VividSimon
Simply Perfect
Lightdeossk
Captivating movie !
Numerootno
A story that's too fascinating to pass by...
Predrag
This film shows Whoopi Goldberg at her big mouth wise cracking best. The film is about a rich chairman who buys the New York Nicks and try's to turn a losing team into a freak show to make money. So he hires a big mouth fan as the head coach who he believes can't coach. The first half of the film is funniest as Whoopi Goldberg tells the Nicks coaches what she really thinks of them. Some of the misfit players are quite good to. There is a Russian who can't speak any English, a great player except he won't pass the ball and a player who is more interested in his failing marriage. And let's not forget the showman owner, who rides a real horse on the court, wants to "give the folks a good show", and sees a better money-making opportunity once Eddie turns the team around.Sure it was kind of predictable, and as many have observed, it pretty much derails by the midway point. But Whoopi Goldberg as the Knicks fan-turned-coach gives a spirited, touching performance. Her initial awkward moments with team members ring true enough. The ways that attempts to reach out to team members range from the plausible (providing ad hoc marriage counseling to one) to the highly unlikely (learning enough Russian to begin to bridge the cultural and linguistic gap of a Russian born player). The contrived, feel-good ending brings the film down several notches on the originality scale. But Whoopi Goldberg gives it all she's got as does the rest of the cast. They wind up giving the movie pretty much all the appeal that it's got.Overall rating: 7 out of 10.
rockchester
This is arguably one of Whoppi's best movies. It's also a well done movie overall. It's an unassuming comedy that focuses more on positive characters and the better aspects of humanity than on controversy and good versus evil. It's a movie that you can watch with the entire family, especially children.Whoppi's character is a woman obsessed with the New York Knicks and through a convergence of an unusual and unlikely set of circumstances, becomes the coach of the team. Her admirable ability to see good in everyone and a lack of guile makes her a leader who steers the people around her towards victory in their lives as well as on the court.There is some genuine pathos in the movie as well as some loads of human to human interactions that are heartwarming and, yes, again, positive that will leave you satisfied and feeling pretty good. It'll turn that frown upside down.
TBJCSKCNRRQTreviews
I remember passing up many an opportunity to watch this film... I would catch commercials stating that it would air within days, I never made a point of watching it(in fact, I rather made one of missing it). Tonight, I saw it (as the famous line in Spaceballs goes) for the first time, for the last time. The movie is just not funny. I never laughed, smirked, heck, I didn't even smile. It wasn't charming, clever or even sporadically amusing. I'm generally not into movies about sports... but I have liked them. I didn't like this one. Didn't care for it a bit. Whoopi Goldberg has her moments, but they are few and far between... and none of them are in this flick. The plot is daft and poorly written. The acting is unimpressive. The characters are thin, clichéd stereotypes. The humor is simplistic and unfunny. The timing is off, more often than not. The sports scenes aren't particularly exciting or involving. The score is decent enough, with one or two great songs. All in all, the film is just not all that interesting... it might be decent entertainment for fans of basketball. But then again, the same could be said of Space Jam, and we all know the level of quality presented in that film... exactly. That film may actually be more entertaining, since it at least has one or two comedic talents(take that, Goldberg). I suggest you skip it, unless you *really* want to see a basketball flick. I recommend this to fans of basket and/or Whoopi Goldberg. Everyone else probably shouldn't bother. 5/10
bob the moo
When the New York Knicks are in the middle of a really poor run when they are purchased by a new owner, Wild Bill Burgess. In an attempt to get the fans into the Garden, he arranges a `honorary coach' contest which fan Eddie Franklin wins. She takes to the bench pushing Coach Bailey's patience to breaking point. When Wild Bill sees the fans react to Eddie he lets Bailey walk and gives her the job. When she turns the losing streak around the team starts to change but what is Wild Bill's financial plan for the Knicks?As a Knicks fan I am used to seeing them play rubbish and `snatch defeat from the jaws of victory' so I didn't think it would hurt to watch this film – at least in this fictional film they stand a chance of a playoff berth! The plot is quite silly in essence, and very unlikely but it is used well to create jokes and good basketball action. The jokes are a mix of Goldberg's usual stuff as well as New York & NBA in-jokes. The Goldberg stuff is OK if you like her, I always liked her smart mouth so I enjoyed it.The in-jokes and cameos also help the film. Be it Letterman, the Mayor or a host of NBA stars, the film is carried by these until it realises that it needs to get an actual plot to finish on! At one point I feared a romantic interest but was happy to see that dropped and a plot about Wild Bill's plans brought into play instead. This isn't great but it does OK and provides a good enough framework for Goldberg's wise mouth and lots of NBA cameos! The cast is deep in players, some knicks, most not, some knicks-to-be! Johnson, Jackson, Rodman, Patton, Mouges, Rick Fox and so on, they all play a good part in the film and the `oh look it's' effect helps keep the interest.Of course many jokes do fall flat and the overall narrative is pretty weak, but the film is a fun diversion. As a knicks fan I did enjoy it on that level but I also felt it wasn't a bad way to spend 90 minutes. It has a watchable energy and is worth seeing if you like basketball and are in an undemanding mood.
