Originally published Friday, January 13, 2006 at 12:00 AM
E-mail article
Print view
Share
Movie Review
"Glory Road": The lineup that changed the game forever
Ok, so you really don't need me to tell you about "Glory Road" if you've ever seen a sports movie before. Just get out your sports-movie-clich...
Seattle Times movie critic
OK, so you really don't need me to tell you about "Glory Road" if you've ever seen a sports movie before. Just get out your sports-movie-cliché checklist and a pencil.
The intense coach (Josh Lucas) who delivers inspiring speeches and waves his arms around a lot? Check. The soaring music, looming up extra-loud during every dramatic moment as if God had a stereo system that went up to 11? Check. The motley crew of athletes who find an unlikely brotherhood together, including a tough guy who softens and an ailing guy with a big heart? Check. The Big Game, whose outcome is in doubt up to the last second? Check, please.
"Glory Road," with Josh Lucas, Derek Luke, Mehcad Brooks, Emily Deschanel, Al Shearer, Tatyana Ali, Jon Voight. Directed by James Gartner, from a screenplay by Christopher Cleveland, Bettina Gilois and Gregory Allen Howard. 106 minutes. Rated PG for racial issues including violence and epithets, and mild language. Several theaters.
All of this is a shame, really, because "Glory Road" is based on a fascinating story that should have trumped any cliché. Coach Don Haskins made history in 1966 when, in the NCAA basketball championships, he fielded the first-ever all-African-American starting lineup. Under his leadership Texas Western University actively sought out African-American players for scholarships. In the 1960s South, this was radical — and the championship game, televised nationally, brought a new visibility to black college athletes.
"Glory Road," however, gives us absolutely no insight into why Haskins was inspired to do this. Director James Gartner seems more interested in showing us bizarre camera angles (a conversation on the gym floor, say, shot from up in the top bleachers) than in helping his actors to convey actual people. Instead, they're all symbols, and therefore not particularly interesting. Lucas' Haskins is energetic but enigmatic, all speeches and platitudes. It's not the actor's fault; the screenplay (credited to several writers) never lets a real man peek through.
There are a few moments in "Glory Road" that resonate — in particular, the sickeningly ugly treatment received by the black players while traveling in the South — but they almost seem to be in a different movie.
At the end, we're given brief real-life updates on Coach Haskins and the men of the 1966 team. They well deserve the belated recognition, but it's a shame they couldn't be honored by a better movie.
Moira Macdonald: 206-464-2725 or mmacdonald@seattletimes.com
E-mail article
Print view
Share
New DVDs | 'A Serious Man,' 'The Stepfather,' 'The Time Traveler's Wife,' 'Couples Retreat'
Lawyer: Pitt and Jolie sue over split claim
`Up' wins best animated feature at Annie Awards
'The Red Shoes' dances on in a newly restored print
Helen Mirren plays Tolstoy's tempestuous wife in 'The Last Station'
![]()

Entertainment | Top Video | World | Offbeat Video | Sci-Tech
nwautos
Associated Press Study: Fatal crashes down in Washington Last year Washington's roads were the scene of the fewest fatal crashes since 1955. According...
Post a comment
nwjobs
Post a comment
Michelle Goodman blogs about work/life balance.
Five reasons to stick with a job you hate -- for now
Post a comment
- Alaska Air dropping Jones Soda beverages, going back to Coca-Cola
- Man found shot dead in pickup truck in Seattle
- Seattle is first U.S. stop for Picasso exhibit
- Husky Football Blog | Pac-10 expansion to get consideration over next year
- State Senate votes to clear way for tax increases
- Idol Confessions | "American Idol" hopeful from Seattle didn't make it to Hollywood afterall
- Belltown boulevard could be completed by early next year
- Nicole Brodeur | Chrisceda Clemmons' house wasn't the only casualty
- Brier Dudley's Blog | Google rolls its own Facebook & Twitter with Gmail "Buzz"
- Sex, drug rumors swirl about N.Y. Gov. Paterson
- Republicans may be no-shows at health-plan summit
278 - State Senate votes to clear way for tax increases
250 - Pac-10 expansion to get consideration over next year
249 - Lee undergoes foot surgery
231 - Obama: GOP and Dems together can spur job growth
210 - Fort Lewis soldier charged with abusing 4-year-old, holding her head in water
193 - Rivals names Martin one of Pac-10's best recruiters
143 - Belltown boulevard could be completed by early next year
128 - Bus-tunnel attack while guards watched prompts review of Metro security
120 - White House mocks Sarah Palin from podium
92
- Seattle is first U.S. stop for Picasso exhibit
- Belltown boulevard could be completed by early next year
- 747-8 soars smoothly on first outing
- Wine Adviser | Oregon's quality pinots join the bargain ranks
- Alaska Air dropping Jones Soda beverages, going back to Coca-Cola
- Snap out of your photo funk: How to make sense of all those piles of images
- How clean are those pre-washed salad greens?
- Answers to biggest Olympic TV questions
- Brier Dudley's Blog | Google rolls its own Facebook & Twitter with Gmail "Buzz"
- Jerry Brewer | Huskies softball pitcher Danielle Lawrie: A star on the field, not in her mind





