January release films are generally duds, so it’s quite refreshing to see an entry so strong so early in the year. Coach Carter is a surprisingly strong film for its genre, as it manages to do for inner-city teenage black male issues what Mean Girls did for suburban teenage white female issues. In just over two hours, Coach Carter tackles teen pregnancy, drug dealing, and partying as well ball player’s personal issues such as lack of respect for adults, apathy towards academic studies and even their unhealthy self-glorification.

Coach Carter addresses each of these problems with sensitivity, intelligence, humor and grace. The film earns its sentimentality with its hard nosed practicality and wisdom. Though they’ve got the worst school in the area, the boys learn that they can make the best of their situation through hard work smart choices. Coach Carter doesn’t reveal anything particularly novel, but its age-old wisdom is still desperately needed.

The film’s general story structure is fairly simple. In a way that’s reminiscent of Lean on Me, Ken Carter (Samuel L. Jackson) takes charge of a losing basketball team at Richmond High. Carter takes charge and puts things on the right track, helping the boys as much in their personal lives as on the court.

Things get complicated when Carter insists on personal civility outside of school and steady performance in class as a condition for playing time on the court. This doesn’t sit well with the players, their parents, the teachers, the administration or the community. Carter must find a way to help the boys continue to win games despite the storm brewing off the court.

Although Coach Carter is based on a true story, I still struggled to believe that the high school principle would be unconcerned with the basketball player’s grades. Likewise, the resentment that the entire town had towards Coach Carter for forfeiting the team’s games in order to bring the kids’ grades up was hardly credible. It all felt like a lot of contrived resistance laid out to reinforce Carter’s heroism.

But Carter’s a hero even if his opposition is contrived. Coach Carter is constantly making difficult decisions on behalf of the boys, often with great opposition from parents and administrators, that amount to no personal benefit. Far from the stale, flawless hero – he’s a real character who makes very real moral decisions.

The film does buy into many sports-film conventions, but Coach Carter rises above the rest by showing it has real heart. Like most sports movies, the guys at Richmond learn how to play as a team. But this is the first sports movie I’ve seen where the kids learn real respect for other people, including such seemingly frivolous issues such as refraining from running up the score. Under the direction of Coach Carter, the kids at Richmond really do grow up.

Year: