''12 Mighty Orphans'' is a 2021 American

sports film A sports film is a film genre in which any particular sport plays a prominent role in the film's plot or acts as its central theme. It is a production in which a sport or a sports-related topic is prominently featured or is a focus of the plot. D ...

which was directed by Ty Roberts from a screenplay by Roberts,

Lane Garrison Lane Garrison is an American actor best known for the role of Tweener on the television series ''Prison Break''. He appeared in the pilot episode of the El Rey Network, El Rey network's series From Dusk till Dawn: The Series, ''From Dusk till Da ...

and Kevin Meyer. It is based upon the

non-fiction Non-fiction (or nonfiction) is any document or content (media), media content that attempts, in good faith, to convey information only about the real life, real world, rather than being grounded in imagination. Non-fiction typically aims to pre ...

book ''Twelve Mighty Orphans: The Inspiring True Story of the Mighty Mites Who Ruled Texas Football'' by Jim Dent. The book is based on the Masonic School for Orphans in

Fort Worth, Texas Fort Worth is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the county seat of Tarrant County, Texas, Tarrant County, covering nearly into Denton County, Texas, Denton, Johnson County, Texas, Johnson, Parker County, Texas, Parker, and Wise County, Te ...

. The film stars Luke Wilson,

Vinessa Shaw Vinessa Elizabeth Shaw (born July 19, 1976) is an American film actress and model. She began her career as a child actress, making her feature film debut in the slasher film ''Home Sweet Home (1981 film), Home Sweet Home'' (1981). She had her b ...

Wayne Knight Wayne Elliot Knight (born August 7, 1955) is an American actor. In television, he played recurring roles such as Newman on the NBC sitcom ''Seinfeld'' (1992–1998) and Officer Don Orville on the NBC sitcom ''3rd Rock from the Sun'' (1996� ...

, Jake Austin Walker, Jacob Lofland, Levi Dylan,

Robert Duvall Robert Selden Duvall (; born January 5, 1931) is an American actor. With a career spanning seven decades, he is regarded as one of the greatest actors of all time. He has received an Academy Awards, Academy Award, a British Academy Film Awards ...

and

Martin Sheen Ramón Gerard Antonio Estévez (born August 3, 1940), known professionally as Martin Sheen, is an American actor. His work spans over six decades of television and film, and his accolades include three Emmy Awards, a Golden Globe Award, and ...

. The film was released in the United States on June 11, 2021 by

Sony Pictures Classics Sony Pictures Classics Inc. is an American arthouse film production and distribution company that is a division of Sony Pictures Entertainment. It was founded in 1992 by former Orion Classics heads Michael Barker, Tom Bernard and Marcie Bloo ...

. It received mixed reviews from critics.

Plot

During the

Great Depression The Great Depression was a severe global economic downturn from 1929 to 1939. The period was characterized by high rates of unemployment and poverty, drastic reductions in industrial production and international trade, and widespread bank and ...

, war veteran and former orphan Rusty Russell ( Luke Wilson) relocates with his wife Juanita (

) and daughter to Fort Worth, Texas, to teach math and science at the Masonic Home for Orphans. He also takes on the role of football coach. Upon arrival, Rusty discovers that the orphanage is run by the abusive Warden Frank Wynn (

), who exploits the boys for child labor in his personal printing press. The boys, lacking proper education and discipline, are subjected to harsh conditions and have little hope for the future. Determined to make a difference, Rusty, with the support of the home's compassionate physician, Doc Hall (

), decides to form a football team. Recognizing the boys' physical limitations, he devises innovative strategies, including a spread offense, to level the playing field. Despite lacking basic equipment and playing barefoot, the team, dubbed the "Mighty Mites," begins to improve, instilling a sense of purpose and unity among the players. Facing numerous challenges, including resistance from Warden Wynn and skepticism from the community, the Mighty Mites persevere. They gain attention for their unique playing style and resilience, eventually catching the interest of President

Franklin D. Roosevelt Franklin Delano Roosevelt (January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), also known as FDR, was the 32nd president of the United States, serving from 1933 until his death in 1945. He is the longest-serving U.S. president, and the only one to have served ...

. As the team advances toward the Texas state championships, they confront personal and institutional obstacles that test their determination and spirit. In the climactic championship game, the Mighty Mites face a formidable opponent. Despite their best efforts and innovative tactics, they narrowly lose the game. However, their journey and transformation inspire a nation in need of hope, and Rusty's legacy as a coach and mentor endures.

Cast

Production

Principal photography Principal photography is the phase of producing a film or television show in which the bulk of shooting takes place, as distinct from the phases of pre-production and post-production. Personnel Besides the main film personnel, such as the ...

initially took place for seven weeks from October 7 to November 25, 2019 in Weatherford, Cleburne, and

. It is based on the non fiction book of the same name by Jim Dent. Alice Eve was initially attached to the project early in the development, but dropped out for unknown reasons shortly afterwards.

Release

acquired worldwide distribution rights to the film in January 2021, five months pending the official release. It was released in a

limited release __FORCETOC__ Limited theatrical release is a film distribution strategy of releasing a new film in a few cinemas across a country, typically art house theaters in major metropolitan markets. Since 1994, a limited theatrical release in the Unite ...

on June 11, 2021 which was followed by a wide expansion one week later on June 18, 2021. The film was released theatrically in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

three months later on September 17, 2021.

Reception

Box office

In its opening weekend the film made $251,569 from 132 theatres. It expanded to 1,047 theatres the following weekend, making an estimated $870,000 and finishing in eighth place at the box office.

Critical response

On the

review aggregator A review aggregator is a system that collects reviews and ratings of products and services, such as films, books, video games, music, software, hardware, or cars. This system then stores the reviews to be used for supporting a website where user ...

website

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review aggregator, review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee ...

, the film holds an approval rating of 63% based on 89 reviews with an average rating of 6/10. The site’s critics consensus reads: "''12 Mighty Orphans'' will rouse faithful fans of old fashioned inspirational sports dramas, but the target audience has seen this sort of thing done more effectively before." On

Metacritic Metacritic is an American website that aggregates reviews of films, television shows, music albums, video games, and formerly books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created ...

, the film has a weighted average score of 44 out of 100 based reviews from 14 critics, indicating "mixed or average" reviews. Audiences surveyed by PostTrak gave the film an 80% positive score, with 75% saying they would definitely recommend it. Peter Debruge of '' Variety'' called it "Square but satisfying" and said "sometimes they do make ‘em like they used to."

References

External links

* {{IMDb title, 8482584 Sports films based on actual events Films based on non-fiction books Films produced by Michael De Luca Films scored by Mark Orton American football films Films set in the 1930s Films shot in Texas Films shot in Fort Worth, Texas Sony Pictures Classics films 2020s sports films 2020s English-language films 2020s American films English-language sports films Films about Freemasonry