When we thought we’d seen everything, here comes “The Longshots”: a sappy inspirational movie directed by…Fred Durst! Aww, isn’t that sweeet?

The only nice thing about the movie is that it is based on the real-life accomplishments of an ambitious girl called Jasmine Plummer, who was the first girl in Pop Warner history.

Jasmine, played by talented “Akeelah and the Bee” actress Keke Palmer, is a shy and bookish girl, whose sport talent is discovered by her uncle who soon becomes her coach. Unfortunately, Ice Cube is not too entertaining in the uncle’s role. Even though he usually is a quite charismatic guy, this time the role is too full of clichés for him to be able to save the character. Curtis Plummer is a former high school football star, who, of course, missed the opportunity to become a big player and ended up working in a packaging plant. When he discovers his niece can throw the ball like a football champ, Plummer decides to fulfill his glory wishes through her. Hmm, doesn’t that seem awkwardly familiar? Some romance could spice things up, the filmmakers said, but then they probably changed their minds. And that is why Plummer’s attempt at a romance with his niece’s teacher goes nowhere, is completely insignificant and shall not be further discussed.

As expected, Jasmine gets better and better in terms of football, gradually gaining interest in the sport and becoming good enough to join the school’s all-male team as a quarterback, even though she initially dreamed of being a supermodel…Still, despite all the predictability, Palmer does a good role and manages to be very charming and believable.

As for Durst, his directing is surprisingly dull, for a guy who usually tries to shock by any means. Well, actually we could say it’s the directing that the story deserves.

The movie was not welcomed by most critics, but at least it can be enjoyed by families, as it does not involve too much obscenity, nudity or bad language. It is PG rated for some thematic elements, mild language and brief rude humor.