What happens when you give up your life to chase your dreams and they don't come true? That's exactly the premise of the movie Brampton's Own. Brampton is a small town and it's big claim to fame is that one of its own – Dustin (Alex Russell from Jungle), has become a big-time baseball player. Well, sort of. He was recruited but hasn't quite hit the big time. And that's despite trying out for the MLB for 12 years.
So, on the verge of turning 30 and with his career going nowhere he decides to return home. Sadly there isn't much there for him. His friends have all grown up and moved on with their lives, as has his ex-girlfriend Rachel (Rose McIvor from A Christmas Prince). She is now engaged to the local dentist Eddie. His mother is dating somebody new and soon Dustin finds himself with no direction in life.
But eventually Dustin and Rachel re-connect and all seems like it's going well. That is, until Dustin, played by Alex Russell, gets one more call up. Unable to resist he packs his bags for what looks like his big break, once again leaving Rachel behind.
And that my friends, is almost the entire movie! There are no spoiler alerts because frankly there is nothing to spoil in Brampton's Own. Nothing happens. He plays baseball, he fails, he comes home, gets back with the ex and ditches her at the first sign of a good opportunity. I genuinely couldn't see the point of the film at all.
There's one bit at the very, very end that might be a twist but it's so confusing I honestly have no idea what it means! I even did the post-movie Google search and nada. So then it became sort of pointless and confusing which isn't great.
The only upside is that it did highlight just how difficult it can be to make serious decisions in life. And, more importantly, how you must live with the consequences of them. A similar themed but much better film to check out is Forever My Girl!
