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Coach Carter (2005)
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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
Reviews for Coach Carter
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.
Samuel L. Jackson plays the real-life coach of a high school basketball team in this solid, unsurprising sports drama.
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.
Samuel L. Jackson's intense, dynamic presence lifts this film above the usual sports movie and makes it one to remember.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Before you can say, "Gangsta's Paradise," Coach has motivated his team to focus on what's important -- winning.
Before you can say, "Gangsta's Paradise," Coach has motivated his team to focus on what's important -- winning.
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.
Nobody gives a more powerful locker room speech than Samuel L. Jackson, while decked out in spiffy suits and flashy neckties.
By the time you leave, Jackson will have you believing that his Coach Carter is a true original.
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.
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.
Predictable, schmaltzy, and old as the hills, but so well-made that it is a sort of triumph.
The cast does its job, but the overly familiar screenplay is a problem.
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