Back Of The Net
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''Back of the Net'' is a 2019 comedy film produced by The Steve Jaggi Company and distributed by
Umbrella Entertainment Umbrella Entertainment is a privately-held Australian film production and distribution company that began operating in 2001. It is based in Kew, Victoria. Umbrella Entertainment manages the theatrical, physical, and digital releases of Australia ...
. Directed by
Louise Alston Louise Alston is an Australian film director and producer best known for the movies ''All My Friends Are Leaving Brisbane'' and ''Jucy (film), Jucy''. Biography Alston was born in Wagga Wagga, and studied at the Australian Film, Television and ...
and written by Alison Spuck McNeeley and Casie Tabanou. The film stars
Sofia Wylie Sofia Christine Wylie (born January 7, 2004) is an American actress, dancer and singer. She began her career in dance before gaining prominence through her role as Buffy Driscoll on the Disney Channel comedy-drama series ''Andi Mack'' (2017–20 ...
,
Christopher Kirby Christopher Kirby is an Australian actor. He is known for his performance in the 2012 film ''Iron Sky''. Other films he has appeared in include ''The Matrix Reloaded ''The Matrix Reloaded'' is a 2003 American science fiction action film w ...
, Melissa Bonne, Trae Robin,
Tiarnie Coupland Tiarnie Coupland (born 16 April 1997) is an Australian actress, model and singer. She has appeared in numerous films, TV series, short films, TV commercials and theatre productions. On 23 January 2015 Coupland released her debut song "Focus". ...
, Kate Box, Yasmin Honeychurch, Gemma Chua-Tran and Raj Labade. The story follows a smart and brainy American girl named Cory, who seeks to spend her semester on a science research program before she accidentally gets on the wrong bus and ends up spending her semester at the Harold Soccer Academy.


Plot

Cory Bailey, a science student, living in
Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...
, dreams of researching the ocean professionally. Her parents, David Bailey and Rebecca Bailey support her aspiration of becoming a scientist. During the summer holiday, Cory decides to join the Sea Science program organized by the Harold Academy. However, she gets on the wrong bus and finds herself arriving at the training center of the Harold Soccer Academy. Unwilling to miss the research program, she tries to contact the person in charge of the Sea Science program to escape. Unfortunately, she fails and has to stay in the soccer camp. On the first day of the camp, she needs to attend various lessons, from science lessons, soccer training to experiment lessons. She performs well in both science and experiment lessons but does poorly in soccer training. However, her masterful performance during experiment lessons catches the attention of Oliver, the most talented soccer player in the school, to make friends with her. After the first day of training, a room has been assigned for Cory to rest. She meets a lot of friends who are amateurs of soccer like her. They name their team as the Worst of the Best (WOTB). As the day of the National Soccer Competition approaches nearer, Cory and Oliver become closer due to the post-class discussion about the scientific theory of soccer. This triggers the jealousy of Edie, the best friend of Oliver since they were young. Edie decides to prank Cory on her glowing pickle demonstration. She destroys the experimental setup of Cory and insults her for her soccer skill after training. Cory feels depressed and demanding after being insulted; she wants to give up on football and change to a new school to continue her research. Fortunately, her friends come to Cory, who is deeply disappointed to comfort and cheer her up. She is touched that her friends support her all the time and decides to move on. After hearing the news from Coach Smith that the school will not be sponsoring WOTB the upcoming year unless the team has stellar results, everyone is devastated as they think it is impossible for them to win any match. Rather than being struck a blow, Cory is motivated to explore new ways to help the team overcome this daunting time. She applies her knowledge of science into the mode of training of the team. Combining with the theory of physics, the performance of the WOTB improves drastically in the latest pieces of training. On the day of the National Soccer Competition, Worst of the Best beats various teams from other schools and promotes to the final. The opponent in the final is the Elite team of the Harold Soccer Academy. The score was tied towards the end of the match. Unfortunately, one of the team members of WOTB accidentally gets hurt, and Cory has to go into the match to replace her teammate. Applying her science knowledge, Cory scores at the last minute of the match, and the team finally wins the title of the competition. After WOTB wins the competition, Cory does not celebrate and insult Edie about the competition. Instead, she comforts and cheers her up that every day is a chance to be someone you were not yesterday. Edie feels touched and apologizes for the prank on Cory. At last, they become friends and celebrate the honor of Harold Soccer Academy together.


