"The Heart of the Game" is pretty much the same movie as "Coach Carter," the Samuel L. Jackson film about a high school basketball coach who tries to motivate his players, keep them in class and win a few games in the process.
Except that "The Heart of the Game" is a documentary, which makes it considerably more honest and truthful than the scripted, fictionalized "Carter." "Game" also looks at a girls basketball program.
The most important distinction between the two, however, is the quality of "The Heart of the Game," a surprisingly funny and much more involving film.
The film's central focus is on Bill Resler, a tax law professor at the University of Washington who also doubles as the coach of the Roosevelt High School girls basketball team. Resler is motivated to take the job so he can coach his daughters, and his unconventional methods — such as yearly team "themes" and seemingly chaotic offense strategies — yield positive results. Then, when the school lands a much-coveted player, the talented Darnellia Russell, Resler and his Roughriders look like real championship contenders.
The film was directed by a first-timer, Ward Serrill, who does make a few rookie mistakes, allowing the film to meander and using rather bland narrations by rapper Ludacris. But Serrill is also able to generate some genuine suspense, and the ensuing human drama — most of it swirling around Russell, one of the few black students at the mostly white school — is fascinating.
And it certainly doesn't hurt that Resler is such a bigger-than-life character. You can just see Hollywood deciding to make a feature film out of his story, with someone like Paul Giamatti as Resler.
"The Heart of the Game" is rated PG-13 for some strong profanity (including a couple of uses of the so-called "R-rated" curse word), violence (athletics-based), a few crude references (mostly slang terms) and discussion of adult issues. Running time: 97 minutes.
E-mail: jeff@desnews.com
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