Coach Carter (2005, DVD)

Crack the whip. Kick butt. Ride herd. If you like it when a new sheriff rides into town with these kinds of sensibilities, you may enjoy watching Coach Carter. This film is largely based on the real-life circumstances of a 1990s high school basketball team in Richmond, CA. That team was coached by Ken Carter, who won accolades for turning around a losing basketball program in a struggling, gritty city using no-nonsense methods. Samuel L. Jackson portrays Coach Ken Carter, and he showcases Carter's efforts to breathe new life into the team, the high school, and the entire community.

In the film, Carter (Jackson) is a very successful businessman who accepts the role of high school basketball coach for the Richmond Oilers. He graduated from the school in the 1970s and wants contribute back to his Alma Matter in some way. He quickly implements a harsh, take-no-prisoners style of training and coaching on a basketball team that has played poorly in recent years. Carter promises to treat the players with respect and produce a winning team. In exchange, the players are asked for loyalty to the team, an agreement to earn decent grades, dress well on game days, and accept his strict methods for training. The team's two best players immediately quit, and the others waver in their commitment to the program.

As the film progresses, most of the team sticks around, and they start winning ball games. Their winning spirit catches fire; the school and residents rally to support them and they are heading for a statewide playoff berth. However, all is not going as well as it seems to be. The education establishment is lackadaisical about reporting on the academic progress of the students. And undesirable urban ills are still tugging at the players. Some fall into trouble with girlfriends, petty crime, or familial disputes.

Carter soon learns that most of the players are performing poorly in school and are up to other no-good activities. He makes the fateful decision to forfeit basketball games since the players have not held up their end of the agreement. He literally locks up the gymnasium with chains. The conflict boils over into a heated confrontation between the school administrators, the community at large, and Carter himself. The central premise of the film is whether athletic achievement is more important than educational achievement.

Overall I thought that Jackson's performance was very good in Coach Carter. His no-nonsense persona and lanky, athletic physical characteristics made him a believable central character in the film. He stands out as virtually the only memorable character in the entire film.

In a sub-plot, Carter's son, Damien Carter (portrayed by Robert Ri'chard) walks away from a private high school in order to attend and play basketball where his dad is coaching. However, Ri'chard's character adds little to the film. The other boys on the basketball team are played by an assortment of TV actors. While each one puts in a fine performance, no one character is especially memorable. Thomas Carter is the director of this film and he has also worked mostly in the TV film industry.

I have seen many other films with similar plots to Coach Carter. The basic theme is that a down and out team finds inspiration through a coach, another team member, or a philosophy. Then they exceed beyond everyone's wildest expectations. This familiar formula is employed in Coach Carter as well, except that the team's greatest impediment to success is not necessarily some other basketball team. The Oilers seem more imperiled by their own longing for debilitating behaviors and a questionable commitment to academic progress while living in a harsh urban environment.

In Coach Carter, Ken Carter is portrayed as all knowing and almost Messiah-like while coaching. His regimented style is implemented with little outside evaluation or critique. The film often focuses on the numerous practice drills that the team endures and harsh punishment that he dishes out for minor infractions (500 pushups seems over-the-top). His family members seemingly embrace everything he says and does with little or any give-and-take. Most of the film's characters are one-dimensional. The scenes portraying actual basketball games are fine, but it seemed obvious to me that most of the actors are several years older than a high school students.

This film is rated PG-13, mostly for language. There is a fair amount of swearing and some use of racially charged epithets. However, the language is probably a fair reflection of the urban environment that the film is portraying. Overall, I liked the film. It was not a groundbreaking effort, but I thought it told a good story about a community that is largely ignored. I recommend the film to movie- goers who like sports-themed films, those who unrelentingly cheer for the underdog, and for anyone who likes films based in a racially diverse urban setting.

Running Time: 136 minutes
Rating: PG 13

More about Coach Ken Carter
http://www.coachcarter.com/

trailhound. 2005