Full Review

2005 is shaping up to be the summer of kiddie-sports comedies. First, a small-fry soccer team left Will Ferrell "Kicking & Screaming." And later this month little leaguers will be lining up to see a remake of "The Bad News Bears."

Sandwiched in between is director Steve Carr's "Rebound" (20th Century Fox), a diverting, if formulaic, crowd-pleaser about a hotheaded, big-time college basketball coach, Roy McCormick (Martin Lawrence) who, after being banned from coaching on the collegiate level, finds redemption by whipping a hapless junior high school hoop squad into winners.

The love interest is provided by Wendy Raquel Robinson, who plays the single mom of the team's "star" player. Rounding out the cast are Megan Mullally as the school's principal, Horatio Sanz as a friendly faculty member turned assistant coach, and Breckin Meyer as Roy's agent.

There is the usual bullying of awkward adolescents, but the humor never sinks to mean-spiritedness. In fact, the film celebrates the underdog.

Of course, the warmed-over premise has been used before and to better effect. The movie's tagline is "Old school meets middle school." "Old jokes meet a middling script" is more like it.

A minor foul should be called for an out-of-left-field (and unfunny) gag involving a wacky preacher (also played by Lawrence) who delivers a mildly irreverent pre-game pep invocation.

And though hardly a slam dunk, the manic but likable star manages to elicit a few laughs, scoring points in his first family-friendly role, as does the movie's feel-good message about teamwork, sportsmanship, self-esteem and believing in yourself.

Sure, it would be nice to see an idea for a kids' movie that was fresh, intelligent and inoffensive, but, even though this one lacks the first two qualities, having one out of three ain't bad these days.

The film contains some mildly crude language and humor and minor comic violence. The USCCB Office for Film & Broadcasting classification is A-II -- adults and adolescents. The Motion Picture Association of America rating is PG -- parental guidance suggested.

Movies have been evaluated by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishop's Office for Film and Broadcasting according to artistic merit and moral suitability. The reviews include the USCCB rating, the Motion Picture Association of America rating, and a brief synopsis of the movie.

The classifications are as follows:

• A-I -- general patronage;
• A-II -- adults and adolescents;
• A-III -- adults;
• A-IV**
• L -- limited adult audience, films whose problematic content many adults would find troubling. L replaces the previous classification, A-IV.
• O -- morally offensive.