Arts & Entertainment
Film Noir Review
"Pride" will have you cheering!
by Judy Marker, Movie Critic
Inspirational movies are meant to motivate, inspire and influence audiences. All based on true stories or events, we have seen a large number of them in recent years and "Pride" is the latest.
While most of these movies have been about sports, for example basketball ("Coach Carter"), baseball ("The Rookie") and football ("Invincible"), we have also been treated to spelling bee competition ("Akeela and the Bee") and most recently public high school education ("Freedom Writers")
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"Pride" tells the true story of Jim Ellis (Terrance Howard "Idlewild"), who over came great personal hardships to establish the Philadelphia Department of Recreation swim team in the 1970s. While not keeping exactly to the events, "Pride" still is a story we can enjoy.
Diving in, we find Ellis as a young man in 1964 South Carolina growing up in a racially-segregated society. While a champion swimmer, he saw his opportunities greatly limited by bigotry. What could have been a promising career never materialized.
Now a decade later and living in Philadelphia, Ellis in need of work, takes a job at the soon to be demolished Marcus Foster recreational center. Its unused swimming pool reminds him of his "what if" past.
Bernie Mac ("Guess Who") is Elston, the tough and battle-worn rec-center maintenance man who takes Ellis’s "I dream of a swim team" and helps make it reality by cleaning-up the pool and finding candidates for the swim team.
As Ellis and Elston concentrate on developing the team and making them competitive, we see them win over the powers that be and neighborhood as they build towards the national championships in Baltimore.
Can an African American swim team really be competitive?
As the team advances, it faces a rival suburban squad headed by Coach Bink (Tom Arnold "Soul Plane"), who reminds Ellis of everything he had to face growing up in South Carolina. Can Ellis control his temper and stay focused?
Zimbabwe-born Director Sunu Genera makes his big screen feature debut and gives us an enjoyable one hour and 44 minute adventure with satisfying results. The first rate cast headed by Howard, Mac and Arnold swims past several minor hurdles.
The real stars of the movie are the unknown swim team members.
Unfortunately, too many writers and there were four, detracted from the story telling.
"Pride" is rated "PG" for thematic material, language including some racial epithets and violence. It really should be "PG-13." "Pride" is motivating and gives us a rare look at a story we would not have known about. It receives my rating of "3-J’s/Worthy effort!"
