Movie Monday – The Mighty Macs

Today’s Movie Review Monday suggestion is The Mighty Macs, a movie inspired by the story of basketball coaching legend, Cathy Rush.

Take a trip back to 1971 when women’s college basketball was just beginning. Not many women tried out for the sport, and it was far from being taken seriously.  The Immaculata, a small Catholic college, has just hired a new basketball coach – Cathy Rush – to coach the Macs. Cathy’s goal is to turn the inexperienced women’s team with a losing streak into a #1 team. However, there isn’t much hope. The college gymnasium recently burned to the ground. Most of the players lack experience. Cathy’s unorthodox ideas aren’t exactly embraced by the Nuns at the college, and financial problems abound threatening to close Immaculata. Old uniforms and a lack of funds to purchase shoes and travel to games add to the troubles. Can Cathy, along with her assistant coach, a Nun named Sister Sunday, turn things around for the flailing team?

There are many great moments in this movie. One of the girls comes from a poverty-stricken home. When pictures are taken, she wears her only outfit – a pair of ratty overalls and old boots. The result is an act of compassion that, for me, was a tearjerker moment.  Another great moment is when Cathy has the chance to confront her former basketball coach and does so with grace toward someone who had caused her much pain.

There are some humorous moments throughout this movie as well. Viewers will want to be sure to watch The Mighty Macs ESPN segment at the end of the movie, which shows coverage from the real games and highlights some of the real-life players,  as well as, the real Cathy Rush.

I enjoyed this movie. It’s a heartwarming and touching story for the entire family about an underdog team and the value of teamwork.

I am passionate about finding movies suitable for families. For a complete listing of family movie suggestions and an archive of past reviews from a Christian worldview for Movie Monday, please go to my Mom-Approved Movies Page.

For an archived list of movie reviews, go to my newly created Archived Movie Reviews page. This page will be updated regularly to show all movies included in Movie Review Monday.