Review
Rohith Nandagiri
Staff Writer
In most sports-related dramas, the hero always makes the last-second buzzer to win the game. In Above the Rim, Blue Chips and Hoosiers, it was the quintessential ending, the ever-so-popular outcome.
In Spike Lee's latest film, He Got Game, the issues portrayed are far different than previous shallow sports-related productions.
There is no rah-rah coach telling his players to "Win one for the gipper" or miraculous recoveries from a death in the family to score 34 points to win a game. It is simply a movie tackling many issues, such as love and hate, forgiveness and the current trend in sports - money.
The film, which stars Denzel Washington and National Basketball Association star Ray Allen, shows the other side of amateur athletics. The side where money is changing hands, major decisions about life have to be made and lives are turned upside down.
Jake Shuttlesworth (Washington), father of Jesus Shuttlesworth (Allen), is in prison for the death of his wife. Jesus is in his senior year of high school and has to decide between many alternatives for his career plans. Colleges from all over the country are trying to recruit him while he is actively considering turning professional for the big money.
This is where his father comes in, as Jesus still resents his father for the death of his mother. When Jake is let out of prison in a plea-bargain arrangement that has him push his son to enroll in a certain school, the drama unfolds.
This is the conflict which Lee, a staunch New York Knicks fan, tries to develop. The movie does have its flaws, especially in the acting department.
Filmmakers are still enamored with putting real sports players in acting rolls, a trend which needs to be stopped immediately. Allen's work here as the son is not Oscar nomination material by any stretch. In fact, one could argue that the best acting job done by an actual player was done by Rick Fox of the Los Angeles Lakers, who only gets a cameo appearance.
The ending also leaves a lot to be desired. It seems to drag and leaves a sense of agitation with no closure. It's almost screaming for a sequel.
Even with all the flaws in acting and the limp ending, the plot is similar to Lee's other films in which he examines and analyzes young, black, urban men who want to make it to the big time.
Rating MPAA
R
Running Time
131 min
Playing
Local Theaters