RottenTomatoes.com
Log In | Register | What is RT?
Check out the new RT Community
  • Home
  • Movies
  • DVD
  • Celebrities
  • News
  • Critics
  • Trailers & Pictures
  • CommunityBeta
  • Box Office
  • | In Theaters
  • | Opening
  • | Upcoming
  • | Best Of
  • | Certified Fresh
RT Search Powered by Google
help icon Enhanced RT
searches on Google
Click here to turn on enhanced search results from RT on your Google searches.
 
Movies / Upcoming / Coach Carter
Coach Carter

Rate this Movie Help Icon

  • Write a Review
  • Read Reviews
  • Add to List
  • Buy Poster External Icon
  • Visit Official Site External Icon
Bookmark and Share

Coach Carter (2005)

  • T-Meter Critics
  • Top Critics
  • RT Community
  • My Critics
  • My Friends
64 %
Tomatometer
Template ImageTemplate Image

How does the Tomatometer work Help Icon

Reviews Counted:141

Fresh:90

Rotten:51

Average Rating:6/10

Consensus: Like a good point guard, Samuel L. Jackson is the clear leader on the floor in a film that critics say transcends its formula trappings to be inspirational. However, some have said the film is too preachy and too long.

Runtime: 2 hrs 16 mins

Genre: Dramas

US Box Office: $67,169,549

Synopsis: In the tradition of LEAN ON ME and DANGEROUS MINDS comes COACH CARTER, an inspirational drama starring Samuel L. Jackson. Jackson portrays real-life figure Ken Carter, who graduated from... In the tradition of LEAN ON ME and DANGEROUS MINDS comes COACH CARTER, an inspirational drama starring Samuel L. Jackson. Jackson portrays real-life figure Ken Carter, who graduated from California's Richmond High only to return there years later, in 1999, and take over as head coach of the boys' basketball team. Unfortunately, the troubled school he remembered as a teenager is an even more insufferable place in his adulthood. Determined to make a change in his players' lives, Carter makes each young man sign a contract that ensures he will maintain a 2.3 GPA, attend every class, and wear a jacket and tie on game day. Of course, the players reject the contract at first, but when they realize that they don't have any other choice, they give in. And when it appears that their tough-as-nails coach is actually turning them into winners on the court, they embrace their coach's philosophy even further. But when Coach Carter receives the incomprehensibly awful progress reports of his players, he does the unthinkable: he benches the entire team. Directed by Thomas Carter (SAVE THE LAST DANCE), COACH CARTER is a sensitive drama that features an impassioned performance by Jackson, as well as the impressive young cast (most notably Rob Brown, Rick Gonzalez, and Robert Ri'Chard). [More]

Starring: Samuel L. Jackson, Robert Ri'chard, Rob Brown, Debbi Morgan

Starring: Samuel L. Jackson, Robert Ri'chard, Rob Brown, Debbi Morgan, Ashanti, Antwon Tanner, Ramsey Gbelawoe

Director: Thomas Carter

Director: Thomas Carter
Screenwriter: Mark Schwahn, John Gatins
Producer: Brian Robbins, Mike Tollin, David Gale
Studio: Paramount Pictures

[See More Credits]

  • Trailers
  • Pictures
  • Coach Carter Trailer
    >
1 of 1

See More Movie Trailers & Pictures

Reviews for Coach Carter

  • T-Meter Critics
  • Top Critics
  • RT Community
  • My Critics
  • My Friends
 
 
1 - 20 (sorted by fresh rating; Australian critics are listed first)
Text View | 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 >> >|
Arrange By:Fresh | Rotten | Comments | Name | Source | Date
 
 
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Sydney Morning Herald | comment Comment
05/27/05
Sydney Morning Herald
Top Critic Icon Top Critic
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Urban Cinefile | comment Comment
10/18/08
Urban Cinefile Critics
Urban Cinefile Critics
Urban Cinefile
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

If only Shaq and Kobe had Coach Ken Carter (Samuel L. Jackson) at the helm, the two fellas would be holding hands, frolicking in fields of daisies and racking up a few more NBA titles.

Full Review Source: E! Online | comment Comment
01/14/05
E! Online
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Samuel L. Jackson plays the real-life coach of a high school basketball team in this solid, unsurprising sports drama.

Full Review Source: New York Times | comment Comment
01/13/05
A.O. Scott
A.O. Scott
New York Times
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

The kind of boot-strap-pulling, tear-duct-tickling, I-am-Spartacus-crowing movie-on-a-mission that might rankle more cynical movie goers but sets hearts aflutter for most everyone else.

Full Review Source: Houston Chronicle | comment Comment
01/14/05
Amy Biancolli
Amy Biancolli
Houston Chronicle

Samuel L. Jackson's intense, dynamic presence lifts this film above the usual sports movie and makes it one to remember.

