Back Rowe Reviews
Real Time Movie Reviews from the Back Row of a Theater

Glory Road (PG)

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Directed by: James Gartner
Starring: Josh Lucas
January 2006

“Inspirational Basketball Formula Still Works”


Last year’s model was Coach Carter, a “based on a true story” project spotlighting basketball coach Ken Carter’s extreme measures to build men of character out of his troubled inner-city players; a story that made national headlines in 1999. This year’s model, presented by Buena Vista studios and director James Gartner, chronicles Don Haskins’ (one time woman’s basketball coach and later Hall of Fame basketball legend, played here by an even-keeled Josh Lucas) visceral and controversial decision to start all black players in a championship game—something that, to that point, had never been done before. You don’t need a magnifying glass to see the movie’s social commentary with regard to racism, and its similarity to other sports films, Remember the Titans in particular, is an inherent weakness in the plot. However, it’s the strength of the story alone that salvages this familiar recipe (i.e. an underdog team that wins the championship) and bails out Lucas’ uninspired performance.

What bothered me more than Lucas’ flaccid acting, however, was Haskins’ lackadaisical leadership style (my interpretation of Haskins is strictly based on how the movie portrays him). Haskins, apparently, had none of the fire that Gene Hackman’s Coach Norman Dale had in
Hoosiers (the quintessential film on the subject); far too often in the movie Lucas capitulates to his players, and though he preaches the fundamentals of the game (solid defense and no showboating), his overall lack of leadership presence was a constant irritant to me. The line, “They’re not going to give you anything…you’ve got to go out there and take it,” made memorable by the trailer, is one of the only instances in the movie where Lucas shows emotion of any kind. In fact, the only coaching acumen I detected in the movie was when Lucas taunts his players with various negative headlines written about his team as a means of getting them fired up for the big game.

Emily Deschanel (TV’s
Bones), who plays Haskins’ wife, is nothing more than set dressing in the movie and Derek Luke (Antwone Fisher), who plays Haskins’ star performer, does a solid job with a two-dimensional character. The only standout performance in the movie is Jon Voight’s portrayal of revered and feared University of Kentucky coach, Adolph Rupp. Only eagle-eyed viewers will recognize Voight at first glance due to a nose appliance; the veteran actor, once again, proves that he can play anything.

Glory Road, the true story of how downtrodden Texas Western University won the NCAA championship game in the mid-sixties, is uplifting if not particularly original. The main problem here: after the goose bumps fade so will any memory of the film.

Rating: 2 1/2