Review of Glory Road (2006) by Mike B — 27 Aug 2009

I was surprised this didn't make a bigger splash. I think the biggest problem it had was that most people will mistake it for a reboot of Remember the Titans - I guess I ask, what's so bad about that? Remember the Titans was an excellent movie that, like this one - made us aware of a true story that many of us probably didn't know. It is similar in a couple of big ways: Its about a sport and its about a team that became integrated and won a championship. The similarities end there. In researching this movie I discovered that it was way more accurate to the actual events than 'Titans' of which the real coach Herman Boone said "Well, its just a movie." What's interesting is to hear the writers talk about how they spent months developing a relationship with the real Don Haskins, talking about fishing just to get to know him. Apparently he demanded that if they were going to make a movie about him that it be accurate and after his first screening he said "Good job - you got it 95% on the money." Down to funny details like one of the player's mothers coming all the way from Indiana to El Paso and spending a week with him to make sure that he was keeping to his studies.

I listened to the commentary on the Blu-ray disc and I was very impressed in what the director had to say about this film. Some directors take them selves too seriously, others obviously had no clue what they were doing so they spend the whole commentary thanking other people for saving them from having to do any real film making. This man talked about planning and executing scenes - making it clear that he knew what he was doing, but at the same time he gave credit where it was due - often to the writers, the composer and the actors. It was clear to me that much thought was put into this movie - much more than many popular movies these days.

Folks who say that its unoriginal, mediocre or predictable then I'd encourage you to take your film snob hats off for a second and think about the cultural impact this event had on the African American community. Realize that to some, Don Haskins is on the same level with Dr. King and Rosa Parks. That's what this story is about: actual events that, however predictable or unoriginal, changed the game of college basketball forever - and at the time no one was predicting that. If you can have enough imagination to put yourself there you'll realize that this story is worth telling and that it is well told here.