The surprise success of a non-blockbuster is well deserved..

Rating: 10/10 (21 April 2013)

"42" is more than this year's "The Help." It deftly combines the biopic and baseball film with feel-good/manipulative and "message" movie genres into a beautifully acted and directed crowd-pleaser on its own terms. The cast is replete with familiar TV faces in supporting roles, whose names may not click with you until the end credits: yet each performance is as indelible as those of its 3 leads. You don't have to be a fan of baseball, Brooklyn or "based on a true story" films to find yourself in its cheering section. Must viewing whether you lived through the civil rights movement or are too young to remember it. As for the critics who didn't get behind this one, I think they owe "42" a second viewing -- this time in a real theater with the rest of us, rather than in a plush screening room whose seat-mates' reactions rarely reflect the emotional impact of the ticket-buying public.