Coach Carter (Widescreen Edition)
by Thomas Carter
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DVD Cover Information
Actor: Nana Gbewonyo, Rick Gonzalez, Rob Brown, Robert Ri'chard, Samuel L. JacksonDirector: Thomas Carter
Brand: Coach
Producer: Brian Robbins
Producer: Caitlin Scanlon
Producer: David Gale
Producer: Michael Tollin
Producer: Nan Morales
Writer: John Gatins
Writer: Mark Schwahn
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Subtitled); Spanish (Subtitled); English (Original Language), Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround
Format: Color, Dolby, DVD, NTSC, Widescreen
Picture Format: 2.35:1
Running Time: 136 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2005-06-21
Audience Rating: PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested)
Studio: Paramount
Movie Reviews of Coach Carter (Widescreen Edition)
Movie Review: The best, most inspirational sports film in years
Summary: 5 Stars
They seem to come out with a couple of these "coach transforms team" movies every year, and I'll be doggoned if they don't keep getting better and better. It's not hard to make a sports movie; throw some B-ball and cheerleaders in there somewhere, and we guys will watch it. It is hard, however, to make a good sports film. Coach Carter is the best kind of sports film because, when it comes down to it, the heart of the story really isn't about sports at all. It's about changing kids' lives and inspiring/threatening them to go out there and make a better life for themselves. Coach Carter succeeds where Friday Night Lights fails - yes, Friday Night Lights is a terrific film, but the message it conveys in the end is that sports, especially winning, is more important than anything else. Coach Carter cares about his kids a whole lot more than he cares about winning.
The basic story is pretty simple. Coach Carter takes over a team of undisciplined players who are used to losing games and underachieving in the classroom. Things are going to change. He tells the kids that they will win if they do as he says, but they will have to earn it, and they will have to hit the books as well as the courts if they are going to play for him. He makes them sign a contract: they have to agree to maintain a 2.3 GPA, attend all their classes (and sit on the front row), and dress up on game days. These requirements go beyond state guidelines for academic eligibility. Initially, many of the players balk, and one even walks. Coach has his guys ready to play, however, and they start out on a tremendous run. The kids get big heads and so some stupid things - and they pay for it. Things hit rock bottom, though, when Coach Carter finds out that many of his kids have not lived up to their agreements: several are skipping class and failing. That's when Coach Carter locks up the gym and cancels practice as well as key games until such time as his team has lived up to their agreement.
The tragic part of this story is not the kids, it's the school administration and the parents. Some of the parents have fits over the stipulations of the coach-player contracts, but the whole community goes apoplectic when Carter actually starts forfeiting games. Let the kids play, they yell, because basketball is all these kids have in life. Boy, that's a great message to give your kids, isn't it? Then you have the school principal who is seemingly satisfied with mediocrity; only half of her students actually graduate, and she seems to think that's just the ways things have to be. She doesn't approve of the academic requirements Coach Carter institutes with his team, and she doesn't like the lockout one bit. Worst of all, she completely stymies Carter's request for academic progress reports from his players' teachers - that's why he doesn't find out half of them are flunking until well into the season. The school board is no better, clearly putting sports before academics. Coach Carter has to fight an uphill battle not only with his kids, but with the very people charged with educating them. That is a disheartening reality in two many school districts today - and few schools will be lucky enough to have a Coach Carter to stir things up.
Naturally, the movie takes us to a number of basketball games, but they don't dominate the story, not by a long shot. The only quibble I have about the games concerns the big game at the end. During the obligatory win-or-lose shot hanging in the air for an eternity, some of the fans in the crowd seem to be smiling. I've lived through a number of these eternity-stretching last shots, and never have I smiled - I've grimaced, certainly; I've gotten down on my hands and knees on many an occasion; I've lifted my hands in earnest supplication to the Almighty; I've grabbed my hair and hung on for dear life - but never, ever have I smiled in such moments.
Based on a true story, Coach Carter is a wonderful, inspirational film, and Samuel L. Jackson is terrific in the role of Coach Carter. This movie sends all the right messages to youngsters, especially those whom society basically expects to fail, using various compelling subplots to validate the whole story in reality. It also serves as a clarion call to parents; you can't always depend on the school system to educate your children - and if you don't care about your child's education, he or she probably won't care either.
Summary of Coach Carter (Widescreen Edition)
INSPIRED BY A TRUE STORY, THIS IS AN INSPIRATIONAL ACCOUNT OF A HIGH SCHOOL BASKETBALL COACH WHO RECEIVED HIGH PRAISE - AND STAUNCH CRITICISM - FOR BENCHING HIS ENTIRE UNDEFEATED TEAM DUE TO THEIR POOR ACADEMIC PERFORMANCES.Based on a true story of the man who locked his boys out of the gym until they focused on their schoolwork, this by-the-numbers crowd-pleaser holds together because a steely Samuel L. Jackson refuses to notice the parade of clichés he's trumpeting (the dialogue sticks to platitudes like, "Success in here is the key to success out there"). Coach Ken Carter (Jackson) takes over an unruly team of Richmond, California basketball players and teaches them how to play--and behave--like champions. His plight, which pits him against an uncooperative school board and parents who've given up hope, holds some interest, but the film is too concerned with giving us a Big Game every twenty minutes or so. The teens all have the spark of life in them (including pop star Ashanti, who features in a surprisingly well-handled teen pregnancy subplot), though the film's plodding familiarity means it's never really rousing, adding up to simply a good-natured amalgam of Stand and Deliver, Hoosiers, Dangerous Minds, and even Dead Poet's Society (one of the tougher players actually recites some inspirational poetry).--Steve Wiecking
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