Full Review Source: ReelTalk Movie Reviews | comment Comment
01/17/05
Betty Jo Tucker
Betty Jo Tucker
ReelTalk Movie Reviews

Thank goodness then for go-to guy Jackson. He takes what could have been a cardboard cliche role and puts flesh on it with his flamboyant intelligence.

Full Review Source: Atlanta Journal-Constitution | comment Comment
01/13/05
Bob Townsend
Bob Townsend
Atlanta Journal-Constitution

By making the choices the filmmakers did here, we get a movie that may not be profound, but it's both highly entertaining for its sports and fascinating for its social issues.

Full Review Source: Apollo Guide | comment Comment
12/11/08
Brian Webster
Brian Webster
Apollo Guide

Inimitable, irrepressible and possibly the coolest man alive, Jackson ranks as the best reason to catch this Hoosiers in the 'hood. Happily, he's not the only one.

Full Review Source: Las Vegas Review-Journal | comment Comment
01/14/05
Carol Cling
Carol Cling
Las Vegas Review-Journal

In the title role, Jackson holds himself like an exclamation point.

Full Review Source: Philadelphia Inquirer | comment Comment
01/13/05
Carrie Rickey
Carrie Rickey
Philadelphia Inquirer

Samuel Jackson returns to form behind a long string of disappointing performances as an ethically minded basketball coach at a tough inner city high school in Richmond, California.

Full Review Source: ColeSmithey.com | comment Comment
04/16/09
Cole Smithey
Cole Smithey
ColeSmithey.com

Before you can say, "Gangsta's Paradise," Coach has motivated his team to focus on what's important -- winning.

Full Review Source: PopMatters | comment Comment
01/15/05
Cynthia Fuchs
Cynthia Fuchs
PopMatters

Before you can say, "Gangsta's Paradise," Coach has motivated his team to focus on what's important -- winning.

Full Review Source: PopMatters | comment Comment
01/15/05
Cynthia Fuchs
Cynthia Fuchs
PopMatters

The movie's not all didactic. It's also fun, thanks to exuberant actors Antwon Tanner, Channing Tatum, Rob Brown, Rick Gonzalez, Robert Ri'chard and other Richmond Oilers.

Full Review Source: Washington Post | comment Comment
01/13/05
Desson Thomson
Desson Thomson
Washington Post
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Nobody gives a more powerful locker room speech than Samuel L. Jackson, while decked out in spiffy suits and flashy neckties.

Full Review Source: Sacramento Bee | comment Comment
01/14/05
Dixie Reid
Dixie Reid
Sacramento Bee

By the time you leave, Jackson will have you believing that his Coach Carter is a true original.

Full Review Source: New York Daily News | comment Comment
01/14/05
Elizabeth Weitzman
Elizabeth Weitzman
New York Daily News

Director Thomas Carter, working from a script by Mark Schwahn and John Gatins, manages to elevate the clichés into a surprisingly engaging, enjoyable two hours.

Full Review Source: L.A. Weekly | comment Comment
01/12/05
Ernest Hardy
Ernest Hardy
L.A. Weekly

Far from groundbreaking--in fact, it doesn't have an original bone in its body--but as inspirational sports movies go, it's not half-bad.

Full Review Source: Film Journal International | comment Comment
03/01/07
Ethan Alter
Ethan Alter
Film Journal International

Predictable, schmaltzy, and old as the hills, but so well-made that it is a sort of triumph.

Full Review Source: Film Blather | comment Comment
01/14/05
Eugene Novikov
Eugene Novikov
Film Blather

The cast does its job, but the overly familiar screenplay is a problem.

Full Review Source: Reno Gazette-Journal | comment Comment
02/07/05
Forrest Hartman
Forrest Hartman
Reno Gazette-Journal
 
 
1 - 20 (sorted by fresh rating; Australian critics are listed first)
Text View | 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 >> >|
all

Latest News for Coach Carter

March 22, 2007: Box Office Guru Preview: Six New Films Try to Shoot Down Spartans From #1 Spot
A half-dozen new soldiers enter the marketplace this weekend trying to topple the kingdom of "300" which has reigned supreme at the box office for the past two weeks. More...

January 15, 2007: Box Office Guru Wrapup: "Stomp" Steps All Over New Releases
Stomping into the number one spot over the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. holiday weekend was the college dance drama "Stomp the Yard," which grossed an estimated $22M in... More...

October 27, 2006: The Weekly Ketchup: "Casino Royale" Goodies, "The Dark Knight" Heads East, No Governator In "Terminator 4," And More!
In this week's Ketchup, we get the latest scoop on "Casino Royale," "The Dark Knight" has a possible new filming location, and because he has other... More...

