''Going to the Mat'' is a 2004

Disney Channel Original Movie Many television films have been produced for Disney Channel, an American family-oriented basic cable channel and former premium television channel since its launch on April 18, 1983. Until October 1997, films were released under the banner nam ...

. It debuted on

Disney Channel Disney Channel, sometimes known as simply Disney, is an American pay television channel that serves as the flagship property of Disney Branded Television, a unit of the Disney General Entertainment Content division of The Walt Disney Compan ...

on March 19, 2004.

Plot

Jason "Jace" Newfield ( Andrew Lawrence) is the new blind student at his school, whose family recently moved from New York City to Salt Lake City, Utah. Thinking that his way to fit in is through playing the drums, he shows off in class only to find out that his band teacher, Mr. Wyatt, is also blind. He later finds out from one of his friends, Vincent "Fly" Shu, that the only way to fit in is to be a jock. However, his other friend, Mary Beth Rice, is becoming increasingly irritated by his "New Yorkers rule" jokes and tells him that the reason no one is willing to be his friend is not because he is blind but because he is acting like a jerk. So in an effort to help Jace fit in, she asks him to try out for the wrestling team. "Fly" unwillingly tries out for the team with Jace, and they both make it. Jace has trouble winning matches at first, but slowly starts improving after receiving lessons from Mary Beth, whose father is the coach of the wrestling team. Throughout the course of the season he slowly starts to fit in with some of the students that gave him a hard time at the beginning of his year at the school. At the end of the season, they go on to the state championship. It ends with a reporter interviewing Jace's teammates about his wrestling; they deny that he is even blind, because they realize that he is a significant person, and they accept him for who he is and not just a blind person, which is what they saw at first.

Cast

* Andrew Lawrence as Jason "Jace" Newfield *

Alessandra Torresani Alessandra Olivia Toreson (born May 29, 1987), known professionally as Alessandra Torresani and prior to 2007, Alessandra Toreson, is an American actress. She is best known for playing Zoe Graystone in the science fiction television series ''Capr ...

as Mary Beth Rice *

Khleo Thomas Khaleed "Khleo" Leon Thomas (born January 30, 1989) is an American actor, influencer, gamer, host and entrepreneur. Khleo first garnered recognition as Hector "Zero" Zeroni in Holes, for which he was also nominated for a best supporting actor ...

as Vincent "Fly" Shu *

Wayne Brady Wayne Alphonso Brady (born June 2, 1972) is an American television personality, comedian, actor, and singer. He is a regular on the American version of the improvisational comedy television series ''Whose Line Is It Anyway?'' He was the host of ...

as Mason Wyatt *

D. B. Sweeney Daniel Bernard Sweeney (born November 14, 1961) is an American actor. Early life Sweeney was born in Shoreham, New York, on November 14, 1961. He attended both Tulane and New York University. Career In 1990, Sweeney starred as Treplev in Jeff Co ...

as Coach Rice * Billy Aaron Brown as John Lambrix *

Brenda Strong Brenda Lee Strong (born March 25, 1960) is an American actress. She began her career in television, including guest starring appearances in ''Twin Peaks'', '' Party of Five'', ''Seinfeld'', '' Scandal'', '' Star Trek: The Next Generation'', '' ...

as Patty Newfield *

Brian Wimmer Brian Wimmer (born October 1, 1959) is an American actor. He is probably best known for his role as Cpl. Boonie Lanier in the TV series ''China Beach'', which ran from 1988 until 1991. He also regularly appeared on ''Flipper'' (1995-1996) and ha ...

as Tom Newfield * T.J. Lowther as Luke Nolan *

Marcus T. Paulk Marcus Terrell Paulk (born October 12, 1986) is an American actor, singer, rapper and dancer best known for his role as Myles Mitchell in the UPN sitcom ''Moesha'', which aired from 1996 through 2001. Being a proponent of good causes and a f ...

as Peter

Response

''Going to the Mat'' is one of the most critically acclaimed Disney Channel original movies, garnering a Directors Guild Award for Stuart Gillard and a Humanitas Award Writing nomination for Chris and Laurie Nolan. It was also one of the highest rated Disney Channel movies on IMDb, and also holds a 73% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes.

References

External links

* * {{Stuart Gillard 2004 television films 2004 films 2004 drama films 2000s English-language films Disney Channel Original Movie films Sport wrestling films Films directed by Stuart Gillard Films about blind people Films set in Utah American drama television films 2000s American films