Fouled Out Pretty Quickly.

Rating: Null/10 (16 October 2003)

Director Spike Lee's ode to basketball is one of those frustrating experiences that appears to be a possible slam dunk, but ultimately ends up fouling out mainly because of an uneven story and a nearly invisible tone. Denzel Washington is serving a prison sentence for killing his wife in a domestic dispute. While away, his son has grown to become high school basketball stand-out Ray Allen (a real-life NBA player). Governor Ned Beatty promises to shorten Washington's sentence if he can convince Allen to attend Beatty's alma mater. He has one week to accomplish his goal. Naturally Allen is outraged by seeing his father again and creates a shell to keep Washington out of his life. At first this seems like a good thing, but what if all of Allen's so-called friends (coaches, relatives, girls, agents and fans) are the true antagonists here and Washington is the flawed hero? Lee is never sure what he wants to do here. The movie plays out like a chaotic basketball game with lots of action and memorable action, but in the end you do not want either team to win. Washington and Allen's relationship takes up some airtime, but so do others that leave almost as fast as they appear. The corruption in collegiate athletics and within sports agencies is also given an interesting glimpse, but alas those topics are not explored completely. "He Got Game" looked like it would match the brilliance of William Friedkin's "Blue Chips" (a flawed, but important movie), but just does not seem to have the coaching necessary. Washington is impressive and handles the material as well as he can. Allen is a complete revelation. Anfernee Hardaway had stolen the show from Nick Nolte in "Blue Chips" and Allen pretty much does the same thing in this one. Ray Allen seems to have unlimited potential in front of the camera and his gift could be developed more fully after his playing career ends. I have said for years that Ray Allen should be the best player in the NBA, but he has ultimately disappointed me throughout his professional career. Allen is not the problem here though. Lee's sporadic direction and a meandering script end up sending "He Got Game" to the locker room way too soon. 2.5 out of 5 stars.