Blue Chips

**Blue Chips** is a 1994 American basketball drama film directed by William Friedkin.

The film was released on February 18, 1994 by Paramount Pictures.

## Plot

A college basketball coach (Nick Nolte) puts his career at risk when he illegally pays off three talented basketball players (Shaquille O'Neal, Penny Hardaway and Matt Nover) in order to get them to sign with the college.

## Cast

* Nick Nolte as Coach Pete Bell
* Mary McDonnell as Jenny Bell
* J. T. Walsh as Happy Kuykendahl
* Ed O'Neill as Ed
* Alfre Woodard as Lavada McRae
* Bob Cousy as Vic Roker
* Matt Nover as Ricky Roe
* Shaquille O'Neal as Neon Boudeaux
* Anfernee "Penny" Hardaway as Butch McRae
* Anthony C. Hall as Tony
* Marques Johnson as Mel
* Robert Wuhl as Marty
* Cylk Cozart as Slick

## Production

"Blue Chips" was filmed from May 10, 1993 to August 9, 1993 in Frankfort, Indiana (arena interior), French Lick, Indiana as well as in Chicago (at Mount Carmel High School), New Orleans and in Los Angeles on the campus of the University of Southern California.

Nick Nolte was director William Friedkin's only choice for the role of Pete Bell. He filmed "Blue Chips" on the weekends because he was working on the film, "I'll Do Anything" at the same time.

To prepare for his role, Nolte shadowed basketball coach Bobby Knight during Indiana's 1992 season and was in attendance for Indiana's 1992 senior night. He also wrote a 200-page novel about Pete Bell to tap into the character's psyche.

William Friedkin's decision to cast basketball players (such as Shaquille O'Neal and Anfernee "Penny" Hardaway) as basketball players in the film was rooted in his sentiment that actors make for unconvincing athletes in most sports films.

## Box Office

"Blue Chips" debuted at #2 at the U.S. box office, grossing $10,123,605 during its opening weekend. It went on to gross $23 million in the United States and Canada, but only $3.7 million international for a worldwide total of $26.7 million.

William Friedkin later admitted the film was *"weak at the box office"*, saying: *"It's hard to capture in a sports film the excitement of a real game, with its own unpredictable dramatic structure and suspense. I couldn't overcome that."*

## Critical Reception

"Blue Chips" earned mixed reviews from critics. On Rotten Tomatoes, it holds an approval rating of 37% based on 27 reviews with an average rating of 5.10\10.

Hal Hinson of The Washington Post panned the film, writing: *"The ostensible subject here is the big business of college athletics, and, just as The Program tried to do with college football, the film's purpose is to expose the corruption behind the scenes of so-called amateur athletics that have transformed the sport into a desperate money grab. But, like The Program, this strident, unconvincing bit of movie muckraking uses our national sports mania to decoy us into sitting through a dreary lecture about ethics and moral corner-cutting. What's most surprising here is that the assembled talent—from the worlds of basketball and movies—is so impressive and, still, the work is so tired. As the coach who exchanges his soul for a winning program, Nick Nolte struts and bellows in a desperate attempt to bring his character to life, and though he works up quite a lather, all he gets for the effort is sweat stains."*

Roger Ebert from the Chicago Sun-Times wrote: *"The movie is told almost entirely from [Nick] Nolte's point of view, and he makes an immensely likable character right from the top."*

James Berardinelli of ReelViews said: *"In this story, even if the script occasionally becomes too preachy. The end sequences especially could have been toned down."*

Janet Maslin of the New York Times called it *"too energetic to sound self-righteous."*

In his review of "Blue Chips," Peter Rainer of the Los Angeles Times wrote: *"The movie is best around the edges, when it's jamming and anecdotal and not taking itself so heroically seriously."*

Owen Gleiberman of Entertainment Weekly wrote: *"The folly of Blue Chips is that the film makes this greased-palm corruption seem an even bigger sin than it is. (It's like a political drama made by someone who is shocked, shocked at the sleaze of campaign financing.)"*

In TV Guide's review, they called it a *"predictable tale of corruption in college basketball, featuring the ubiquitous superstar and corporate pitchman Shaquille O'Neal."*