Coach Carter Review
by Michael Dequina (mrbrown AT iname DOT com)February 1st, 2005
_Coach_Carter_ (PG-13) *** (out of ****)
As they always say in sports--particularly on the grade school level--whether win or lose, it's how you play the game. The same can be applied to the formula-ridden genre of the sports movie, as Thomas Carter's high school basketball drama _Coach_Carter_ goes through familiar motions yet does so with conviction.
But then it could be argued that the hoops action is almost incidental in this fact-based story, for the title character, Richmond High School (though actually filmed at my alma mater, Long Beach Polytechnic High School, which somehow became the go-to ghetto high school filming location *after* I graduated) basketball coach Ken Carter (Samuel L. Jackson), is less concerned with how his young charges fare on the court than they do in the classroom and, ultimately, in the game of adult life. If that sounds a bit corny, you wouldn't be mistaken, as Carter and writers Mark Schwahn and John Gatins aren't immune to wallowing in sappy contrivance; for instance, one player's incredibly saccharine climactic monologue is enough to send non-diabetics into insulin shock. However, this is a refreshing angle for any sports film, particularly one set at the school level; not only is winning not everything to the coach, neither, really, is the game itself.
And so the film takes time to illuminate the off-court and off-campus lives of the Richmond squad, or at least a few of its members. As is the nature of this particular genre, there are a few team members who are no more than glorified extras, which is especially jarring when those particular placeholders suddenly appear in the middle of a scene and never make a sound, let alone utter a single word, let alone line. Those who do command Carter and the writers' focus, however, have the attention justified by performances that go beyond schematically-written types. Most notable are Rob Brown, making a most welcome return to the screen after a long post-_Finding_Forrester_ hiatus as the hard-working, well-meaning, reluctant father-to-be (with girlfriend Ashanti, doing just fine in her big-screen acting debut); Antwon Tanner as the cocky kid better known by his nickname (Worm); real-life college hoopster-turned-thesp Nana Gbewonyo as the athletically gifted but academically troubled big man; and Rick Gonzalez as the star player caught up in a wrong crowd (even if he's saddled with that thankless monologue). The writers do deserve some credit for not using the presence of Carter's son (Robert Ri'chard) on the team as an all-too-obvious source of conflict.
The performance that makes the strongest impression, of course, is that of Jackson. While Carter does a good job with the players' side stories and the numerous basketball sequences, Jackson's effortless authority and shaded portrayal of Coach Carter holds the film together. While there's no doubting the nobility of his intentions and actions, Jackson doesn't soften his stubborn, self-righteous qualities, which adds further flavor to the formula. Indeed, _Coach_Carter_ offers little, if anything, that is new, but there's no small pleasure in seeing a well-worn tale told with class and style.
©2005 Michael Dequina
Michael Dequina
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