He Got Game
by Spike Lee
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Product details
Actor: Denzel Washington, Hill Harper, Milla Jovovich, Ray Allen, Rosario DawsonDirector: Spike Lee
Edition: VHS Tape
Audio: English (Original Language), Analog
Format: Closed-captioned, Color, NTSC
Running Time: 136 minutes
Release Date: 1999-08-03
Audience Rating: R (Restricted)
Publisher: Walt Disney Video
Studio: Walt Disney Video
VHS Movie Reviews of He Got Game
Movie Review: An Amazing Story of Father & Son
Summary: 5 Stars
He Got Game hit home for me, because I don't have a father in my life. As an aspring filmaker I always have dreams that my father will come back at a crucial point in my life as Denzel did to Ray in this movie. This a movie that every father and son should see. The cinematography, script and acting are all top notch. One of Spike's best films since Clockers. Movie Review: Moving and deep; far more than your average sports film...
Summary: 4 Stars
In 2001 Denzel Washington finally won his `Leading Actor' Oscar despite the fact that three of the four remaining nominees put in better performances than he did (those three would be, in descending order, Wilkinson, Crowe and Smith). I'm not saying that Washington's portrayal of Alonzo in `Training Day' was bad or even mediocre. He was a pistol, really electrifying the screen with his commanding presence, and he scores major points for taking himself away from the `dead eye stare' I see him give all too often (watch `American Gangster') and really igniting his face. That said, he still was not the best of the year.
I bring up this point, not because I want to raise my voice in disapproval, but because I want to draw a major comparison in character between Alonzo and Washington's character Jake Shuttlesworth in `He Got Game'. Both characters have that swagger, that jive and that fire, yet Jake is a much deeper and more emotionally complicated character than Alonzo, and Washington plays to his strengths in such a fierce way that I am baffled he wasn't even considered in the running for this performance, yet was handed an Oscar for basically doing the same thing three years later to a less impressive extent. Washington grabs your attention here, not only with his blunt abrasiveness but also with his human and tortured rawness.
`He Got Game' may on the outset look like just another teen sports story. It centers around Jesus (pronounced like the son of God) Shuttlesworth, a brilliant athlete who is being harassed by every state in the area trying to rally him to their basketball team. Jesus is not your typical teenager though. He has been raising his young sister since their father killed their mother and was sent to prison. Their father is Jake. Now, Jake is presented with a strange and inviting opportunity; namely to convince his son to join Big State University and in return he'll receive a lighter sentence. The problem is that since Jake has been locked up Jesus has refused to speak to him, and he has no plans of changing his mind on the matter. Still, Jake decides that it is worth a try.
The underlying story within `He Got Game' is about the path leading to redemption and the sacrifices that we make to get there. As Jake tries to reestablish some grounds with his son we can see that he needs this; more than freedom he needs the forgiveness that only his son can extend. Spike Lee brilliantly continues his moral lessons by exposing the corruption and greed within the striving for fame, but Lee never strays away from the purity and admirableness of those who have a clear head and a strong will.
So, like I mentioned, Washington is Oscar worthy here, but the rest of the cast is more hit or miss for me. Ray Allen comes off a little stiff in areas but for the most part he delivers a strong performance alongside Washington. He has some pristine moments where you can see his internal struggle. Rosario Dawson is breathtaking as Jesus' girlfriend Lala, but even more than breathtaking she is a wonderful actress here. She really understands her character and exploits her weaknesses effortlessly. Milla Jovavich is a little miscast here, and she seems to be `acting' too much, which sadly comes off amateurish in many scenes. Zelda Harris is also a weaker link, but she was young and so I won't lay into her too hard. She wasn't a central character and so her few flaws are not detrimental to the film.
`He Got Game' is not a masterpiece, I won't go that far, but it is an extremely well crafted vehicle for Lee and Washington to shine as brightly as they are able. Lee has done better work (`25th Hour' for one) and Washington has done better work (`Malcolm X') but to say that these two men are at the top of their game here would be an understatement.
Movie Review: Really?
Summary: 4 Stars
Good movie if your my generation basketball fan brings me back lol. They actually offered the role first to Allen Iverson who turned it down!Movie Review: Inner strife and self hatred are the worst enemies
Summary: 5 Stars
This film shows the real crossroads where the Blacks are in America, and I say the Blacks because they call themselves Blacks and not Afro-Americans or African Americans. The mother is dead, killed accidentally in a temper but the father. The father is in prison for a very long time. The son hates his father and has to learn how to get over his hatred. The daughter is missing her father but her brother is isolating her. The uncle and aunt only see the money the son represents. He is a high school star in basketball and he can get directly into making a lot of money if he joins the NBA or he can go to some university and have a scholarship. One more tricky element: the governor wants the kid for the team of his university, the one he sponsors and likes. So why not use the father, give him a week of semi freedom and force him thus to negotiate his son's signing the right papers. What's more the basketball star is invited by some schools to come and visit and there he is provided with everything he may desire, including the girls and the useless other entertainments. The NBA is offering a car to the uncle, though in fact it is for the son to run it. And the high school coach is able to put ten thousand dollars on the table for him to join, guess what, the NBA of course. Immoral. The film is saved from this muddy marshlandish country by the son choosing the only moral solution, the one that will help his father to get out faster, the one that is going to cure him from his hatred, even if that is slightly idealistic, frankly utopian.
Dr Jacques COULARDEAU, University Paris Dauphine & University Paris 1 Pantheon Sorbonne
Movie Review: Lee Got Game
Summary: 3 Stars
"He Got Game" is another solid outing for director Spike Lee. He paints a realistic picture of life for a inner city basketball phenom and its many demands and pressures. Ray Allen isn't as proficient an actor as he is a shooting guard, yet his performance works here. Denzel Washington and a supporting cast of Lee film veterans deliver in their roles, making up for any inexperience Allen has. Washington is impressive as Allen's father, a convicted felon who is given a short work release to try to convince his star son to attend the governeor's alma mater. Revisiting this film about 9 years after its release, I still feel entertained and connected with the main characters. I feel it stands as a triumph for Lee and a good tale of basketball, exploitation, wounded family relations, and redemption (in a way).
Summary of He Got Game
As a filmmaker and passionate fan of basketball, Spike Lee was the perfect director for this ambitious and heartfelt sports drama, which brought out the best in both Lee and his well-chosen cast. In his third film for Lee, Denzel Washington plays Jake Shuttlesworth, who is in prison for the manslaughter of his wife. His estranged son Jesus (well played by Milwaukee Bucks basketball player Ray Allen) is the nation's best high school basketball star, and Jake receives a compelling offer from the state's governor: If Jake can convince Jesus to sign a letter of intent to attend Big State University, the governor will reduce his sentence. Lee turns this back-room bargain into a fascinating examination of capitalism in college and professional sports, but the film also works as the moving story of a father's desperate attempt to regain his son's respect. Lee handles the basketball angle with an insider's awareness, and takes a few stylistic risks (including a memorable final image) that pay off with considerable emotional effect. He Got Game fully explores the visual poetry of basketball and the greed that fuels this particular vision of the American dream, but Lee never loses sight of the sport's inherent beauty, or the higher priorities of redemption and family that form the solid foundation of this exceptional film. --Jeff ShannonDrama Video
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