BEFORE: Switching from football to basketball, just in time for the NBA Finals, which started last night. (Who? The Thunder? WTF?) Yes, I realize this film is about college basketball, but it's the best I could do. Nick Nolte carries over, switching from NFL player to basketball coach.
THE PLOT: A college basketball coach is forced to break the rules in order to get the players he needs to stay competitive.
AFTER: If I've developed anything from this multi-year quest to catch up on films, it's a gradual appreciation for this common three-act structure. And it's evident again tonight - 1) recruit the team, 2) work out the plays and 3) the Big Game. But there's a twist in this film - if the players aren't recruited the right way in Act 1, that could become a problem in Act 3.
We all know there are rules against "buying" college athletes, but don't the colleges offer the best players scholarships? Those have monetary value, right? I'm not an expert on that whole procedure, but any time there are rules, there are ways around the rules, or people looking to beat the system. A gift from the "alumni association" doesn't come from the college itself, so it's in some fuzzy gray area between right and wrong. Our whole political system runs on favors and bribes - sorry, lobbying - so where does it all end? Sometimes in the pro leagues, where endorsement deals are perfectly legal. It seems to be an imperfect system all around.
This film puts forth a scenario where we wonder what rules a college coach will be willing to break to put together a winning team. And once those rules are bent, what happens when doubt settles in, or his conscience finally acts up? Will admitting a previous violation make things better or worse?
The three acts are bookended by two of Nick Nolte's scenery-chewing soliloquies, modeled perhaps after the explosive tirades of coaches like Bobby Knight - one when his team is losing, and the other when his team is winning. So far this week, I've learned that coaches are just never satisfied - the coach in "North Dallas Forty" was unhappy because a game-winning touchdown wasn't run as a proper play. Yeah, but you WON the game, dude - isn't winning the most important thing?
This film has the balls to say perhaps not. What is winning if you had to sacrifice your principles to do it - is it an empty victory? Sure, it gets a little preachy and the conflict is a little manufactured, but there is a point to be made.
Also, there's a good amount of basketball mechanics, even if I didn't understand it all. I could see how the practice drills directly related to situations that took place during the games.
Also starring Mary McConnell (last seen in "Grand Canyon"), J.T. Walsh (last seen in "Nixon"), Ed O'Neill (last seen in "Disorganized Crime"), Shaquille O'Neal (last seen in "The House Bunny"), Anfernee Hardaway, with cameos from Alfre Woodard (last heard in "The Wild Thornberrys Movie"), Robert Wuhl, Louis Gossett Jr. (last seen in "Jaws 3-D"), Bobby Knight, Larry Bird, Rick Fox.
RATING: 6 out of 10 gym bags
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