The movie is based
on the incredible true story of Coach Ken Carter and his team of
misfits turned basketball stars. We are introduced to the poverty
stricken Richmond high school in Richmond, California. Right away it
is obvious that this is a place ruled by gangs and street life. The
Richmond basketball team is horrible and their current coach is at his
wits end. In comes Coach Carter, played by the always fantastic Samuel
L. Jackson, to save the day and make this team of complete losers into
a team of winners. He pushes for academic performance as well as
athletic performance and his methods get national attention.
The film follows
the typical Hollywood formula for a Cinderella story. On a positive note the film moves
quickly and is fairly entertaining. The basketball scenes are quick
cutting and keep your attention. MTV knows how to make their audience
happy by placing current music stars in their films. The acting is
abysmal which could be why this film is so mediocre. The characters
seemed lifeless and the acting was that of a Lifetime movie at best. I
have a message for Ashanti - keep your
day job. I personally do not think she can sing, but compare her music
to her acting and she is almost Whitney Houston. The pinnacle of bad
acting is a scene involving Ashanti’s character and her boyfriend at
the end of the movie.
I will not ruin it
for those of you who may want to see the film, but it is kind of
awful. Is this film interesting to watch? Sometimes. Is it
inspirational? Never. The real Coach Carter is a great man but the
movie about his greatest triumph is not great at all.
THE VIDEO
Coach Carter
is presented in a very nice anamorphic widescreen transfer. Picture
quality looks great.
THE AUDIO
Coach Carter
is presented in English 5.1 Surround Dolby Digital.
THE EXTRAS
Coach Carter: The
Man Behind the Movie:
This is probably the best part of the DVD. Here you learn about the
real Coach Carter and meet some of his players from the 1999 team.
Samuel definitely hit the nail on the head with this man.
Fast Break at
Richmond
High:
This featurette shows how the filmmakers got all of the “high
intensity” basketball action shots.
Six Deleted Scenes:
Nothing groundbreaking or exciting. As with most deleted scenes these
got left on the cutting room floor for good reason.
Music Video:
Twista and Faith Evans perform the theme song “Hope.”
FINAL THOUGHTS
Without Samuel L.
Jackson this film would be nothing. Decent sports action and weak
acting made what could have been a fantastic film into something very
mediocre. Catch Coach Carter when it hits your local cable box
because it will probably be on MTV sometime next year.
