Last year I saw Gracie, a movie about a teenage girl who wants to play high-school soccer in the late 1970s, when the game was considered a males-only sport in America, and faces a lot of opposition from her school. I finished my review with the line, "If it were football, would we be agreeing more with Gracie's opponents?" The Longshots gives us the opportunity to consider that question. Can we sympathize with, and cheer on, a girl who wants to succeed as a quarterback in an all-boys' football league? The answer is yes, because The Longshots focuses on characters and personal relationships and as a result, feels richer and more satisfying than the standard sports-genre film.

The story is simple and except for the girl-quarterback angle, old-fashioned in a Capra-esque way. Jasmine (Keke Palmer) is a middle-school loner and misfit in a small town hit by economic troubles. Her mom Claire (Tasha Smith) has to work longer hours at the diner -- dad ditched town and family several years ago -- and Jasmine is still too young to be left alone after school. So Claire pleads, nags and finally bribes her husband's brother Curtis (Ice Cube), an unemployed ex-football player, to keep an eye on his niece Jasmine. Of course they can't stand each other at first, but eventually Curtis discovers that Jasmine has an excellent throwing arm and teaches her how to be a quarterback. Meanwhile, the town's playground football team is languishing, and one thing they're missing is a decent quarterback, sooo ...

Do you remember the news that Fred Durst was working on his second directorial gig, a sports drama called Comeback? Well, for some reason, the film is now untitled (why change it to untitled when you at least have a working title!?), and it's got a cast to boot. But first, to refresh your memory: Ice Cube signed on to star in and produce the film, which is about a young, female quarterback named Jasmine Plummer who became the first girl to play in the Pop Warner football tournament. Cube had picked the role of Plummer's uncle and mentor.

Now Reuters reports that Keke Palmer has signed on to star as Jasmine. You might remember her from Tyler Perry's Madea's Family Reunion, or more likely, as the spelling fiend in Akeelah and the Bee. She's going to be joined by Tasha Smith (Why Did I Get Married?), Jill Marie Jones (Girlfriends), Matt Craven (Disturbia), and Garret Morris (The Jamie Foxx Show). Oh yeah, and Dash Mihok, who I left separate because, well, I have a soft spot for Benvolio, and I wanted to give him his own sentence.

Anyhow... There you have it. Comeback is still on its way, just as a different yet-to-be-released/decided name. In the meantime, I'm still waiting to see Durst's first -- The Education of Charlie Banks.