**Warner Bros. Home Entertainment provided me with a free copy of the Blu-ray I reviewed in this Blog Post. The opinions I share are my own.**

The Lowdown: It’s nothing older viewers won’t have seen before, but a good formula always works—this soccer comedy will score with young viewers.

I’d never personally heard of Alex Morgan before checking out the new kid-oriented Alex & Me, now available on Blu-ray (also DVD and Digital HD) via Warner Bros. Home Entertainment. Shows how much I’ve followed women’s soccer. Morgan happens to be the highest-earning woman in the sport, a true soccer superstar. She’s moved beyond soccer as well, into books and TV—her best-selling YA novel series The Kicks was adapted as a live-action series on Amazon Prime.

Alex & Me is her feature-film acting debut. Morgan stars in what is something of a dual role. For most of the movie, she plays a fictitious version of herself who exists solely inside the head of her biggest fan, young soccer hopeful Reagan (Siena Agudong). Reagan has been learning the hard way that dreams require extremely hard work and intense dedication in order to fulfill. While her big brother Logan (Matt Cornett) enjoys all the benefits of being a highly sought-after high school football star, Reagan wants to be just like her hero Alex Morgan. Trouble is, at the ripe age of 13, Reagan has been told “that ship has sailed.” After failing to impress local hotshot girls’ soccer club the Crush, a discouraging coach informs her that “sometimes dreams die.”

As we’ve seen many a time in this sort of comedic fantasy, Reagan takes a nasty fall and clunks her head in the midst of a one-way conversation with a life-sized Alex Morgan poster on her wall. When she comes to, the poster is blank and the “real” Alex is right there in her bedroom. Although a figment of her mildly concussed imagination, this version of Alex mentors Reagan and helps to develop her skills. Reagan makes the roster of a team of misfits called the Breakaways and, also like many a kids’ sports comedy, the team eventually becomes contenders.

No points if you can guess what happens when Reagan manages to hit her head again late in the film. Suffice it to say, eventually the actual Alex Morgan shows up at a Breakaways game, but by then Reagan is exhibiting real promise. This is all formula with a capital F, but Alex & Me is a charming little flick. The target demo—tween girls—will certainly connect with Reagan. And while her performance might not jump-start an on-going career in movies, Morgan carries herself with poise even though she’s not exactly the most charismatic screen presence.

Warner Bros. Alex & Me Blu-ray Combo Pack includes a standard DVD and Digital HD copy. For bonus features, there are three short featurettes—”Aspire to Inspire,” “Getting to Know Alex Morgan,” and “Soccer – Script to Set: A Playbook on Alex Morgan”—plus an outtake.

Cinema Lowdown

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