MOVIE REVIEW: Finally, some sports movies that try to be a little bit unique
“Pride”
Rated PG-13, Grade B+
I’ve stated before, the nonstop conveyor belt of underdog, based-on-a-true-story sports films is getting monotonous.
But here’s a film that shows us how to mix up this over-produced recipe: Just add water.
Terrence Howard (“Hustle & Flow”) humbly shines playing real-life man, Jim Ellis, a talented swimmer who failed to reach his athletic success due to the racial prejudices of the 1960s.
Ten years after his dreams sank, Ellis finds himself making ends meet in the sweaty projects of Philadelphia. And after waiting in the unemployment line, he finds himself cleaning out a dwindling community recreation center before its foreclosure.
While cleaning out endless storage rooms, Ellis finds solace putting the recreation center’s pool through a hearty makeover. This makeover eventually attracts a group of inner-city kids to the pool, retreating from the sweltering sun.
And would you guess this juvenile group of splashers would transform into the nation’s first professional African-American swim team? (Sorry to spoil the surprise, but that’s what happens.)
Set in the hip and colorful 1970s, these swimmers still face the prejudices that keep them from winning. But through tearful speeches and hard knocks, they learn how to represent with pride.
This film helps us remember that, more important than winning, it’s dedicated effort that matters. If only the story line could have been more fluid in portraying this.
Featuring some intense, up-close camera shots of sloshing swim meets, “Pride” is a genuine film.
Despite the jumpy progression of different plot lines, it gives us a much-needed dose of diversity and determination.
“Peaceful Warrior”
Rated PG-13, Grade B
Similar to “Pride,” this film helps mix up the underdog sports film by adding other unique ingredients to the well-known formula: chalk dust and philosophy.
Scott Mechlowicz (“EuroTrip”) has presumably left his screwball comedy roles behind him, taking on a straining dramatic role here. But Mechlowicz was puzzling and inconsistent. His performance as a spoiled, frustrated college gymnast seemed too restrained and bland at times, but his ferocious energy made some scenes memorable.
As the quintessential college athlete, he meets a quiet gas station attendant (Nick Nolte, “Hotel Rwanda”) who inadvertently teaches him various lessons about how to live life with meaning. Such a chance encounter has an inspirational effect on the young gymnast, but it has a confusing effect on the audience.
The dialogue between Nolte and Mechlowicz sounded almost as if the screenwriter plucked different clichés about life from a stack of Hallmark cards and copied them into the story. And even though this film is based on a true story, the prosaic writing makes the realism dangle dangerously and the characters develop shakily.
With a handful of precarious camera shots capturing graceful movement on the dusty pommel horse and delicate rings, “Peaceful Warrior” attempts to be an inspirational sports film as well as an abstract art film. Director Victor Salva (“Jeepers Creepers”) achieves success in these two genres only in a few scenes. Other scenes are simply too predictable or too abstract to make sense.
The potpourri of philosophical instruction, from the annoyingly exhausted and sagacious Nolte, could have been downsized. Without all that jargon, “Peaceful Warrior” would have been breezier and easier on the audience. It doesn’t get a perfect 10, but it provides a calloused, supporting example of self discovery and self victory.
Send comments to Casey T. Allen, movie critic, at caseyal@cc.usu.edu