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**Shots of the Movie**

Glory Road (2006)

Director: James Gartner Cinematographers: Jeffrey L. Kimball and John Toon

Glory Road (2006)

From the first few minutes, you can tell where Glory Road is heading but if you don't mind the formula, it works. The film delivers what it promises and makes for a not entirely original, but nonetheless fun experience.

Based on a true story, Basketball coach Don Haskins (Josh Lucas) lives and bleeds basketball. When he gets the opportunity to coach at a tiny Texas Western University, he sees it as a first step towards his dream. He decides to do what no other high-school coach in 1966 would dare and recruits seven black players for his team. The picture follows the forming of the team and their first season, which changed not only college basketball, but the sport nation wide. There are many clichés here and even with the theme of overcoming racial issues, you know how the picture will play out: the coach wants to win at all costs, he doesn’t care what the administration says. He puts together a team and baffles everyone when he/she announces that the team will be of mixed races. Black players AND white players, united by the game! We get the scenes of training where everyone admits their uncertainty. The coach perseveres and eventually, they begin working together. Cue the victories accompanied by racist insults and finally, the coach dramatically yelling. It all builds to the big game. The opposition scoffs at our heroes until... yes! They won! As the credits roll, you wonder why you ever held your breath; they never make films about the team who dropped the ball at the bottom of the night. The question is whether you can overlook this flaw. Today, I could. This is a double underdog movie. Not only do we have the new team under the leadership of a new coach desperate to prove himself, but we also have a mixed race team determined to prove they can play as well as everyone else. When you hear commentators say “Aren’t you concerned about having this many colored players on your team? ” It gets you mad. You can't wait to see the Texas Western Miners embarrass them one basket at a time. It's an extra bonus to see the team grow as a unit and get past their own doubts. Despite the film's inherent watchability, which somewhat overcomes the predictable story, there are issues present. Numerous characters and elements are introduced but don’t pay off. Coach Don Haskins’ children, for example, you'd think they'd stir up a lot of drama, moving from a house to a University dorm, but it never gets brought up. Similarly, most of the team members get only blips of screen time when they aren't playing (and we hardly ever see them attending school) You can tell everyone apart, but you'll swear that in some crowd shots certain players are just there to fill out the screen. You've never seen them before!

Glory Road still works, despite its shortcomings. It’s emotionally effective, with likable characters, and a story you'll be invested in. The film is accessible, even to non-sport fans and if you're watching it with younger children, it's a way to discuss the issue of racism without diving deep into something really heavy like 12 Years a Slave or Amistad. It’s everything you want in an underdog sports movie, which means much of it is familiar, but Glory Road is entertaining. (Full-screen version on DVD, July 16, 2014)

Glory Road - Good Formulaic Sports Flick

Another one from the Netflix queue. I gotta admit, I'm a sucker for a good 'sports movie' even with all the usual cliche's firmly in place. The best ones can take a sport that you have only marginal interest in, and have you rooting for the home team like a rabid bleacher creature by the end. This one throws in some inspirational integration history into the mix, and you've got a sure fire winner.

Had this to say on facebok:

I'm a sucker for sports movies, and this one follows the standard formula and pulls just the right heartstrings.

3.5 stars out of 5

Released 2006, First viewing January 2009

#2006 #Basketball #James Gartner #Jon Voight #Josh Lucas #Sports