Slam Dunk!
Coach Carter (2005)
Tomatometer
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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
Without Sam L. Jackson on hand, I suspect Coach Carter would be almost too generic to even deal with.
Thumbing its way through that well-worn inspirational-educator playbook at a leisurely pace, the picture is studiously unspectacular.
[Jackson] is, of course, born to shout things at teenagers on basketball courts and he delivers all the time-honoured usual speeches with his customary brilliance
Carter’s story is inspirational...but Coach Carter gives only the earnest Hollywood version, when a bit more restraint and less embellishment would have worked just fine.
Over long and deeply manipulative, Coach Carter should nonetheless be praised for its far-from-fashionable celebration of personal advancement through academic achievement.
Put this movie on your must see list and enjoy a truly uplifting sports story.
The cast does its job, but the overly familiar screenplay is a problem.
Portrays high school basketball as a means to an end, not an end in itself.
There's no small pleasure in seeing a well-worn tale told with class and style.
Carter gives every sports-drama cliche a chance to play. No bad idea is benched.
Inspirational, laden with tough love, and on occasion a tad hokey. Stand and Deliver on the basketball court.
...manages the difficult task of balancing an intriguing story without being too sappy or preachy.
Too vicious to speak to bleeding-heart liberals, too pro-academia to speak to No Child Left Behind advocates, and too preachy to speak to youths.
Either real life is becoming more like a movie, or sports movies inspired by a true story exist in their own form of reality.
[Carter's] selfless actions against a failed education system register even when the movie surrounding him turns on itself.
For those in need of an uplifting story in our dumbed-down times, Coach Carter is a slam dunk.
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