He Got Game (R) *** (out of ****)
The tagline for He Got Game--"the father, the son, and the holy game"--provides a very clear and accurate ordering of writer-director Spike Lee's concerns in the film. While the game of basketball is the film's unifying subject, this uneven but engrossing drama is foremost an exploration of a father-son relationship.
The father in question is Jake Shuttlesworth (Denzel Washington), a prison inmate who is granted a temporary release to convince his son Jesus (Milwaukee Bucks guard Ray Allen), high school senior and hoops superstar, to attend the governor's university alma mater the following school year. The task is not quite as easy as it sounds, for Jake's relationship with his son became virtually nonexistent following the death of Jesus's mother and Jake's imprisonment. The issue of reconciliation is what drives He Got Game, and Lee deftly escalates the emotional stakes by gradually revealing Jake and Jesus's turbulent past and the tense circumstances that ultimately led to their estrangement.
When staying with the driving father-son dynamic, He Got Game often achieves moments of power, buoyed by a predictably strong performance by Washington. Allen is relaxed and assured in his acting debut, but his work suffers away from Washington; when he is called on to carry scenes on his own, he tends to stiffen up, and his line delivery comes off a bit flat. As such, he is a slightly less-than-commanding presence during the Jake-less scenes, in which Jesus deals with other pressures, such as his sports-agent-pushing girlfriend Lala (Rosario Dawson) and Chick (Los Angeles Laker forward Rick Fox), a baller from a prospective university, who tempts Jesus with horny groupies. Granted, the air of doubt works in showing how vulnerable Jesus is to pressure, but it also diminishes audience interest and involvement.
To be fair, Washington also suffers away from Allen, but this is because of the comaparatively weak material he is saddled with. Jake's unlikely friendship with Dakota (Milla Jovovich), a prostitute who lives in the apartment next door, is completely superfluous, not to mention unconvincing; Lee offers no insight as to how or why Jake would develop any feelings, deep or otherwise, for her. Lacking in any payoff, and showcasing an awful performance by Jovovich, this subplot just about begs to be completely cut out.
He Got Game could have used a clearer focus, but what does come sharply into view registers strongly: not just Jake and Jesus, but their and, above all, Lee's passion for the game of basketball. From the majestic, Aaron Copland-scored opening shots of people of all ages and places shooting hoops to the halftime cameos by various NBA stars (yes, including _him_, who gets the honor of delivering the film's title line) to the late glimpses of Jesus and Jake alone on different courts, Lee shows how easy it is to fall under the sport's spell. Audiences may leave He Got Game not exactly loving the film, but it is quite possible that they could grow, to quote the NBA's promotional slogan, "love this game."
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