Nonureva Really Surprised!

Skunkyrate Gripping story with well-crafted characters

Beystiman It's fun, it's light, [but] it has a hard time when its tries to get heavy.

ThedevilChoose When a movie has you begging for it to end not even half way through it's pure crap. We've all seen this movie and this characters millions of times, nothing new in it. Don't waste your time.

Sam-285 This story is too negative. It starts nice but later on the coach yells too much. My guess is that the real-life coach did not yell as much.I especially doubt that the real-life coach got so upset about words.The movie leads people to believe that yelling is a good way to get people to succeed.Many people won't understand that there are better ways to get success, but I am sure that the real coach understands.I hope that someone some day makes a better version of the story that shows more of the caring that created the successful team.I am now curious about the documentaries to see their version of the story.

goldiggr This was one of the best movies I have seen in a long time. I hope to be able to see this movie again and again. It is worth watching more than once. The moral to this story, more people need to see. Thank you to all the people involved in making this movie. I think the choice of actors made this movie about as real as if you were a part of the movie. This is one movie I'll be recommending to everyone. It is not a sports movie but a movie about REAL life. No matter where a person goes in this Edge of America at some point all of us become a minority and we all need to learn we can make this world a better place working together. This is what the movie is teaching us.

aaaacme Another viewer wrote: "Killer premise: Black male teacher is recruited suddenly to teach English at an Indian reservation high school and takes over as coach of the hapless girls basketball team." Actually, it wasn't an original premise at all, but a true story.Just enough details were changed by the producers to avoid having to pay for the rights to the life of coach Jerry Richardson and the young women of the Shiprock, New Mexico Lady Chieftains high school basketball team. An award-winning documentary ("Rocks With Wings") about Coach Richardson, the team, and their profound influence upon life on the Navajo Reservation had already played across the country and aired on PBS before Chris Eyre and Willy Holtzman attempted their awkward adaptation-- "Rocks With Wings" tells the same story, but with far greater insight and subtlety, as well as a few more plot twists. I would recommend that documentary over "Edge of America" to anyone interested in this story.

scott-551 An above-average TV movie that avoids the pitfalls of cliche.This movie began airing as "On The Edge" on the Dutch Hallmark Channel in December 2003. It's a solid piece of work on all levels, well above average for family-oriented TV movies. James McDaniel performs with typical power as Kenny Williams, a racially aggrieved black schoolteacher and basketball coach who has relocated from his home in Texas to the Three Nations Reservation in Utah. There the coach takes over the hapless girls' basketball team. Predictable culture clashes, high-school social conflicts, family tensions, and athletic drama unfold from there. But the story remains relatively spare, relying on believable characterization rather than its timeworn plot elements to carry the film. Williams' struggle to adapt to, and find acceptance in, his new community dominates the story. At one point, not long after a parent from a nearby white high school has all but called Williams a "nigger," the mother of a girl on the team dismisses him as a "white man."It's surprisingly compelling material, but it means that the Native American community drops into the background despite the able performances of a large cast. This is a movie about a black coach in a Native American community, not a movie about a Native American community with a black coach. The latter would have been a more compelling story. The very similar "Stand And Deliver" devotes more attention to the students in the story and is a better movie for it.The movie is beautifully shot. Interior scenes convey a feeling of authenticity with their lived-in-ness, and the exterior shots do justice to the majestic landscapes of the American West. Also, the soundtrack features several new recordings by singer/ songwriter Annie Humphrey. "Edge of America" and "Good Medicine" might be her best work to date.Thankfully, the new coach is not able to turn his team into state champions overnight with a motivational speech at the end of the first act. Instead, we see Williams repeatedly making mistakes and struggling to learn from them for the sake of his own pride and the team's progress. His relationship with the girls on the team is complicated by their appreciation of his efforts and their frustration at his shortcomings. The story concludes with a satisfyingly low-key scene of homecoming for the team and their coach that steers clear of either the triumphalism or mawkish melodrama that mar most sports dramas.