Rated PG for thematic material, language (including some racial epithets), and violence.
Directed by Sunu Gonera (first time director)
Starring Terrance Howard, Bernie Mac and Tom Arnold
Pride will have trouble graduating from the kiddy pool.
The film is based on the true events of Jim Ellis (Terrence Howard), a college-educated African-American who is frustrated by his inability to find a teaching position in the 1974 job market. He reluctantly takes a job to clean out and close down a community center in the Philadelphia Department of Recreation (PRD). While there he discovers a dilapidated recreational pool and dreams about what could be. Because he was once a swimmer who was not allowed to compete because of his skin color, he decides to put together Philadelphia’s first African-American swim team. With the help of the grumpy janitor, Elston (Bernie Mac), they do their best to turn a group of misfits into a winning team.
Does any of that sound familiar? It should. It follows in the footsteps of films like Remember the Titans and Glory Road. If only it could have lived up to their legacy.
I like sports movies that tell an inspiring story in a way that motivates us. You know the kind: a group of misfits, losers or enemies plus a dedicated, inspiring and maybe even “rough around the edges” coach experience some initial failure which is followed by a lot of hard work that leads them to the big win. When done right, even when we know what’s going to happen, we cheer them on, cross our fingers and maybe even cry with them as they celebrate. Although Pride followed the same formula, it doesn’t even come close to greatness.
I felt the film jumped around too much and left out information which made me ask questions like… Where are they getting the chemicals to keep the pool so clean?… Who paid for the uniforms and warm up suits?… Where did they get all the new equipment for the pool?… And so on and so on. Maybe if they’d have made me care more about the story, I would have cared less about the pool.
There are two scenes that I can only assume were meant to be the climatic “we did it” moments. SPOILER WARNING: The first came at PDR’s first home meet, when the other team decides they are too “sick” to compete. One by one the PDR team stands on the starting platform and defiantly announces, “This is our house coach” as they dive into the pool racing no one. As I watched the first swimmer dive into the pool, I was almost there, in the moment, almost feeling like this might work but as seven more kids did the exact same thing… it lost me again.
The second was the final scene… if you haven’t already guessed, PDR wins but it just lacked any real passion. It wasn’t that I didn’t believe they could win, I just didn’t care any more.
The only highlight was Bernie Mac who is just plain hilarious, and for a few moments, even makes Terrance Howard funny.
SHOULD KIDS SEE IT?
The PG rating comes mostly for the language, which includes the n-word being used several times. Once again, a fairly clean movie dirtied by foul language.
Conversation Starter
Three Simple Questions (with Answers You May Be Looking for):
- What are some of the messages or themes you observed in this movie?
- How do you suppose we—as serious Christ-followers—should react to this movie?
- How can we move from healthy, Bible-based opinions about this movie to actually living out those opinions?
