Common Sense Note
Parents should know the film includes harsh language and imagery emerging from U.S. racism during the 1960s. Characters argue about terms used (spoken and written, in letters and graffiti) include the n-word, "Negro," "colored," and "honky." The Confederate flag appears in multiple shots during the final game. Characters' arguments over race and their on-court competitions lead to shoving and fighting. Some of the game footage shows minor rough play. Players sneak off to drink at a bar and appear at practice the next day hung over. Some white fans at games on the road throw trash at the integrated team as they enter and leave the court. One black player is beaten by a few white thugs, leaving him bloodied and bruised.
Families can discuss racism as it is presented here and how it works now. How do disparities in opportunities and hopes result in resentment on all sides? You might also talk about the responsibilities for taking up such struggles: How does the coach engage his players' fight as his own? How does his wife share his commitment? How can sports help to address social and political problems?
Common Sense Review
Reviewed By: Cynthia Fuchs
Formulaic but well-crafted, GLORY ROAD features a hard-driving coach who inspires his underdog team to athletic and moral victories. Like producer Jerry Bruckheimer's previous spin on this story, Remember the Titans, this one is based on a true story. Here college basketball players must contend not only with better-funded school programs and lack of respect, but also U.S. racism in 1966.
James Gartner's movie includes all the expected tricks of the genre, from vintage soundtrack and heart-pounding court action to excellent performances and heartfelt lessons underlined by teary eyes in close-up. Coach Don Haskins (Josh Lucas) eagerly leaves his job with a Fort Worth high school girls' team for the NCAA team at Texas Western University in El Paso. He packs up wife Mary (Emily Deschanel), who tends to appear with baby on hip, to live in the boys' dorm.
The film spends little time considering anything other than the team dynamics. This leaves the 1960s context (the Vietnam war, the Black Panthers) to TV images and brief comments. That's not to say that these framing devices are ineffective, but they are occasionally set alongside trivial jokey bits, as when forward Harry Flournoy's (Mehcad Brooks) mother is called to sit in on his classes to ensure he does his homework.
Don appears to "get" racism and specifically, racist violence against his players (white fans throw trash at them as they enter arenas, graffiti is left on their motel room walls). But he stays focused on the game, seeing winning as the best way to "instruct" opponents. That is, until he learns he's been getting hate mail at home and Mary's been hiding it from him. Now, he's upset. Still, it's up to the players to deal with the fact that one of their number has been beaten bloody in a diner bathroom as they bus through the South, with coach mostly unseen during their deliberations. His most radical act -- and it is a profound one in its way -- is to start five black players at the finals, the first time in NCAA history.
He has recruited players from nontraditional sites, including a Gary, Indiana steel mill and street courts in the South Bronx. His team -- including guard Bobby Joe Hill (Derek Luke), star center David Lattin (Schin A.S. Kerr), Willy Worsley (Sam Jones III), Nevil Shed (Al Shearer), and Willie Cager (Damaine Radcliffe) -- feel like they've landed "in Bonanza" when they reach Texas, and the white players marvel at the first black people they've ever seen.
At the '66 NCAA finals, Haskins' Miners face the much better funded, all Caucasian University of Kentucky champions. They're coached by the unfortunately named Adolph Rupp (Jon Voight under yet another inventive makeup job), whose exasperation shots feature confederate flags in the background. The film also includes enough images of hard violence to underline at least some of the costs for the Miners, not to mention their less well looked after peers. Rousing, manipulative, and predictable, the movie knows its business.
Families who enjoy this movie will also like Remember the Titans, Friday Night Lights, and Miracle, all recent, inspiring sports movies.
Rate It!
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Sexual ContentBobby Joe sneaks off to see his grlfriend; some background girls wear skimpy clothing. |
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ViolenceRoughhousing among players; beating in a diner bathroom leaves one player badly bloodied. |
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LanguageMinor cursing, but salient use of n-word, to showcase the racism players were up against. |
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Social BehaviorPlayers are dedicated; those racists who decry their interracial team are plainly demonized. |
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Drug/Alcohol/TobaccoDrinking in a bar, where characters smoke in the background, some comments made ("What are you smoking?"). |
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