HE GOT GAME
Release Date: May 1, 1998 Starring: Denzel Washington, Ray Allen, Rosario Dawson, Milla Jovovich, Hill Harper, Zelda Harris, Jennifer Esposito, Bill Nunn, Ned Beatty Directed by: Spike Lee Distributed by: Buena Vista Pictures MPAA Rating: R (sexuality, nudity, language, violence including a beating)
The genre of "basketball dramas" is indeed a narrow one, and very few films fit the bill. Sports movies in general are hard to make, and most gravitate towards family or comedy genres. It's good to see, then, that Director Spike Lee has chosen to focus his movie away from the game itself and towards the powerful character relationships that make this movie the so very enjoyable product that it is. Here, basketball as a sport is used only as an underlying and omnipresent motivation for the entire cast, and the movie's players are stronger because of it. HE GOT GAME is by far the most watchable, enjoyable, and well made film yet for 1998.
The quandary that becomes the plot is an interesting one: Jake Shuttlesworth (Denzel Washington) is a convicted murderer who is given a mission from the state governor. If Jake can convince his son Jesus (Ray Allen), the nation's number one high school basketball prospect, to play for the guv's alma mater, then the governor will shorten Jake's sentence considerably. Jake, who's looking at another fifteen years, jumps at the chance - but it won't be easy for him. Jesus has already been scouted and contacted by every major university with a basketball program, and has even been offered a chance to skip college and make the jump straight to a lucrative career in the pros. To top it off, Jake only has a week until the deadline set by the NCAA for all athletes to declare their intentions.
As the movie progresses, Lee introduces a great deal of animosity between Jake and Jesus, which only hinder's Jake's cause. Neither of the two actors here are particularly strong, but they are realistic, which makes their conflict believable and solid. The drama that plays out between them becomes surprisingly deep and very dynamic: the movie follows not one but two different stories that are very critical to each other's believability. Lee masterfully helms the dual picture, creating atmosphere by including some inspiring moments of photography (he uses camera tricks similar to those in NIXON - varying speeds, angles, lighting, and pacing). The picture is topped off by a fantastically dynamic score, mixing the brass oriented strains of Aaron Copland's music with the steady beat of Public Enemy. Written by Lee as well, the script oscillates between moments of affable humor and solemn drama.
The audience can get very in touch with this movie. Unlike most movies which use the foregone edge of pop culture to seduce the teenage and Generation X demographics, the existence of it in HE GOT GAME is so inbred with the movie that it does not detract from the film's value. Jesus, as he is being scouted, is drawn and repulsed by the moral excesses of drugs, alcohol, sex, money, and other forms of materialism - all illegal in some way. The movie touches on human emotions that are deep in scope, as well as pop culture issues which are limited in vision. HE GOT GAME is, as mentioned, a dynamic experience as well as enjoyable and worthwhile one - and will most likely be among the top films of 1998.
FINAL AWARD FOR "HE GOT GAME": 3.5 stars - a great movie.
-- Craig Roush kinnopio@execpc.com -- Kinnopio's Movie Reviews http://www.execpc.com/~kinnopio
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