Jesse Lee Soffer Movies
Connecticut native Jesse Lee Soffer began his career at the tender age of eight when he appeared in the film Matinee, about the sci-fi movies that were popular in the 1950s. At the time, the youngster was performing under the stage name Jesse Lee, and he used that name when he appeared in many films throughout the '90s, such as The Brady Bunch Movie and Safe Passage. By the time he joined the cast of the well-known, long-running daytime soap opera As the World Turns in 2004, however, he was acting under his full name, Jesse Lee Soffer. ~ Cammila Albertson, All Movie Guide
Inspired by the real-life events that followed the untimely 1988 death of William Shue (brother of cast members Elisabeth and Andrew Shue and executive producer John Shue) the feel-good sports drama Gracie unfolds in 1978 New Jersey. 15-year-old Gracie Bowen (newcomer Carly Schroeder) is still reeling from the passing of her brother Johnny (Jesse Lee Soffer), a star player on the high-school soccer team. When Gracie defies nearly everyone's wishes by vowing to replace Johnny under the aegis of cantankerous Coach Colasanti (John Doman), it irritates her parents (Elisabeth Shue, Dermot Mulroney) -- who encourage her to stick to activities better-suited to her gender -- and her best friend, Jena (Julia Garro), who warns her that athletic women are often considered "lesbos." The young woman persists, however, and wins the hearts of her most strident detractors, surmounting one obstacle after another and racing toward certain victory. Karen Janszen and Lisa Marie Petersen co-scripted; Davis Guggenheim (An Inconvenient Truth) directs, lacing the soundtrack with pop standards from that era, with Aretha Franklin's "Rock Steady" used as Gracie's training anthem. Dina Goldman created the film's meticulous 1970s production design. ~ Nathan Southern, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Carly Schroeder, Elisabeth Shue, (more)
