Rookie: Review and Summary

In “Rookie,” we watch a sports story which makes the leads’ attraction only part of the story.

Film Length	94 Minutes
Advisory Rating	Not Rated
Release Date	October 13, 2024
Initially Available On/Via	Film Festival – Newfest
Genre(s)	Comedy, Drama, Romance, Young Adult, LGBT+, Non-English (Filipino)
Distributor	Newfest
Director	Samantha Lee
Writer	Samantha Lee, Natts Jadaone
Character Name	Actor
Ace	Pat Tingjuy
Coach Jules	Agot Isidro
Jana	Aya Fernandez
Coach Kel	Mikoy Morales

Plot Summary

Ace is a third-year student who just transferred to a new school. She is a bit awkward but into sports, and with her being tall, Coach Jules recruits her. But it isn’t for the sport Ace loves, basketball, since the nuns think it is too gay. Instead, it is volleyball, which Ace doesn’t know how to play at all. For the team captain, Jana, a senior, this makes Ace a bane for the team, and naturally, she plays a mean girl towards Ace until Ace proves she is worthy of her place.

Audience

“Rookie” is for those who like it when the romance is but one part of a larger story. For Jana, volleyball is her ticket out of her father’s house and a means of gaining independence. Volleyball is also Ace’s best means of making friends, and while she stinks at first, she gets better.

Now, as for those coming for the sports angle, outside of the last game, “Rookie” doesn’t make the competition a notable highlight. However, it does incorporate the training to help us see Jana and Ace grow as players and as people who could be more than friends.

Other Noteworthy Information

• Movie Contains: Cursing, Criminal Acts (Pedophilia), Drinking
• The distributor is also known for “My Old Ass.”

Review

Our Rating: Positive (Worth Seeing)

Highlights

Jana and Ace’s Chemistry

While Jana begins “Rookie,” as should be expected, after Ace, if not Coach Jules, realizes just thrusting Ace on the team was a dumb decision, she is more willing to be around Ace. With that, you get to see Jana open up, and the two become equally adorable oddballs.

Ace, who comes off rather innocent, isn’t an outlier compared to the rest of the team, but with her less focused on whether she has arm hair, her willingness to advocate for herself, and her identity less influenced than the others, you see that is seen as attractive. On the flip side, Jana is in this place where she isn’t coerced to be perfect or live up to an ideal but is determined. Ace gets her to see past the goals, past the need to use volleyball to escape her life and refocus on having fun.

The combination of their personalities leads to flirty moments, with Jana sometimes being the shy one, and it will all leave you with butterflies in your stomach.

There Is More To The Movie Than A Basic Teen Romance

Is the romance of “Rookie” a selling point? Yes. However, it isn’t all it has to offer. It gives us a sense of the culture of the Philippines, both in terms of the sense of community there can be and some of the conservatism that exists for Ace and Jana. Beyond the side eye some of their religious school may have against queer identity and love, there is the topic dealing with Coach Jules’ godson Kel.

His role in the film helps you understand that as much as volleyball is the ticket out or to school for many of the girls, it is also a safe haven and gives them a sisterhood. Volleyball gives them a place where they can be fierce and competitive, yet still young girls in a world that desires to rob them of that. Then, to silence them, they can be questioned about what they wore, what they said, and the shame that could come to their families, even if they are a victim.

By no means does “Rookie” present Coach Kel to the level of Larry Nassar, but with Coach Kel doing physical therapy for the girls, trying to aide them after they put their all on the court, you can see “Rookie” didn’t want to just give you a queer love story in a bubble, but all aspects of what it means to be a young girl.

On The Fence

The Sports Aspect Doesn’t Get Good Till The End

While terms are used, we see the training and injuries; this isn’t an intense sports movie. “Rookie” makes sure enough is said and shown to establish that volleyball isn’t just a means to drive the story but isn’t what viewers should be the most interested in. With that said, as you get invested in Ace and Jana’s story, the final game of the movie becomes something you’ll find yourself leaning forward and engaged with. For what better way to end a film like this than with a couple in bliss and their team going from underdog to champions.

The Supporting Characters Are Either Forgettable Or Underdeveloped

While Coach Kal, Coach Jules, and the other players are sometimes named or given a primary role on the team, they aren’t developed much. For example, it is established why Ace moved junior year, but it feels more like an information dump than something you can connect with. We don’t get to see how what happened affected her family dynamic or her mom. Heck, it is hard to say how much of it explains how Ace is or whether she was always a bit socially awkward.

The same goes for Jana’s relationship with her dad. You get he is the one who drives her to continue volleyball, but in an effort to keep the film light, it doesn’t really dive into their relationship. We know her mother plays a role in her father’s drive, but, again, the missing parent is someone who is talked about in a way that informs the audience without us getting to see fully what their absence did.

Heck, in terms of furthering Coach Kal and Jules relationship to potentially complicate things, that isn’t done. Add in the girls on the team only being named via their family names on their jerseys, and while you get who and what the focus was, it’s a shame no one else gets much in the way of development or complexity.

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