|
Review:
 As
someone famously said, “There are only seven stories out there.”
This is one of them, and it's been done to death. The fact that
it's loosely based on a historical event doesn't change anything.
Formula is formula. This is formula, pure and simple.
Yes, a real person named Don Haskins coached an all-black team
representing Texas Western University against an all-white one
representing the University of Kentucky coached by Adolph Rupp at
the 1966 NCAA Basketball championship and yes, Texas won.
It was a historic game and everyone is glad that it turned out the
way it did. Fine. But even though some of the players on the Texas
team were real people, the whole thing is shoehorned into the
official Disney sports movie FORMULA.
So instead of having Haskins(Josh Lucas) taking over an already
integrated team five years before winning the NCAA championship,
he and assistant Moe Iba(Evan Jones) integrate a losing team and
go all the way in a single year. How many times have we seen this?
The black players(Derek Luke, Sam Jones III, Mehcad Brooks, Schin
A.S. Kerr, Alphonso McAuley and Al Sherer) are all good, and so
are the white ones(James Olivard, Mitch Eakins, Alejandro
Hernandez and Kip Weeks). It's the usual bonding stuff, and while
they don't hold back on the racism infecting the South at the
time, the rest of the film is the usual Disney cutesiness.
The most amazing thing about the film is Jon Voight as Kentucky
Coach Adolph Rupp, with a little nose putty, he is completely
unrecognizable! The acting is fine, this is a professional job and
nobody embarrasses themselves. If you like uplifting sports
movies, give this one a look.
Eric Lurio
|
