My Take on the Movies
A Mini-Review of
COACH CARTER
By: A. L. “Toni” Anderson

Coach Carter is based on the true story of Ken Carter, a former high school basketball star and multiple record-holder who returns to Richmond High to coach a losing team of would-be losers-at-life. Samuel L. Jackson does his usual fine job as the “miracle” Coach who turns the team around. The rest of the cast is filled out by a bunch of mostly unknowns, with the exception of Robert Ri’chard (who currently is a regular on UPN’s series One on One) and singer Ashanti, who should not leave her day job.

The film is full of heart, touching lightly on the private lives of a handful of the athletes, one of whom is the Coach’s own son whose greatest wish is to play for his dad. It seems a realistic, if gritty, view of the Richmond we see on today’s news, and whose reputation as “hard core” remains intact.

There are obvious parallels between Coach Carter and Lean on Me (1989), and some of the characters (notably the parents of the high school students) are completely interchangeable. The story is not a new one; we all remember teachers and coaches from our own childhoods who went above and beyond, to give back to our com­muni­ties. And despite Coach’s protestations to the contrary, the movie does some­how resemble a fairytale. But all in all this is a very good film, and well worth seeing.

[© 01/15/2005]