Review of The Heart of the Game (2005) by Peter H — 26 Feb 2007

IRS Agents, Writers, Saints, Thugs and Girls Basketball. Reviews of [i]Stranger Than Fiction[/i], [i]A Guide To Recognizing Your Saints[/i] and [i]Heart of the Game[/i] below.

[b]Stranger Than Fiction - 7.4/10[/b].

Director - Marc Forster.

Starring - Will Ferrell, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Emma Thompson, Dustin Hoffman, Queen Latifah, Tony Hale, Tom Hulce.

Will Ferrell stars as Harold Crick, an IRS agent whose life is so structured he even counts the brush strokes while brushing his teeth. Unassuming and socially isolated, Crick is an office drone who does everything by the book only to return home alone. One morning his routine is shattered when he hears a female voice. The voice he hears is Kay Eiffel (Emma Thompson) an eccentric author working on her latest book. Crick eventually discovers he is the subject of the book. Disturbed by this revelation, he seeks counsel from literary professor Jules Hilbert (Dustin Hoffman) hoping to locate Eiffel. Maggie Gyllenhaal also stars as a baker Crick audits, then falls in love with.

Stranger Than Fiction treads on familar territory. The script owes a lot to Charlie Kaufman's [i]Adaptation[/i], with a bit of the [i]Truman Show[/i] thrown in for good measure, although it isn't as good as those two films. It's not as clever or challenging as the superior [i]Adaptation[/i], although it will be easier to swallow for mainstream audiences. Not being a fan of Will Ferrell, I was pleasantly surprised by his performance. He displays more range, charm and vulnerability than ever before. It's nice to see him escape his SNL persona, showing he has the talent to broaden his horizons much like Bill Murray did. Maggie Gylllenhaal once again shows she's a talent to be reckoned with. And it was especially nice to see the underused Emma Thomspon who was perfect as the eccentric writer. Although I think the ending could have been better, the generally strong script and excellent cast make this a better than average Hollywood movie.

[b]A Guide To Recognizing Your Saints - 7.3/10[/b].

Director - Dito Montiel.

Starring - Robert Downey Jr., Shia LaBeouf, Chazz Palminteri, Channing Tatum, Dianne Wiest, Rosario Dawson, Melonie Diaz, Martin Compston, Eric Roberts.

Writer/Director Dino Moniel's autobiographical debut explores life growing up in Queens during the mid 1980's. Shia LaBeouf stars as young Dito, a teen.

An obvious inspiration to [i]A Guide To Recognizing Your Saints [/i]is Martin Scorsese's [i]Mean Streets[/i] although it may be more similar[i] to A Bronx Tale. [/i]The film weaves past and present, and the past is definitely the most powerful part of the film. The part set in the mid 80's is gritty and raw. The young actors (plus Palminteri and Wiest) are intensely emotional and authentic, giving that perfect New Yorker vibe. The present, specifically Robert Downey Jr. is less effective. Downey, an actor I generally admire, feels strangely out of place in the picture he co-produced. Where young Dito was the essence of New York, grown Dito (Downey) feels like California. Perhaps time away did this to the real Dito, but I kept wishing someone else was playing adult Dito. However the "past" was so engaging that it didn't totally detract from the film. However the casting of Melonie Diaz as young Laurie and Rosario Dawson as the adult Laurie was spot on. Terrific performances from both and an uncanny resemblance. It may not be [i]Mean Streets [/i]but it's a pretty good independent film.

[b]Heart of the Game - 6.5/10[/b].

Director - Ward Serrill.

About ten years ago one of the finest documentaries ever made, [i]Hoop Dreams[/i], chronicled the lives and aspirations of two young men from inner city Chicago. Now it's the ladies turn. [i]Heart of the Game [/i]examines six years of basketball at Seattle's Roosevelt High School. The story begins with rookie coach Bill Ressler, a former professor athe the University of Washington with a passion for basketball. He assumes coaching duties at Roosevelt where the program hasn't had much success. His unorthodox style of coaching, especially his way of motivating the young women, quickly turns the program around. They make the playoffs his first year, and expectations soon grow when freshman Darnella Russell arrives. Russell, an African American girl from the poor side of Seattle, is a gifted athlete but has discipline problems and has difficulty fitting in at the privileged, mostly white Roosevelt high school. The film basically follows her time at Roosevelt, which include many highs and lows including a pregnancy and eligibility issues.

[i]Heart of the Game [/i]is an interesting documentary although nowhere near as good as [i]Hoop Dreams[/i]. My main issue with this film is that director Serrill spent far too much time with Coach Ressler. Other than Darnella Russell, not enough time is spent with the players, a few of whom had very interesting stories to tell, Devon in particular. Still it's engaging enough to watch, especially for any female athlete, past or present.