Writer-director Gary Lundgren grew up in the Bay Area a sports fan and a movie fan, and it shows in his very funny feature film debut, "Calvin Marshall." Imagine the kids in "The Bad News Bears" about eight years later as a junior college team and you get the idea of what the Bayford City College Bisons are like. Calvin (Alex Frost) dreams of playing in the major leagues, but he barely made the cut for the Bisons. He seems more natural hosting a local access cable show that is Bayford CC's version of ESPN's "SportsCenter." Yet he stays on the team because he somehow brings out the soft spot in his otherwise crusty coach, a washed-up ex-minor-leaguer (Steve Zahn, excellent). Suddenly he meets the girl of his dreams, the school's star volleyball player Tori (Michelle Lombardo), and he begins a relentless campaign to impress her. His strategy in both baseball and love seems to be "fake it until you make it," with sometimes hilarious results. Lombardo is good, although a subplot about her character's terminally ill mother seems forced. Also providing excellent support is the underused character actor Abraham Benrubi ("ER," "Men in Trees") as an assistant coach and enemy of Calvin.
CALVIN MARSHALL
2009
NOT RATED
PASSION RIVER
$24.98
This article appeared on page Q - 32 of the San Francisco Chronicle
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