SoCalHoops College News Report
SoCalHoops College News
Report
"He
Got Game": Some Random Thoughts,
Spike Ruminations & A Ton Of Reviews--(May 5,1998)
Who didn't see "He Got Game" this last weekend? Who wasn't there when it opened Friday night?
C'mon, raise your hands. We know who you are.
And if our experience is any indication, a lot of you weren't there to see the film.
So should you or shouldn't you? Hey, we're not movie reviewers, and don't pretend to be.
So what did we think?
Great soundtrack. Interesting mix of Aaron Copland and Public Enemy.
Ray Allen can play. So can Denzel Washington.
Ray Allen needs to work on his acting. Denzel has got it down.
It was fun. But a little bit heavy-handed. And it was a Nike film, with Nike clothing and equipment product-placements like nothing you've ever seen in a movie, including a "commercial" for Michael Jordan shoes. Really.
Does it tell the story of college recruiting? We don't think so. Does it tell a good father-son story? We don't think so, because the characters are pretty much like cartoon characters. Otherwise we kinda, sorta, maybe liked it.
We started looking around for what others thought of the film, and we were surprised at what we found: Some folks reallly liked it (often for some pretty strange reasons) and others just hated it. We don't either love or hate it: We were actually somewhat non-plussed overall, perhaps because of the ending, perhaps because the characters are not really fully developed, and perhaps because parts of the storyline just seem so improbable. But then that what's a "willing suspension of disbelief" is for, right? Guess we left ours out in the car.
Our favorite "negative" review? Probably Mr. Cranky's (hilarious) review. We also liked the one from Savoy.com (insightful). We've listed a representative sampling below and would urge you to visit the sites from which these reviews have been reprinted, and they are collected here solely for your convenience, and for their educational value:
We do have to wonder about the folks who put together the review from ScreenIt!. For those not familiar with it, ScreenIt is like filtering software for the Internet, but for movies. It sells itself as a screening service for parents who might want to shield their kids from sex, violence, nudity, smoking, money, fast cars, loose women, and anything they consider sacreligious. Well guess what: They found a ton of things "objectionable" in He Got Game. Really, who counts the number of times people use the "f" word? Who analyzes a film based on whether there's a "jump scene" (there isn't one in He Got Game), or describes "sex scenes" so that a parent can evaluate whether it's one that "suitable" for kids. Boy, these people noticed stuff that we hadn't even been aware was in the film. And if you look closely (not too close actually), you'll see that ScreenIt!'s review is pretty culturally biased. But then what Spike was doing was pretty much "culturally biased" too. ScreenIt is actually one of the silliest, most hilarious ways to review a movie we've ever seen. Bring back the Hays Office. :-) Here's the rest:
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