GRH Book Club: He Got Game

"Basketball is like poetry in motion, cross the guy to the left, take him back to the right, he's fallin' back, then just J right in his face. Then you look at him and say, 'What?'"
-Jesus Shuttlesworth

Anybody who has been around me for an extended period of time knows that this is my favorite movie of all time. While I could talk for hours about it, I'll try to break down for you, dear reader, as concisely as possible, a few reasons why this movie endears itself to me.

The movie starts with a montage of basketball being played all over America by everybody. Young, old, black, white, in urban playgrounds and Midwestern cornfields. Simply by stating that, one could make a convincing argument that basketball is the most American of sports. It's a simple enough concept, and all you need is a ball and a hoop. You can dribble and shoot by yourself, play one-on-one with a friend or stranger, anything.

The cast is phenomenal. Of course Denzel Washington is something of a living legend these days, and he brings his A game to this movie. Normally pro athletes aren't great actors, regardless of how often they try, but there are several in this movie that are extremely convincing of their roles. Obviously the main character, Jesus Shuttlesworth, is played by Ray Allen (who, at the time, was a heralded UConn product in his second year with the Milwaukee Bucks). His character is of the utmost complexity, and he pulls it off. The whole movie hinges on his doing this, as the central conflict in the movie is Jake (Denzel) reconnecting with his son, Jesus, trying to earn his forgiveness. The real difficulty is that along the way, Jesus must navigate his way through all of the pitfalls that come with living in poverty and being the best high school basketball player in the country.

The list doesn't end there. Travis Best is great as Sip Rogers, Jim Brown plays quite the menacing Parole Officer Spivey, and of course, Rick Fox plays the wackiest guy in the world as Chick Deagan. I would have partied with him every night if I went to Big State.

Not to mention dozens of cameos ranging from announcers, coaches, current and former players, guys that never made it, and Michael Jordan's three words: "He got game."

As far as sports being played in the movie, there is an assortment of the best hoops being played in a fictional movie. It's well-shot, well-edited, and performed by people that are professionals at doing it. No stunt doubles needed. My one gripe is, and always is, that Denzel has no game. I'm not sure why movies about basketball somehow always feature a central character with a broke-ass shot (see: Snipes, Wesley and Harrelson, Woody in White Men Can't Jump).

The soundtrack is mostly an original Public Enemy album. The title track, "He Got Game" is a fantastic song about life in general, set over a sample of Buffalo Springfield's "For What It's Worth," and belongs in every iTunes library. That said, when the basketball is being played, the London Symphony Orchestra takes over, which works out magnificently. The pick-up game in a housing project playground is set to Aaron Copland's "Hoe-down" (of Beef, It's What's For Dinner fame). It might be the music, it might be the hoops being played, it might be John Wallace proclaiming, "I got hops! I got hops!" while raising the roof, but the scene is among my favorites of all time.

Finally, there's Jesus and Booger's ride in Big Time Willy's Mercedes convertible. Of course, it's one of the most memorable scenes, being three minutes of Spike Lee lunacy. It includes a couple of homicides, heroin injected, crack smoked, craps played, and hardcore pornography. BUT! In my most recent viewing, during Big Time's discussion on 'bloodsucking leeches,' I noticed a younger Jamie Hector (Marlo Stanfield in The Wire) with one line, asking for money so he can get some new Nikes and a Hilfiger sweater. My mind exploded. I guess I was always laughing so hard at the puertoriqueño sister saying, "I need some pampers for my baby. I need some Dolce and Gabanna for me. I need some Chanel (pronounced, 'Channel')."

Don't put this movie on your Netflix queue, don't rent it. Buy it. Today.