Review of Hoop Dreams (1994) by I Don't Know W — 22 Aug 2011

Hoop Dreams, Great Movies.

"Hoop Dreams" is simply a film about real life, because that is what it's exactly about, real life. I felt that I must put a stronger meaning on the term "real" to get my point across. This isn't some dopey and corny Hollywood drama about living out a dream, but is about 2 aspiring young athletes rising out of the dredges of the Chicago ghetto life and into the flash and glitter of the NBA.

Though I'm not much of a sports fan, but I really like basketball, as I feel it has a kind of grace and natural balance that's lacking in most other sports. That's what I love some of the film's exhilarating on-court action that is diversified evenly with the human drama.

"Hoop Dreams" originally began as a 30-minute documentary about rising ballplayers, but the filmmakers quickly saw that 30 minutes was just too narrow a scope for their story. This realization came when they witnessed two teens, William Gates and Arthur Agee, as they both try to join the NBA, much like their idol Isiah Thomas.

In total, 250+ hours of footage was gathered over the course of a five-year period and then edited into an engaging 171-minute documentary, following the two teens (from ages 14-18), as they attend expensive Catholic schools, go through the rigorous on-court training, meet the demands of their coaches, and live out their dreams.

We watch as their affecting, real-life struggles unfold on the screen, and watch as time after time they get stonewalled by the system of bureaucracy and racism that's meant to be especially hard on two young black boys from the ghetto. They have difficulty with making decent grades, financial issues, preparing for the ACT, sports-related injuries, and must contend with problems at home as well, including trouble with family matters.

For years, success stories, such as "Hoop Dreams", have dominated Hollywood cinema and have won over legions of audiences, but we've never seen anything like this. Gates and Agee are both bright-eyed and ambitious that they're embarking on something that's historically significant to their lives and community.

This is the best movie about basketball and reality I've seen yet because of the simple fact that it's real; no scripts, no phony Hollywood theatrics, just "real" action, drama, and emotions.