Coach Carter

[StevePulaski]

Coach Carter (2005)
Directed by: Thomas Carter

Samuel L. Jackson rallies a group of young men in Coach Carter.

Rating: ★★★

Coach Carter is in lockstep with its genre. Boil it down and you have a film that meets every requirement on the checklist for a competent and sporadically endearing sports movie. It has a group of ragtag, undisciplined young kids. It has them learning the ways of the world and bonding through the interpersonal and communal element of their sport; in this case, basketball. It features a tough-as-nails coach whose firm but fair attitude connects with his ballplayers, even if it initially inspires some friction. It has some inspiring highs, some unfortunate tribulations, and characters who are given just enough wiggle room to become relatable, recognizable individuals.

The difference-maker here, not to mention the significant factor in why I consider Coach Carter to be a good film as opposed to one that's merely serviceable, is Samuel L. Jackson. His performance as the titular, moral instructor shows how gifted the veteran actor is in numerous respects. On one hand, he's capable of taking a character difficult to portray and giving him a neighborly, human quality to his presence, and it's his finesse and evident sympathy for the man behind this true story that gets him to produce one of the most notable performances in his long, successful career. The film from a writing and directing standpoint is firmly on the level of competence; Jackson is on the next level and in some instances he gets the larger project where it needs to be.

Set in 1999, Jackson plays Ken Carter, a principled local business owner who takes over as the head coach of Richmond High School's basketball team. Fondly recalling his playing days, which were emboldened by a workable mix of teamwork and individual accomplishment, Carter is appalled to see the sorry state of Richmond's basketball team. The lackluster play and absence of discipline rests at the feet of the players, none of whom working to form any chemistry with each other and keen with letting their grades slip into unacceptable territory. Carter's first move as coach is drawing up a contract that requires the players to refer to him and their teammates as "sir," maintain a C+ GPA, and attend every one of their classes and sit in the front row.

This obviously goes over poorly with the boys, who feel like they're above their school and their coach the second they put on their jerseys. One of the team's star players, Cruz (Rick Gonzalez), completely bails as soon as Carter requires the boys to do a great deal of routine warm-ups as punishment. Yet, they slowly come around to their coach's hardened ways, something that's made much easier when the team posts an undefeated record. It's when they do that they begin to form bonds with one another and their personal lives become clearer to us. Stone (Rob Brown), for instance, is weighing options with his girlfriend: does he stay in Richmond and start a family or try and chase scholarship money to continue playing ball? Lyle (Channing Tatum in one of his earliest performances) is trying to go on while his father is in prison, meanwhile Carter's own son, Damien (Robert Ri'chard), makes the decision to transfer from St. Francis High School to play on his father's team, a move his father initially struggles to accept.

Where Coach Carter and screenwriters Mark Schwahn (One Tree Hill) and John Gatins would've been ill-advised was if they left the story at this, and falsely show the ease of Coach Carter's process. It's as if the real crux of the film begins after the hour-mark, when Carter discovers that many of the boys haven't been attending class and a concerning amount are failing their classes. Carter then makes the controversial decision that thrust him into the public eye and likely made a film like this possible: he indefinitely postpones any future games during the season, putting a lock on the gym door, until his team is passing their classes.

Even when they dabble a little too closely on the sentimental side of things, Schwahn and Gatins are right to linger on the difficultly of Carter implementing his drastic contractual changes to Richmond's basketball program. To do otherwise would be to undermine the kind of backlash adults, teachers, and coaches routinely experience when they're laying down the law before their students. To be forgiving and subtly enabling in the start and to toughen up later doesn't work. By then, the scolded party is stuck in their ways and unconvinced this change in course will be authentic. I couldn't imagine the challenge Carter experienced trying to get this program and its students on track.

The good thing is he did and he probably saved some lives and careers in the process of doing so. Several players went on to college and benefited from generous scholarship money, and got their story memorialized in a film like Coach Carter, a safe and sometimes moving drama that, like the boys, benefited greatly from a strong, unmovable force.

Starring: Samuel L. Jackson, Rick Gonzalez, Rob Brown, Channing Tatum, Robert Ri'chard, and Ashanti. Directed by: Thomas Carter.