Madison, Indiana, the home of hydroplane boat racing is the setting for this "inspired by real life" story. Jim McCormick, a well-known racer on the circuit is portrayed by James Caviezel of "The Passion of the Christ." It’s 1971 and Jim and his wife Bonnie (Mary McCormack of "K-Pax") and their pre-teen son Mike (Jake Lloyd) are a close knit family struggling to make ends meet in this small town. Madison was once a booming town because of its robust river traffic business. How America’s goods are moved has changed and as a result, people are leaving the town as the jobs are lost and businesses are shuttered.

Bonnie urges Jim to take a job in Chicago with a networking connection. However, his heart is in the sport of hydroplane racing and Madison, though he hasn’t raced since a terrible accident several years earlier killed his best friend and left Jim with a decided limp. When another of his buddies moves away, Jim steps into the lead role of managing their boat racing team. Although Bonnie is not happy, she stands by him.

Madison is the laughing stock of the race circuit. When the luck of the draw gives them a chance to host the Gold Cup, the equivalent of the Daytona 500, Jim writes a check for $50,000 on the spot on an account that no doubt doesn’t have enough to buy a bag of groceries. He convinces the local banker to give him a few weeks to raise the money by clearing the check as slowly as possible. When those days run out and the town’s pride is invested in the race, the mayor moves money from government reserves so that Jim can use it. The plan is to repay it when a sufficient amount of race tickets are sold. If they don’t sell, both Jim and the Mayor will face heavy charges.

Their boat, "Miss Madison 06" does not do very well in the races leading up to the Gold Cup. Opposition is against the well financed and well equipped boats of Budweiser and Atlas Van Lines (deep pocket backers of these fast boats and perhaps of this film as well, due to a considerable amount of screen time). Young Mike travels the circuit with his dad, and the other youngsters have little mercy for the boy with the boat that some say is so slow you need a calendar rather than a clock to time it. When the other kids come to Madison, Mike finally is able to showcase his Midwestern values¾ and a pretty impressive steamboat on the river. This creates the dramatic setting for a come-from-behind victory at the end of the film.

There are authentic moments in the movie that go beyond the documentary footage.

As is the case with racecars on the round track, hydroplane boat racing is dangerous. Bonnie observes at one point that they would often race on Sunday and attend a funeral on Tuesday. Sometimes when the driver was making a last minute push to win a race, it was either "go or blow."

This film is just coming out after being on the shelf for four years. This somewhat unusual sports story is corny, without going all the way to syrupy, but hard not to like. For those looking for a warm film with family values as a core theme, this one fits the bill. With the controversy and huge promotion (and the recent re-release) of "The Passion of the Christ," in which James Caviezel played Jesus, Caviezel’s name is now much better known.

George’s Take: When I was a teenager my dad had a 16-foot fishing boat just like the one in the movie. The surprise in the film was that the logo on the boat said "Sears," the same place Dad bought his boat. That’s some very impressive attention to detail.

Pam’s Take: If you ever drive the county roads in Illinois, Indiana, Michigan – or any other Midwestern state, the decline and desolation of some of the towns will remind you of what has happened to the place Bonnie drives through in the film.

The archival footage of actual boat crashes introduces the casual observer to the real perils of hydroplane racing and lifts this film above the water line of mediocrity. Although totally predictable with respect to the outcome, it was enjoyable to have a happy ending, which was reinforced with documentary footage of a real sporting event (as in "Fever Pitch"). "Madison" is an excellent family film. This come-from- behind true story is a great inspiration for any town or city that has to find a new way to survive.