He Got Game

Starring: Denzel Washington, Ray Allen, Milla Jovovich
Directed by: Spike Lee
Rating: R
Genre: Drama, Sports
1998

Times Seen:
Tim: 2

Summary: Jake Shuttlesworth (Denzel Washington) has been imprisoned for the manslaughter of his wife. The Governor offers Jake a very appealing deal: convince his son, Jesus Shuttlesworth (Ray Allen), the best high school basketball player in the country, to attend Big State University (the governor's alma mater), then Jake will have a greatly reduced sentence.

Review:

Tim: This is a must see film. While it is a basketball movie, its more of a drama than simply a basketball movie. Denzel Washington is at his best as Jake Shuttlesworth. Ray Allen does a fine job playing Jesus Shuttlesworth. While Allen probably couldn’t act his way out of a cardboard box, it has to be understood he’s not an actor; he’s a basketball player. However, for a profession basketball player (the Milwaukee Bucks, if you were wondering), he does a damn good job. Milla Jovovich doesn’t have a very large part in the film, and isn’t really that important at all.

Spike Lee did an amazing job with this film. It combines the drama of a family torn between father and son, all while against a background of basketball. The film makes many connections between basketball and life. If you are a guy, you will love this movie, because it contains two key guy elements (I am aware it’s a stereotype- sue me). These two elements: sex and sports.

The film also contains many cameos, such as John Turturro, Dick Vitale, John Thompson, Dean Smith, Michael Jordan, Shaquille O’Neil, Reggie Miller, and many more.

I very much recommend renting this film. While some people may find it slow and not get into it, I feel the majority of you out there will. Denzel Washington’s performance is enough to carry the movie alone, but thankfully, it is not the only good aspect of this film. I also recommend paying close attention to the camera work in the first scene you see Jesus Shuttlesworth in, playing basketball with friends. It is amazing.

All in all, He Got Game is definitely worth picking up. The film will entertain you, educate you about basketball, and show you some interesting comparisons between basketball, and life.

Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating- 8



If You Enjoyed This Movie, We Recommend: Malcolm X, Remember the Titans, The Fifth Element, Summer of Sam