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Samuel L. Jackson is one of the hardest-working actors in movies, and it seems that nary a month goes by that he doesn't turn up in either a starring or supporting role. Like most professionals, he occasionally takes a job just for the paycheck, and he's been in his share of schlocky films. The inspirational-by-Hollywood-design drama Coach Carter might easily have fallen into that category, but it escapes the designation thanks to Jackson's earnest, passionate portrayal of a real-life California basketball coach who put his players' grade-point averages above their game stats. Ken Carter, himself a former sports star, has already distinguished himself in the military and as a successful small-business owner when he volunteers to become a high-school basketball coach. His players are loud, arrogant, and disrespectful; they disdain education and believe their futures lie in NBA stardom. Carter commands their attention and forces them to sign a "contract" promising to maintain a decent GPA or be benched. The body of the movie deals with his efforts to make these unruly charges into disciplined players and, more important, good students. Director Thomas Carter (Save the Last Dance) is saddled with a script that, while based on facts, teems with clichéd characters and situations: the rocky beginning of the season, the troubled star player (played by Rob Brown), the crisis of confidence, and, of course, the climactic Big Game. Thus hampered, he relies mightily upon his cast to give the film credibility -- and he's not let down. Jackson makes Carter an indomitable, fiercely intense figure, and the passion he brings to familiar scenes makes them seem less hackneyed. Also impressive in her role as the star player's pregnant girlfriend -- who sees the coach's insistence on college over possible NBA tryouts as a threat to her future -- is pop singer Ashanti. The case is persuasively made that young black men have other options than rap music and sports stardom, and this important truth buttresses what would otherwise be a very formulaic movie. Ed Hulse

All Movie Guide

The true-life story of a coach who tries to teach his players that there's more to life than basketball is brought to the screen in this sports drama. Ken Carter (Samuel L. Jackson) was once a star player on the Richmond High School basketball team in Richmond, CA, and years later, after establishing himself in publishing and marketing, he returns to the school and to the team as the new basketball coach. Carter quickly sees that his work is cut out for him -- the team is having an awful season, and their fights off the court are more decisive than their play on the court. While Carter wants to make the Richmond cagers into a winning team, he also wants a lot more -- to teach the boys to respect themselves and one another, and that they must excel in the classroom as well as in the gymnasium. Under Carter's guidance, the team turns their losing season around, with the state title a genuine possibility. However, when Carter learns that a number of his players have let their grade point averages slip below 2.3, as mandated in a contract he entered into with the students, he decides to lock the team out of the gym and send them into study hall until their marks improve. Carter's plan quickly becomes a subject of controversy among parents and team boosters, and their objections are soon picked up by the local news media, many of whom are not sympathetic to Carter's belief that his players must have goals beyond college ball or the NBA. Coach Carter also features Rob Brown and Rick Gonzalez as members of the team, and R&B diva Ashanti in her film debut as the girlfriend of one of Carter's players. Mark Deming

Chicago Sun-Times

Jackson has the usual big speeches assigned to all coaches in all sports movies, and delivers on them, big time. His passion makes familiar scenes feel new. Roger Ebert

New York Magazine

Jackson's wonderfully nuanced, witty performance, and a few unexpected plot turns, give Coach Carter a subtext that helps complicate such knee-jerk oversimplifications, redeeming the role with energetic humor and a loose-limbed grace. Ken Tucker

Product Details

• UPC: 032429072627
• Source: PARAMOUNT
• Presentation: Wide Screen
• Sound: Dolby AC-3 Surround Sound
• Editions: Subtitled, Dubbed
• Time: 2:16:00
• Sales Rank: 33,744

This DVD is also available as part of a box set:

• Samuel L Jackson Ultimate Collection