being "more like monkeys trying to hump a football."
We see three male players in the shower room (but only from the chest up).
It looks as if some of the players got one guy a pair of panties as a gag Christmas gift.
We briefly see one of the players in his underwear in the locker room.

SMOKING: None.

TENSE FAMILY SCENES: There's talk of Jim's game being off since his mom died and we hear that Jim's father is going through a hard time (due to work and having lost his wife). Not much else is made of his, however.
Herb and his wife have a brief disagreement (that never escalates into a full-blown fight) about him not asking her about adjusting the family's schedule regarding his new coaching requirements.
Herb's wife is mad at him and says, "Don't ever criticize me for caring about you."

TOPICS TO TALK ABOUT: The real life event, any artistic license taken with it, and the historical context in which it occurred.
How the U.S. (and other countries) formerly could not field professional athletes in Olympic events.
There's talk of the Iranian hostage situation.
We briefly see a shot of the World Trade Center in some archival footage.

VIOLENCE: We see archival footage of war-time bombs dropping and exploding.
There's some violent checking in hockey practice (players slamming into others and/or driving them up against the wall).
One player performs a hard check on another. The two then get into a fight on the ice with struggling and punching until they're separated.
There's some hard checking violence and a player is flipped during a match.
Herb overturns a table in anger.
There's more physical contact during several more matches.

Reviewed January 15, 2004 / Posted February 6, 2004

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