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Back Shelf Beauties
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Glory Road Last year at this time, we were talking about the great, inspirational basketball movie Coach Carter. Since that one was a success, Disney (never one to shy away from copying what worked for someone else) figured January was a good time to release its inspirational basketball movie, Glory Road. Lucky for us, it's just as good. Set in 1965 and 1966, and based on a true story, Josh Lucas stars as basketball coach Don Haskins - a ladies high school basketball coach given the opportunity of a lifetime when he's asked to coach the Texas Western men's college basketball team. Little does he know, Haskins main job is to instill some discipline in the men's athletic dorm, but he takes this opportunity to build an unbeatable basketball team, and starts rubbing athletic boosters and college officials the wrong way (or maybe the right way in this case) by recruiting many talented African American players no other college wants. Will the team be able to unite in the face of racism and adversity? Can they win? Glory Road is a classic crowd pleasing movie full of predictability, but it comes with some good acting, a little humor and a touching story as well. At times, the movie feels like an after-school special preaching diversity and understanding with the subtlety of a jackhammer, including all of the requisite, sometimes clunky, speeches about how racism is bad and we all need to get along, but director James Gartner and writer Chris Cleveland have their hearts in the right place. The audience is treated to the expected scenes of the team dropping the walls and letting each other in, practices that drive players to the brink of exhaustion, people of different backgrounds learning about each other (and chitlins), the big moment when the coaching starts to make sense, and some personal struggles each individual has to face. Early on, the movie feels a little silly, bordering on cartoonish and obvious, but I got the feeling Gartner was simply luring us in, so he could deliver the big, more emotional and higher quality blows later in the film. Gartner nicely keeps the drama going as we see the team start to take off and possibly go down the (glory) road to an unprecedented national championship, while Cleveland picks his moments to let the script take a hasher turn that makes the movie more real as some characters drop the niceties and use the stark language one, unfortunately, would expect in 1965. The incidents are frightening, and the reaction each character has is very real for the time, which gives Gartner a chance to make Glory Road more than a Disney feel-good movie. Those familiar with college basketball history know how it ends, but, even if you know the history like I do, Gartner does a wonderful job wrapping us up in the emotion of each crucial game and the events behind the scenes. The cast helps as well. Lucas is wonderful as the intense, fire breathing coach with a heart of gold. Anyone familiar with college coaches will testify to his authenticity whether chewing out a player who needs the motivation, or lovingly speaking with a player when bad news needs to be broken to him. Lucas has great screen presence, and this movie more than makes up for his unfortunate and likely regretted appearance in last summer's most horrendous dud, Stealth. Derek Luke, who is becoming the go to guy to play young athletes who have a little attitude, is wonderful as the team's leader, Bobby Joe Hill - a tough kid who wants to bring a little more flash and street style to the team. He has intensity equal to Lucas, and creates a character who is the most dynamic in the movie as he tries to overcome a history of lies and a suspicion of authority. The supporting cast all get to play familiar roles like the guy who needs extra motivation to make the team (Al Shearer as Nevil Shed), the short guy who doesn't back down from any fight (Sam Jones III as Willie Worsley) and the old trainer with wisdom dripping out of every sentence (Red West as Ross Moore). In the movie's best casting, look for the always fantastic Jon Voight playing the legendary college basketball coach Adolph Rupp. Voight gives him the correct amount of arrogance, with some hate thrown in. Also, for those listening to the movie closely, the young Kentucky All-American player Pat Riley is indeed THE Pat Riley. Glory Road will make you laugh, cry and cheer, which is a good movie if you ask me. 3 ½ Waffles (Out Of 4) Copyright 2006 - WaffleMovies.com
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