HE GOT GAME (1998) A Film Review by Ted Prigge Copyright 1998 Ted Prigge
Writer/Director: Spike Lee Starring: Denzel Washington, Ray Allen, Milla Jovovich, Rosario Dawson, Zelda Harris, Jim Brown, Bill Nunn, Ned Beatty, John Turturro, Charles Barkley, Larry Bird, Michael Jordon, John Thompson, John Wallace, John Chaney
Young basketball player Jesus Shuttlesworth (Ray Allen) has been playing basketball for as long as he can remember and now finds that he is the top college draft pick in the U.S. He's on the cover of numerous magazines, is being badgered by every single big college university with a basketball team (including Temple U - yea), and is being offered all sorts of pay offs from everyone. He's so good that he doesn't even need to go to college; he could just go right on to the NBA. Jesus finds himself at the crossroads of his life, but when asked what he's going to do, he just says "I'm weighing all my options."
Spike Lee's newest film (or joint), "He Got Game," is not so interested in the game of basketball itself as it is in the drama of a person who is so good that he finds that everyone he knows is only interested in him as a basketball player. His girlfriend, Lala (Rosario Dawson), pretends to like him even though she's obviously fallen out of love from him, but is in it because she gets a part of his money for being the "sweetheart." Even his uncle (Lee staple, Bill Nunn) is getting paranoid that he's not going to give him a cut. Except for his sister (Zelda Harris), who he's raised by himself since he was a kid, there's only one other person who really cares for him as a person.
Unfortunately, that person is his father, Jake (Denzel Washington, with a pretty cool-looking afro, which surprisingly works for him), who has been in jail for six years for murdering his mother in a fit of rage. Sure, it was an accident, but Jesus holds so much contempt for Jake that he has convinced himself that he doesn't even have a father. However, Jake is given a second chance with him when the warden of Jake's prison (Ned Beatty) gets orders from the governor to let Jake out so he can convince Jake to go to the college the governor wants him to go to. He has one week, and if he does so, the governor may just shorten his sentence.
While this premise seems pretty forced, it's merely a bit of a stretch done by Lee to show how important basketball is handled when compared with life. Sure, it's forced and no prison would let a criminal out into the real world so he can convince an estranged son to go to a certain university. And why would they chose Jake? Doesn't Jesus hate Jake? Wouldn't he be the last person they'd chose? But hey, it's a movie: get over it.
Anyway, Jake is shuffled out of prison in secret, and is given two hard-ass parole officers (one played by Jim Brown) who attach a bug to him so they can see where he is at all times, give him a couple bucks, and toss him into a cheap hotel while they go stay at a classier place. Jake has a limit of one week to talk to his son and get him to sign a contract for this certain university. And, of course, Jesus is not pleased to see him, and no, Jake does not give up.
The great thing about this movie is how the drama between Jake and his son is given a very realistic feel. Jesus is still very pissed off at Jake, and does not give in enough to let him get a lot of conversation in, but knows deep down inside that it was an accident, creating an inner war. He knows that Jake is the only one who gives a shit about him, but just can't come to forgive him for what he's done.
Meanwhile, Jesus is being shown all the perks of being a great basketball player, getting lots of under the counter illegal deals, not only from universities but also from his own potential agent. He turns all of these down, but as the film goes on, we sense that any time, he's going to give in and take anything they offer him.
And while this is going on, Jake is desperately trying to find a way to connect with his son. But in the meantime, he finds he needs to help a prostitute (Milla Jovovich, the fifth element from "The Fifth Element") who lives next door to him who feels beaten down by not only her pimp, but basically life. This is probably the only weak link in the film, but it does show a man who has definitely changed.
We see some of the past in flashbacks, where a heavily demanding Jake forces his son to play basketball, almost causing him to detest it in the process. There are two reasons why we see these: a) because we want to be able to understand the reason why Jesus is so pissed off at his father; and b) so we can understand Jake's point of view. What other films use flashbacks so well, which not only educate us about the characters, but take both sides on the stories?
This could all be handled like a TV movie starring Tori Spelling and that guy who played Zach on "Saved by the Bell," but Lee gives the film so much spirit and emotion that it works on multiple levels, none which insult us. We see a powerful, intelligent drama which might have seemed forced if done by another director, but instead seems emotional because of Lee. We also see a biting satire on the sports world, which cares only about money and talent, not the game itself.
Spike Lee obviously loves basketball. What is the one image you think of when you think of Lee? It's either him hanging with Michael Jordon, or him sitting in the front row of a Knick's game. Lee shows his love for the sport in the beginning, which is a wonderful montage of all sorts of people playing basketball in all kinds of ways. There's no professional players, but there are lots of shots on people in inner-city courts playing in teams or in doubles, and even a couple people shooting into an open-ended basket nailed onto a wall. All this is done to the music of Aaron Copland, which underscores a lot of the film majestically.
The point that Lee is making in this film is that there is a line between loving the game and playing it professionally. Lee is not only attacking college and professional basketball for being too into money than into the real game, but also the parents who try to live through their children by pushing them to do something they may not even enjoy. I used to play tee ball, and I probably would have liked it if the coaches were as well; instead, they want to win, and they forget why they're playing in the first place.
All this is done using Lee's incredible craftsmanship. I've seen only a few Lee films, but every one of them has blown me away by his use of great camera and technical work, as well as the way he presents his topics. He always shows a great deal of love with them yet is still able to distance himself from the story, telling it with passion but not so much passion that it collapses. Here, he's able to distance himself from one of his biggest passions, and tell a story not so much about basketball, but the love of basketball, and the way that human emotions are often muted in favor of "greater" things.
The film's music is something that should also be noted. I mentioned the score, which from Aaron Copland ballets, but the film also features a whole array of songs by Public Enemy, who have been featured in some of his films, most notably "Do the Right Thing" (remember that big ass boom box that Radio Raheem had? or that dance Rosie Perez does?). The songs work nicely with the film, especially the song that features the Buffalo Springfield riff, and all of them work in great contrast with the Copland score.
The acting is another great thing, with Denzel Washington easily walking away with the best performance in the film. In Jake, he creates an incredibly complex character, one that would seem impossible to play, but is done with such ease by Denzel that it almost seems easy. He's easy to sympathize with, even after the flashback scenes, which are horrifying.
Ray Allen is also very good, although a bit wooden (hey, he's a basketball player). He shows some great emotion in a couple scenes, primarily a scene where he sees his father for the first time in six years...in his kitchen...with his sister. Also good are Milla Jovovich, as the hooker/friend of Jake's; Jim Brown, as a hot-headed parole officer; Ned Beatty, as the warden of Attica; and John Turturro, in a one-scene performance as the coach of a college basketball team which is interested in gaining Jesus as one of their team members...VERY interested. And look for a wide assortment of cameos from people from the wide world of basketball, including Dick Vitale, Michael Jordan (who gets the privilege of saying the film's title), and even Temple Basketball coach, John Chaney (did I even spell his name right?), who appeared four times in the film, each time garnering loud applause by the audience.
The ending of the film, especially the climactic basketball match, is, yes, anticlimactic, but still poetic. It takes someone like Spike Lee to make something like this cinematic, and I can't really think of many directors who can give a film about basketball a feeling of originality, and even emotion. It's the best basketball film since "White Men Can't Jump," only it's better.
MY RATING (out of 4): ***1/2
Homepage at: http://www.geocities.com/Hollywood/Hills/8335/
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