[yasr_overall_rating]
Four Hispanic high school students form a robotics club. With no experience, 800 bucks, used car parts and a dream, this rag tag team goes up against the country’s reigning robotics champion, MIT.
Director Sean McNamara has obviously done his homework as he displays the trials and tribulations of four Hispanic males who come together unwittingly to form a private club of passionate nerds. Based on a true story, Mr. Cameron (George Lopez) uses his new substitute teaching position as a temporary move to get his life back on track while recovering from a huge personal loss. In return, he gets more than he bargained for as he agrees to support one student’s dream to compete in a robotics competition.
While George’s serious role seals the deal for this believable story, his comedic side shows up just in time to deliver appropriate one-liners to save the day. The school’s principal (Jamie Lee Curtis) and one of its teachers, Gwen (Marisa Tomei), capture their own round of laughs as they challenge Mr. Cameron and form a tag team to hold on to any dignity that Carl Hayden Community High School has left due to its hard core reputation. In the midst of several mini competitions going on, the film captures each member’s personal struggles as the group tries to juggle the internal and external forces that are tearing them apart.
The struggles are real in this Hispanic community as the pride of loved ones and their expectations make it difficult for the students to determine what is most important for them as individuals. George Lopez, as a father figure and coach, petitions the student’s courage and strength while he struggles to maintain control of his own insecurities. In the end, there seems to be more at stake than winning the robotics competition as each member of the group relies heavily on one another to feel useful and productive. The continued success that has followed each student has proven that motivation will impact determination and innovation in any environment.
In theaters now