Cast

*
Sofia Wylie Sofia Christine Wylie (born January 7, 2004) is an American actress, dancer and singer. She began her career in dance before gaining prominence through her role as Buffy Driscoll on the Disney Channel comedy-drama series ''Andi Mack'' (2017–20 ...
as Cory Bailey, an intelligent and brainy science student who wins the Nation Soccer competition after getting on the wrong bus. *
Christopher Kirby Christopher Kirby is an Australian actor. He is known for his performance in the 2012 film ''Iron Sky''. Other films he has appeared in include ''The Matrix Reloaded ''The Matrix Reloaded'' is a 2003 American science fiction action film w ...
as David Bailey, father of Cory, supports his daughter from chasing her dream. * Melissa Bonne as Rebecca Bailey, mother of Cory, supports her daughter from chasing her dream. * Trae Robin as Oliver, the most talented and famous soccer player in the men's elite team of the Harold Soccer Academy. *
Tiarnie Coupland Tiarnie Coupland (born 16 April 1997) is an Australian actress, model and singer. She has appeared in numerous films, TV series, short films, TV commercials and theatre productions. On 23 January 2015 Coupland released her debut song "Focus". ...
as Edie, the most talented and famous soccer player in the girls’ elite team of the Harold Soccer Academy. * Kate Box as Coach Smith, the coach of the Worst of the Best. * Raj Labade as Lewis, member of the men's elite team and the best friend of Oliver and Edie. * Gemma Chua-Tran as Janessa, member of the Worst of the Best. * Yasmin Honeychurch as Adelle, member of the Worst of the Best. *
Ashleigh Ross Ashleigh Maree Ross (born 7 October 1999), also known as Ashi Ross, is an Australian actress, singer, dancer, fashion designer, influencer and model, best known for her roles as Charlotte in '' Back of the Net'' (2019), Xeon in 26 episodes of '' ...
as Charlotte, member of the Worst of the Best. * Nick Bolton as Mr Oster, the science teacher of Cory in the Harold Soccer Academy. *
Caitlin Foord Caitlin Jade Foord (born 11 November 1994) is an Australian professional soccer player who plays as a Forward (association football), forward for Women's Super League club Arsenal W.F.C., Arsenal and the Australian women's national soccer team, ...
as herself, an Australian professional soccer player, in reality, the guest of honor of the National Soccer competition.


Production


Filming

Filming of ''Back of the Net'' took place in
Wollongong Wollongong ( ; Dharawal: ''Woolyungah'') is a city located in the Illawarra region of New South Wales, Australia. The name is believed to originate from the Dharawal language, meaning either 'five islands/clouds', 'ground near water' or 'sound ...
and
Kiama Kiama may refer to: * Electoral district of Kiama, a seat in the New South Wales Legislative Assembly * Kiama, New South Wales, a town * Kiama (spider), a genus of spiders *Municipality of Kiama The Municipality of Kiama is a local government ar ...
, including the Innovation Campus and Bombo Quarry since April 2018. The Steve Jaggi Company has worked with the local council and Destination Wollongong (DW) to ensure the availability of the filming site.


Visual effects

Several visual effects techniques were used during production. The lead visual effects company was Cumulus VFX. According to Louise, stylish animation and CG elements are provided in the film to enhance the story, and the visual effects in the film are better than what she and her team had expected.


Release

''Back of the Net'' had its world premiere at the CinefestOZ on Sunday, 26 August 2018, and was selected as part of the line-up for The Vision Splendid Outback Film Festival in June–July 2019. It was scheduled for theatrical release in Australia on 18 April 2019, and was released on DVD and
video on demand Video on demand (VOD) is a media distribution system that allows users to access videos, television shows and films Digital distribution, digitally on request. These multimedia are accessed without a traditional video playback device and a typica ...
on 7 August 2019. In the
United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
, it premiered on 15 June 2019 on
Disney Channel Disney Channel is an American pay television television channel, channel that serves as the flagship (broadcasting), flagship property of Disney Branded Television, a unit of the Disney Entertainment business segment of the Walt Disney Company ...
. It became available on
Netflix Netflix is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service. The service primarily distributes original and acquired films and television shows from various genres, and it is available internationally in multiple lang ...
in the country on 21 December 2019 and left exactly 4 years later on 21 December 2023.


Reception


Critical response

Critical response to ''Back of the Net'' has been “fair,” and it has been described as the perfect mix of the coming of age films of the past with new plot points and character complexity. Review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes reports that of reviews of the film were positive, with an average rating of . The site's critics consensus reads, “Back of the Net is an entertaining if unremarkable piece of pre-teen fluff enlivened by entertaining performances, moments of likable charm, and a refreshing message.” According to Common Sense Media, Common sense media, which complied six reviews and calculated an average score of 3 out of 5, the film received “solid acclaim.” Australian Council on Children and the Media (ACCM) called the film "a sweet Australian children's film, that shows anyone can succeed if they work together. There are great performances by the younger cast; some comic relief from the girls' soccer coach; and strong moral messages of friendship, teamwork, and acceptance." Apart from the acclamation from ACCM, they also recommend this film for the children aged 8-13 due to acknowledging the film's message about the meaning and purpose of friendship and teamwork. Reviews were not uniformly positive. Sandra Hall (writer), Sandra Hall of ''The Sydney Morning Herald'' concluded that "Although the script gets much better treatment than it deserves thanks to the spirit and exuberance of a cast who seem delighted to be doing what they are doing, and the NSW south coast and its beaches add to the sparkling sense of well-being that permeates the whole film, the cultural cringe afflicting the plot is pretty hard to take." Alex Lines shared the same sentiment from the Film Inquiry. He felt that “the film features a protagonist who operates life through the application of textbook formulas, because she's stuck in a film that's chosen to do the same.”


References


External links

* {{Women's football 2010s children's films 2019 films Australian children's comedy films Australian sports comedy films Films shot in New South Wales Teen sports films Films about women's sports Australian comedy films 2010s English-language films English-language comedy films Films directed by Louise Alston