The movie's flaws may stick in the mind more than its strengths

Rating: 7/10 (7 July 1999)

The movie's flaws may stick in the mind more than its considerable strengths: Lee's superb orchestration of the pressures that attend the acknowledged rising star - driven home with shining cars and watches and almost comically available big-breasted women and unexplained bundles of money; the coach, the girlfriend, the uncle are all on the take. The cumulative impact is powerful even if you're not sure about some of the details. But the main plotline with Washington is pretty familiar and doesn't amount to much whichever character you concentrate on - we've all seen such familial pressures/strife played out at the intersection of sports and tough love before. The subplot of Washington finding genuine tenderness with hooker Jovovich is pretty useless too. Lee's montages are wonderful but the Aaron Copland music may actually be TOO stirring and much of the film resembles nothing as much as image ads for the NBA. Generally engrossing but overall too long.