Movie Reviews
The Dove Foundation
Reversal Receives the Dove “Family Approved” Seal
Congratulations! Reversal has won approval by the Dove Foundation Review Board. This means the Foundation believes that the content expressed makes for the kind of story family members can enjoy together with confidence. The Dove Family Approved Seal is awarded to movies and other entertainment products that portray and encourage positive values.
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Now celebrating its eleventh anniversary as an advocate for family values in entertainment, The Dove Foundation has worked to encourage and promote the creation, production and distribution of wholesome entertainment. As nonprofit “keeper of the Seal” free from commercial pressures, The Dove Foundation has built a brand I.D. that is recognized by well over 50 million Americans. Approved titles are also promoted in various Dove publications such as the Hollywood Update monthly newsletter and Dove’s annual Entertainment Report.
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Executive Director
Dove Foundation
Reversal Receives Four “Dove” Review!
Synopsis: In this moving coming-of-age tale, a 17-year-old champion high school wrestler, Leo (Danny Mousetis), sees his dedication to the sport tied up in his love for his father. While living in an endless and sometimes destructive cycle of training, sacrifice, and starving to make weight, Danny is feeling the lure of the world beyond the mat. With the help of his friends and the love of his girlfriend, Leo faces serious choices: live his own life or let his father live through him; follow the path prescribed or follow his own dreams.
Christian Worldview: Wow, does this film, based on a true story, take me back to high school and the wrestling that I attempted for two years. The constant working out, and fighting to make weight. You wouldn’t know it now by the 200 pounds I maintain, but in high school I wrestled in both the 98 and 107 pound weight classes. And just like in this film, other wrestlers and myself were always trying new ways to shed the pounds. This film was very realistic in how wrestlers train and try to make weight.
Leo (Danny Mousetis) is an all district wrestler going into his senior year of high school. He has trained his entire life to win at this sport and has developed incredible self discipline — much of this coming from his father, Ed (James Petulla) pushing him and riding herd on him his entire life. One scene shows Ed, when Leo was about 7 years old, getting him out of bed at 5 a.m. to run, and this on the day of a big wrestling meet!
Leo continues to dedicate himself to wrestling, but in his senior year his eyes are opened to other areas of interest, like living life. Leo is shy, quiet and soft-spoken, and Danny Mousetis does a wonderful job in playing Leo. But why does Leo wrestle and will he continue? Will he achieve his dreams or his father’s? The story unfolds in a marvelous way to answer these and many other questions.
Even though this film centers around the sport of wrestling, it is about so much more. The love between a father and a son, the regret of a father who didn’t achieve all he wanted to achieve in his life and tries to live his life through his son, the struggle of a marriage relationship, the desire for a young man to experience life on his terms and not someone else’s.
This film, written and produced by James Petulla (who also plays the part of Coach Ed Leone), and directed by Alan Vint, is a very well-crafted film. It has the look and feel of a major budget studio release, but is a lower budget independent film. They have put together a wonderful non-star studded cast and Jeff Danna, the film’s composer, has done a magnificent job with the music in this film. Teenagers and adults will enjoy the many positive messages this film contains.
