“The Final Season” is based off of the small-town Norway’s high school baseball team. The Norway team won 20, 1-A State baseball tournaments before having to merge with a local area school in 1991. The merge was due to federal funding to small-town school districts. Norway was one of the districts and it merged with Benton of Van Horne.

Jim Van Scoyoc, played by Powers Boothe (“Tombstone,” “24”), coached the team until a year before the final seaso,n when he was forced to leave.

Kent Stock, played by Sean Astin (“Lord of the Rings,” “The Goonies,” “Rudy”), took over for the team’s final season and took them to their final victory. The season was a rough start, but with support of the town and the respect earned from players, the team was able to make a comeback and win the tournament.

The main character in the film is Mitch Akers, played by Michael Angarano (“Sky High”), who is forced from Chicago, by his father, to move to Norway. His father had grown up there and played on the Norway baseball team under Coach Scoyoc. Mitch had to learn to adjust to small town life and live with his grandparents. With a suggestion from his grandmother, Mitch became the star catcher.

Many other players on the team and cast members are from Iowa. The movie was filmed in many locations in Iowa, including Cedar Rapids and Norway. David Evans (director and writer of “The Sandlot”) directed the film.

From the Veteran’s Memorial Stadium advertisements, to the T-shirts the players wore at practice, Iowa was highly promoted to a stereotypical amount. Iowa may consist of many farms and small towns but not all of everyone can be placed in the category of “hick.”

The actors did what they could with the minimal script consisting of some fake drama and cheesy lines. Luckily, the movie was focused on baseball and there were great shots of the many games played.

Bottom line- the movie was great if you love baseball and Iowa; otherwise wait for the next family-sport film to come along soon.