It’s another inspirational, “this is how to change the world” film, and it’s getting mixed reviews. On one hand, “Gracie” is a nice change of pace in the midst of the summer blockbuster extravaganza taking place (i.e. “Spiderman 3,” “Pirates 3” and “Shrek the Third”). On the other hand, it’s nothing new.

“Gracie” is a Shue family production (think Elisabeth and Andrew) and is loosely based off of their own lives. Elisabeth portrays Lindsay Bowen, a school nurse, whose daughter Gracie (Carly Schroeder) yearns to play soccer like her older brother Johnny (Jesse Lee Soffer) in 1978 New Jersey.

Johnny, who has been coached since childhood by his former-soccer-star dad (Dermot Mulroney), is the captain and star of his high school soccer team when he is tragically killed in a car accident.

Devastated by her loss, Gracie announces that she will honor Johnny by taking his spot on the boys varsity soccer team the next season. It is made painfully clear, however, by her family (especially her father) and friends that girls can’t compete with boys on the soccer field. Her father refuses to train her as he had her brother. When even her best friends question Gracie’s intentions she begins to act out against the authority figures in her life in an effort to move past her grief.

With the option of watching his daughter continue to self-destruct or to ignore his misgivings, dad Bryan chooses the latter and begins to train Gracie for the upcoming soccer tryouts.

Gracie must convince the school board to let her tryout and earn a spot on the team before she will get a chance to prove that girls can play too.

We all know how the story ends, and it’s not so much about the final result as it is about the path to getting us there.

Schroeder fits the bill as the athletic girl who wants to prove to everyone that she can keep up with the boys. Surly and stubborn, she refuses to take no for an answer. This makes her both brave and a little frustrating to watch. When she makes the JV soccer team, she announces she won’t play since she didn’t make varsity. Of course she comes around, there wouldn’t be much of a story here otherwise, but not without bemoaning her ill-treatment loud and clear.

Mulroney is convincing as a father who doesn’t know how to relate to his daughter. For him, life is about soccer and in 1978 soccer was strictly a sport for boys. While he cares for his daughter, he is clearly over his head when trying to figure out how to deal with her ambitions. In the end, he learns to believe in his daughter and rejoices while watching her turn into the soccer star she always knew she could be. Now if he would just cut off his too long, somewhat-creepy hair we’d be all-good.

Despite the film being headed up by the Shue family, Elisabeth and Andrew don’t take up much screen time (Andrew portrays the junior varsity coach). Elisabeth acts as more of a story aid than as a deep character as she tells Gracie that the “this is how it’s always been” attitude toward women’s equality can change, if only a little, with her. She does a good job, but the story really isn’t about her (despite the fact that it was Elisabeth who fought for and won the right to play on the boys soccer team and who inspired the film).

I recently heard a couple of movie critics say that “Gracie,” is an inspirational movie that hasn’t been done better by anyone else. I would disagree with that statement as I could name more than a few (“Remember the Titans” and “Rudy” to name a couple) that do it better. What I will say is that it’s a good family film that teaches about making a difference, not only for yourself but for the generations to come, despite facing overwhelming opposition. Without the Gracies of the world, social advances may take much longer to occur.

While the film is family friendly in many respects, it is rated PG-13 for some scenes during Gracie’s rebellious stage. Parents with young children should probably wait a few years or catch it on DVD.

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