GLORY ROAD Reviewed by Harvey S. Karten
Walt Disney Pictures/Jerry Bruckheimer Films
Grade: B
Directed by: James Gartner
Written by: Christopher Cleveland, Bettina Gilois
Cast: Josh Lucas, Derek Luke, Austin Nichols, Jon Voight,
Evan Jones, Schin A.S. Kerr, Alphonso McAuley, Mehcad
Brooks, Sam Jones III, Damaine Radcliffe, Emily Deschanel
Screened at: AMC, NYC, 1/9/06 Many of my years teaching high school were spent in the inner city in a school that could hardly be called integrated with its population something like 85% black and 15% Latino. Mention Martin Luther King and the response might be, “Oh yeah, we get a day off. Word!” Tell them that was a time not so far back that if a black man tried to get a seat at Woolworth’s coffee shop, he’d be risking his life. These kids were born in the early 1980's, not so many years after President Johnson’s Civil Rights Act of 1964 would become one of the most historic pieces of legislation in U.S. history. That was also a time that many in the white population of southern cities kicked up a storm, trying to reverse the Johnson program with actions ranging from donning scary white sheets to lynching. One could hardly say that a level playing field exists: how many black CEOs of Fortune 500 companies can you name? Yet the mid-sixties was a time that one man got more than his fifteen minutes of fame. Josh Lucas in the role of Coach Don Haskins broke the color barrier. After coaching a girls’ high school basketball team, he accepted a job at the helm of Texas Western Miners, now known as the University of Texas at El Paso. Haskins was determined to win: never mind the stuff you hear about how good sportsmanship is the aim of the game. To him winning is the only thing, and he believed he could not lead his small, financially strapped college with its current all-white starting team. “Glory Road” is a true story of this man’s adventures putting together an integrated team by setting his recruitment net far and wide; into South Bronx, Gary, Indiana, Detroit and other locales where black players jumped hoops in concrete playgrounds without a thought of entering a university on a full scholarship. Since this movie is Jerry Bruckheimer production, you’d expect–and you get–music to blast you out of your seat to such an extent that one wonders how the managers of Madison Square Garden manage to fill their seats with just the excitement of the game to rivet audience attention. The movie follows the usual trajectory of sports pics that involve winning a game in the final two seconds, but the social commentary, which scarcely takes a back seat to the thrill of the game, makes this one a good choice for family entertainment. Not only was a sports team integrated: Haskins, determined to have a winning team but scarcely knowing that he was being socially conscious, embraced one of the early steps in desegregating other institutions. It takes away only a little of the coach’s glory that movie fans interested in the true, historical account, discover that Haskins actually signed on to a school whose athletic teams were already partly integrated. After convincing understandably cynical guys that they’d do well to go to this college, all expenses paid, he leads them onto the court while having to keep an eye on them. Hormones kick in as the guys visit a seedy bar with mariachi musicians to entertain them. One of the fellas even learns to appreciate burritos and nachos in the school cafeteria, though he’s intent on being served “hot dogoes.” James Gartner, in his debut feature movie, makes sure to find each player’s personal idiosyncracies. One guy has an oversized heart illness but is determined against doctor’s and coach’s order to get out on the court. Austin Nichols in the role of Jerry Armstrong gets to communicate with black guys for the first time, learning that “baaad” actually means “good.” “So what’s ‘good’ mean?” he queries. Team-wise, Derek Luke (“Antwone Fisher”) stands out as an extroverted Bobby Joe Hill, whose experiences with racism both at home and in Texas channel his ferocious energy into the game. No audience is going ot be surprised to see that the movie’s climax involves the players in an NCAA championship game where they play the heavily favored, all-white University of Kentucky Wildcats, coached by Adolph Rupp (Jon Voight), who is determined not to let the Texans, with an all-black starting lineup, to savor the biggest upset in NCAA history. Production notes tell us that the young performers had to go through boot camp in New Orleans to satisfy the sports fans in the audience. They play as though they were not actors but genuine all-Americans. To keep the PG rating, you’ll hear dialogue like “I busted my butt” (rather than the more salty term), “I’m teed off” (avoiding the more painful idea), and “Heck of a team. “Glory Road” is predictable, but is solid family entertainment all around. Rated PG. 114 minutes © 2006 by Harvey Karten
harveycritic@cs.com Member: NY Film Critics Online | 
