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"White Men Can't
Jump & Black Men Can't
Swim..." |
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Directed by Sunu Gonera
- Written by Mike
Gozzard, K. Michael
Smith
Starring Terrence
Howard, Bernie Mac, Tom
Arnold, Regine Nehy,
Kevin Phillips
Distributed by Lions
Gate -
2007 - 104m - Rated PG |
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Richard Propes'
Review
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B- |
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Diving into his role as real life Philadelphia swimming coach Jim
Ellis, Terrence Howard offers further proof that he can offer a
multi-layered, complex performance even given the most mediocre of
material and stock characters known to contemporary cinema. |
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While Howard is his
usual magnificent self, "Pride" itself barely makes a splash in what
feels like the umpteenth recent inspirational, real life sports
story to hit screens in the past year.
From "Glory Road" to "Facing the Giants" to Ellis' fictional
neighbor "Rocky," "Pride" is one of those films that is nearly
impossible to hate even while you're sitting there watching it and
thinking "Haven't I seen this somewhere before?"
Yes, we've all seen this somewhere before.
Yet, despite the film's familiarity and all too predictable
resolution, "Pride" is, dare I say it, an entertaining and often
inspiring film. The film starts off with Ellis as a young high
school swimmer who, when he gets heckled out of a 1964 North
Carolina swim tournament ends up assaulting a cop.
This impulsive indiscretion seems to be the primary reasoning behind
the difficulty Ellis has when, years later and post-college, he has
difficulty finding a job despite initially receiving an offer from
Mainline Academy, a snooty, largely white institution headed by a
subtly racist "Bink" (Tom Arnold).
Ellis ends up desperately taking a job with the Philadelphia
Department of Recreation shutting down one of its inner city
recreation centers that has fallen into disrepair and is now
supervised only by a head of maintenance (Bernie Mac) and utilized
only by a group of neighborhood boys who play basketball nearly
every single day on its worn-out, torn up playground in the shadow
of the local drug dealer (Gary Sturgis).
With his first feature film, Sunu Gonera shows both his experience
and potential directing off the script by first time screenwriters
Kevin Michael Smith and Michael Gozzard.
Howard has always had a knack for not just finding the deepest
motivations within his characters, but for intimately sharing such
motivations with his audiences. Howard's take on Ellis, who
continues coaching swimming in Philadelphia after 33 years and
numerous Olympic hopefuls, is one of Pride, Determination and
Resilience, a fact brought vividly to life by the film's team name,
PDR (which also stands for Philadelphia Department of Recreation).
While "Pride" occasionally dips into the kind of conflict that
normally finds itself resolved within the confines of a 30-minute
television sitcom (more than once I thought of "Good Times" while
watching "Pride"), Gonera also gives "Pride" a refreshingly sincere,
sweet and innocent feeling that doesn't depend upon artificial
sweeteners, trumped up histrionics or unnecessary conflicts.
The young men here, Hakim (Nate Parker), Walt (Alphonso McAuley),
Andre (Kevin Phillips), Puddin' Head (Brandon Fobbs) and Reggie
(Evan Ross) along with a lone girl swimmer (Regine Nehy) are true
friends without the forced peaks and valleys that often accompany
such films with the mild, yet believable conflict between the local
drug dealer and Walt. The action here feels a bit like "ATL,"
another flawed yet appealing film that gives a balanced, spirited
and dignified glimpse inside inner-city life for the
African-American community.
Despite the film's obvious humanity and heartfelt message, much of
"Pride" doesn't make sense to the point of distraction.
For example, if Bink and MainLine Academy are racist to the point of
completing dismissing Ellis's employment solely on the basis of
race, how does Ellis suddenly manage to get Mainline to agree to
host PDR in their first meet?
Likewise, when PDR gets serious and decides to host Mainline in a
meet in their "house" at the Foster Recreation Center how believable
is it that these obviously racist, self-centered and long-standing
champion swimmers are really going to go all the way into a ghetto
recreation center?
For that matter, how is it that an inner-city recreation center that
is in massive disrepair and destined for closure somehow has a
completely functional and spotless pool despite the fact that the
local councilwoman (Kimberly Elise) has just acknowledged that it
has been months since the center brought in any money, youth or
resources?
Wait, there's more.
Okay, Okay. I accept that a girl could, technically, be on the boy's
swim team in local meets. Rules, after all, aren't that clear and
this was Philly in the 1970's. Yet, by the time PDR begins to
experience success AND this girl starts winning meets I have a hard
time believing not a single protest ever occurs? Not once?
Even the altercation between the drug dealer and Ellis doesn't quite
gel into a cohesive, convincing scene. The drug dealer's actions are
tame by drug dealer standards and Ellis' response, for which he
suspends himself, is unnecessarily brutal in a film that feels
remarkably free-spirited much of the time.
Despite its obvious structural flaws, "Pride" still manages to work
much of the time largely due to Howard's authentic performance,
Mac's wonderfully understated performance and the chemistry between
the young men who comprise the swim team. In particular, Evan Ross
("ATL" and "Life Support") shines as Reggie, a young man with a
notable stutter and lack of self-confidence who becomes the heart
and soul of PDR.
The other supporting roles, including Gary Sturgis, Tom Arnold and
Kimberly Elise, are a bit too underdeveloped to leave a lasting
impression. Clint Eastwood's youngest son, Scott Reeves, shows up
briefly as a rival swimmer, but generally the opposing swimmers are
nothing more than unfriendly faces in the pool.
The film's production design is generally solid and indicative of
the times, though the cinematography all too often feels "artistic"
more than "authentic" and, in particular, the closing scene of the
final race is done in a jarringly slo-mo fashion that completely
destroys the climactic nature of the race.
It is easy to understand why Howard signed on as an executive
producer for "Pride." Howard seems to pride himself on portraying
characters with both a deep sense of flawed humanity and a
redemptive quality that is too often missing in today's
African-American films. While many would look at Ellis and the
Foster Recreation Center and see ghetto, Howard clearly sees the
crystal cathedral shining through.
With pride, determination and resilience, Terence Howard offers up
yet another heartfelt performance as Jim Ellis, a man whose
dedication to excellence has improved the lives of hundreds of young
Philly men and women in the past 33 years. Despite its obvious
flaws, "Pride" is a film your family really should see. |
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© Written by Richard Propes -
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TC Candler's Comment
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Jacob Hall's
Comment
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