Review of Coach Carter (2005) by William T — 29 Jul 2013

MTV Films presents Coach Carter. That scared the hell out of me because the TV network MTV is a joke and everything that gets made from it is crap. Needless to say that one of my favorite movies, Freedom Writers, is a MTV movie and it was fantastic, plus Samuel L. Jackson is in this movie so there is hope. Fortunately, Coach Carter is a good movie with great characters led by Samuel L. Jackson and the supporting cast. The story itself is straight forward enough with Coach Ken Carter moving into his old town and coaching his old team. I think this is also based on a true story so that always helps.

MTV films have a very similar pattern, thug life, triumph, and unity. Naturally, the Richmond Oilers are a terrible basketball team where the members are mostly black, decent players, no discipline, have a tough life, bad grades, and basketball is their only hope of success. A movie like this has been done time and time again but there is more here than a terrible team becoming champions. Coach Carter comes in and teaches the boys how to be men. They story and development behind the story is amazing. Carter tries to teach the boys discipline, respect, and how to better themselves with an education.

Samuel L. Jackson is an incredible actor and he brings his A-game as the role of Coach Carter. A few scenes are cliché with him being the only voice of reason in the mess of a situation. There are a few scenes where the principal talks with Carter about his methods and in my mind I can't see a real principal saying things like that. Parents say that basketball is all they have and Carters methods with grades and commitment are crazy and that is completely believable because parents are really like that, but the principal I don't really see possible.

Carter's first scene with the team is one of my favorites. The team gives him little respect and he quickly whips them into shape. Throughout the movie he has moments he shines with the players. Jackson really was the beacon in this movie and how he treats his son, Cruz, and Junior are highlights which make this movie great. Cruz quits the team early and when he wants to come back Carter makes him do 2500 pushups and 1000 suicides. As somebody who used to play basketball suicides are the worst and he does it. His dedication and development was a sweet surprise as I expected his storyline to be stupid and predictable. I'm glad it turned out the way it did and Cruz is one of my favorite characters.

The main story is Carter molding a successful team while giving them hope for a future, but there were side stories that were just as good at making the audience fall in love with the characters. Kenyan has a girlfriend and she gets pregnant unintentionally. This is a classic story of teens as parents and the complications of responsibility. The other story is with Cruz and his ties into the hood life with his cousin. I wanted a little more out of that story but towards the end it plays itself out. It was strong in the beginning, strong at the end, but weak in the middle. It was good enough. Another story was with Junior and his chance at college. He struggled possibly the most at school and was the best on the team. The scene with his mother and Carter was emotional and real.

The story kept going in different directions with the main focus. It goes from unity as a team to success of the team to academic achievement and finally back to basketball. After the 16-0 start Carter gets wind of the poor academic marks he puts the gym on lockdown. I did not expect that on such a severe degree. I expected the grades to be kept up and the season to carry on with a few bumps on the way. Nope, the season comes to a standstill and a bunch of new problems arise. Touché to the movie and Carter for going this route as it was the most touching and best chunk of the movie.

Overall, as similar as MTV movies are they aren't that bad at all. Coach Carter was a movie that has been made time and time again but never gets old. Characters are very relatable and lovable while the story is strong and exciting. During the games they were close and I got into it. It felt like I was a part of the crowd and that is what the movie was going for. I had fun with this movie and it was impressive so it gets a high WillyT Honorable Mention. I wanted to give this the seal of approval but I couldn't quite push it there all the way. It is a good movie, hell, a great movie, but it isn't quite the best movie of its kind I have seen. It reminds me of Remember the Titians but with basketball players. I suggest you see this movie if you haven't before and dive deep into the cinematic experience.