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Movie Review - Glory Road (2006)
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(What this rating means)
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| Director: |
James Gartner |
| Starring: |
Josh Lucas, Derek Luke, Austin Nichols, and Jon Voight |
| Rated: |
PG (for racial issues including violence and epithets, and momentary language) |
| Length: |
106 minutes |
| Genre: |
Sports Drama |
| Tagline: |
Winning changes everything. |
| Studio: |
Disney |
| Website: |
Glory Road |
| Release: |
January 12, 2006 |
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PLOT
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In 1966, Texas Western coach Don Haskins leads the first all-black starting line-up to the NCAA national
championship. The lack of Josh Lucas five-o'clock shadow ensues.
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JOHNNY'S TAKE
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"We play fundamental, disciplined, defensive basketball."
Don Haskins wasn't interested in flashy, behind-the-back passes. Initially, slam dunks were even banned. Coming
from the school of thought that "showboatin's nothing but insecurity," Haskins was intent on teaching a group of
street-ballers the fine art of fundamentals because he knew that's what it would take to win a championship.
Haskins also had no interest in making political statements. He believed in recruiting the best raw talent he
could find, regardless of race or background. His main goal was to win basketball games, and he would do that
any way he could. He chose to play an all-black starting lineup against the all-white Kentucky Wildcats in the
NCAA championship game not so that he could champion a cause but because those were the guys he thought would give
the team the best chance of winning. It just so happens that Haskins and Texas Western were able to break down a
few color barriers along the way. As one of the original players said, "We didn't break down all the doors, but
we opened some."
The thing that impressed me most regarding Glory Road is the authentic look and feel of the movie,
particularly the championship game. Filmed with a gritty, sepia look, the viewer gets the sense that he's
watching genuine footage from the '60s. The cinematography executes a great balance between colorful and drab,
effectively capturing the environment of the time and location.
Production design is just as authentic, using replicas of signs and banners that were at the actual game.
Those with a real eye for detail will note that even the concession cups carry the Coca-Cola design of 1966.
And of course, a basketball movie set in 1966 wouldn't be complete without the super tight short shorts.
Youngsters familiar only with the parachute pants that players wear these days might be in for a
culture shock.
It's worth noting that the cast and crew were so intent on making the championship game as accurate as possible
that they studied choreographed storyboards of each play that would be recreated for the film. Homemade video
footage of the game was used to assure legitimacy.
Unfortunately, legitimacy isn't a main concern with regard to the rest of the story. Glory Road is fast,
dramatic, and often funny, but it plays it loose with the facts. Some purists might be dismayed, but director
Gartner admits, "We took some artistic license as this isn't intended to be a biopic."
Haskins didn't swoop into El Paso, quickly find a group of black players, and then turn them into a championship
team in one year, as the movie would have you believe. He slowly built the team. He became the head coach of
Texas Western in 1961 and made it to the championship in 1966. Also, the movie is peppered with racial tension
among teammates and hotel ransackings that never happened. Can you say "added for dramatic effect"?
I could go on, but for a complete analysis of how the movie compares to the reality I highly recommend you check
out Jeff Merron's Reel
Life: Glory Road article. It's a very interesting read, but I suggest that you not dwell too much on
the factual inconsistencies. The bottom line is that Glory Road is not only entertaining, but it also gets
across an important point. No, Haskins wasn't trumpeting a cause, but his desire to win at any cost went a long
way in changing the national perception of black athletes and helped kick start the desegregation of college
sports.
If you agree with Haskins' "Decent don't cut it with me" mantra then check out Glory Road. It's not
just decent; it's a really good mixture of fact and fiction that tells one of the most important, and least
known, stories in sports history.
Make sure you stay through the closing credits.
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ODDS & ENDS
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- Stephanie's main complaint regarding the movie was Josh Lucas didn't sport enough five-o'clock shadow.
- Lucas supposedly gained 35 pounds for the role. I don't see how because he doesn't look very big in the
movie. Did he way 140 pounds before production started?
- Don Haskins looks nothing like Josh Lucas in real life. Haskins lucked out with that casting decision.
What's next, the John Cheney story, starring Denzel Washington?
- Haskins was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame in 1997.
- The cast went through a basketball boot camp that was run by Tim Floyd. Floyd is the current coach of the
USC Trojans and former NBA coach for the Chicago Bulls and New Orleans Hornets. He worked as an assistant to
Don Haskins for nine years.
- The boot camp made a deliberate effort to make the practices just as hard as they were under Haskins during
the '60s.
- Keep an eye out for Sam Jones III who played Pete on Smallville. Don't remember him? He was the only
black person in Smallville.
- Also keep an eye out for Tatyana Ali of Fresh Prince of Bel Air fame.
- Fans of Emily Deschanel and her new TV series Bones will be disappointed to see that she's woefully
underused as Josh Lucas' wife.
- Evan Jones portrays Moe Iba who went on to be the least productive basketball coach in Memphis State
University history. Jones looks like Matt Damon with even more of a scrunched up face.
- Texas Western is now known as UTEP. They are already preparing for their defeat to the University of
Memphis on February 22.
- Jon Voight looks like he was run through a get-old-quick machine. That had to be done with prosthetics.
There's no way he's aged that quickly since I saw him in National
Treasure.
- In the original script, the character of Adolph Rupp only had a few lines of dialogue. However, Jon Voight
mastered Rupp's personality so well that the role was expanded. Voight listened to hundreds of hours of tape on
Rupp in order to expertly copy his mannerisms and voice patterns.
- Tatyana Ali was in Nora's Hair Salon with Bobby Brown who was in Gang of Roses with
Mario Van Peebles who was in Gang in Blue with Josh Brolin who was in Hollow Man with Kevin Bacon.
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MAMA'S APPROVAL
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It's a PG-rated Disney movie. What could there possibly be in here to offend mama? Not much. Profanity is
extremely minor. There's a d**n and an a** or two, but that's it. No nudity.
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TRAILER COMPARISON
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I enjoyed the trailer and got what I expected out of the movie. No surprises here.
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THE GIST
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If you're a fan of inspirational sports films, especially those based on true stories, then I recommend
Glory Road. Look past the factual inconsistencies and enjoy it for what it is.
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