Strangely, He Got Game suffers from too much London Symphony Orchestra and not enough Denzel Washington. The story revolves around Washington's Jake Shuttlesworth, a convict with a shot at getting out of Attica early if he can convince his basketball-star son, Jesus, to attend the governor's alma mater. Unfortunately, the problem is that Jake's in jail for killing Jesus's mother.
While the film is compelling, it's overlong and overproduced, with swelling music and magical realism gumming up some poignant scenes. Moreover, Lee really has two movies here, since as much narrative emphasis is placed on Jesus's familial entanglements and upcoming decision about his future as on Jake's attempts at redemption. While Jake's story is the more compelling and interesting of the two, and Washington's performance is subtle and brilliant, Lee is as seduced as Jesus's hangers-on by the allure of basketball stardom. The pressures on Jesus Shuttlesworth are clearly high, with everyone from his girlfriend to his high school coach expecting some kind of payoff, but it's hard for the viewer to see what's at stake: will Jesus attend college with a full scholarship, or go straight to the NBA? Either way, he doesn't have much to lose, and the scenes in which he ponders his choices drag.
Lee should have focused the film on the father-son relationship and excised at least one sub-plot; I would have voted for Milla Jovavich's hooker-with-a-heart-of-gold to end up on the cutting room floor. Still, Jake Shuttlesworth is a remarkably nuanced character, and Lee has produced another enthralling, imperfect film; its main flaw is that it should have been much better.
Jake Shuttlesworth (Washington) is serving fifteen years for the death of his wife. His son Jesus(Ray Allen) is the best high-school basketball player...More at eCOST.com
Epinions.com periodically updates pricing and product information from third-party sources, so some information may be slightly out-of-date. You should confirm all information before relying on it.
- Add to My Yahoo!: 
- Add to Google Homepage: 
© 1999-2009 Shopping.com, Inc.