Coach Carter
Review by Clint Morris
Much like home-brand ice cream, there's something so unstaggeringly
original about Sam Jackson's new sports film.
Maybe it's his craggy-but-unwavering coach character? Maybe
it's those misfit kids devoid of a chance in hell of winning?
Or maybe it's that banal last arc that sees, well…you
know. In short, Samuel L.Jackson has picked the cinematic
equivalent of a vacation for his latest movie.
This one would've been a walk in the park for him - after
all, ESPN repeats the same template night after night, and
both dialogue and scenes may have well been Xeroxed straight
from the Dangerous Minds, Varsity Blues or Hoosiers
scripts. Everyone's entitled to a break from the real challenges
though, right?
Based on a true story, Coach Carter tells the story
of Kent Carter, a real-life basketball coach who took on an
unpaid coaching gig at a lowly school - only to take more
of an interest in his students fledging grades than anything
else. Can you say uproar?
Without Jackson, Coach Carter would be best suited
to the Disney channel possibly as an after-school special
- after all, it's full of wisdom, good messages and parent-nodding
statements about education being the be-all and end-all.
With Jackson though, it's something a tad better - his long-winded
but effective speeches, imposing nature and prevailing screaming
matches do wonders for the reasonably weak template.
Coach Carter is the type of film you got Pay-TV connected
for.
3 out of 5
Coach Carter
Australian release: Thursday 26th of May, 2005
Cast: Samuel L.Jackson, Ashanti, Rob Brown, Antwoin Tanner,
Debbi Morgan.
Director: Thomas Carter.
Website: Click
here.
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