September 14, 2006: Box Office Guru Preview: Rock's "Gang" Aims to Score Big
Following the worst box office weekend in three years, Hollywood has nowhere to go but up. It hopes. More...

See All

More Movies

Coming Soon in Australia
Tomatometer Percentage Movie Date

88% 88% Up in the Air 14/1
— The Tooth Fairy 14/1
— Bran Nue Dae 14/1

What’s Hot On RT

Inception Trailer

Inception Trailer

See the new trailer for Chris Nolan's latest

2010's Biggest Films

2010's Biggest Films

We preview all the new year's major releases

Best of the Decade!

Best of the Decade!

Find out what movies made our lists...

20 Must-See Films

20 Must-See Films

Our guide to the biggest and best films

Other News

  • Top Stories
  • Popular
  • Interviews
 
 

Comments

 
 
Top Stories
Headlines Comments
  
  • Weekly Ketchup: Annual Ketchup Edition
74
  • Harold Ramis Discusses Filmography, Teases Ghostbusters 3 Source: Heeb Magazine
16
  • National Film Registry Adds 2009 Selections Source: Hollywood Reporter
9
  • New Moon Tops Moviefone's 2009 List Source: Hollywood Reporter
30
  • Star Trek Tops 2009's Most-Pirated Movies List Source: Hollywood Reporter
19
  • Weekly Ketchup: Peter Jackson's Secret Sci-Fi Project
111
  • New Toy Story 3 Clip, Photos Posted Source: Slashfilm
26
  • Danny Trejo Talks Machete, Possible Sequels Source: Collider.com
14
  • It's Official: Jackass 3-D Coming in 2010 Source: Collider.com
16
  • Bryan Singer Returning to X-Men for First Class Source: Superhero Hype
102
Popular
Headlines Comments
  
  • Critics Choose Must-Sees and Worsts of 2009
264
  • Box Office Guru Wrapup: Avatar Continues Its Run In 2010
162
  • RT's Ten Most Popular Movies of 2009
100
  • Total Recall: New Year's Eve Movies
44
  • Weekly Ketchup: Annual Ketchup Edition
37
  • Rotten Tomatoes Is Joining Forces With Flixster!
35
  • Five Favorites of the Five Favorite Films of 2009
34
  • Friday Harvest: Eclipse, Robin Hood, and more!
31
  • Awards Tour: The Hurt Locker Wins Big At National Society of Film Critics Awards
26
  • Critics Consensus: The White Ribbon Is Certified Fresh
24
Interviews
Headlines Comments
  
  • Five Favorite Films With Peter Jackson
74
  • Robert Downey Jr. talks Sherlock Holmes & Iron Man 2 - RT Interview
22
  • Director Ruben Fleischer Talks Zombieland
2
  • "I Don't Hate Women": Lars von Trier on Antichrist
17
  • Eric Bana talks Love the Beast - RT Interview
12
  • Fight Club Sound Designer Reflects on Film's 10th Anniversary
24
  • James Schamus talks Taking Woodstock - RT Interview
8
  • RT on DVD: Wassup, Bruno
3
  • Scott Hicks Talks The Boys Are Back
0
  • John Hurt Talks Harry Potter, Quentin Crisp and Alien - The RT Interview
16
 
 

Sponsored Links

Around The Network

  • Coach Carter at Rotten Tomatoes
  • Coach Carter at IGN
  • Coach Carter at AskMen

Fresh Links

Featured
40 Best Films of the 2000s
40 Best Films of the 2000s External Link

Last week, Moviefone offered us their worst films of the 2000s. Now see their 40 best!

Competitions
Win Funny People on DVD
Win Funny People on DVD External Link

We're giving away copies of Judd Apatow's latest.

 
 
About| Site Map| Help| RT To Go| Contact Us| Critics Submission| Linking to RT| Licensing| Movie List| Celebs List| Newsletter
IGN Logo
About Us | Advertise | Contact Us | Press | Careers
IGN | GameSpy | Comrade | Arena | FilePlanet | Direct2Drive | GameSpy Technology
TeamXbox | Game Sites | VE3D | CheatsCodesGuides | GameStats | GamerMetrics
AskMen.com | Rotten Tomatoes | GIGA.DE | What They Play | Battlefield Heroes
By continuing past this page, and by your continued use of this site, you agree to be bound by and abide by the User Agreement.
Copyright 1998-2010, IGN Entertainment, Inc. | Support | Privacy Policy | User Agreement | Subscribe to RT's XML feed! RSS Feeds
IGN’s enterprise databases running Oracle, SQL and MySQL are professionally monitored and managed by Pythian Remote DBA.
Certain product data ©1995-present Muze, Inc. For personal use only. All rights reserved.