I wish that I could report that Glory Road is a fresh new addition to
the sports-movie genre, an innovative piece of work that surprised me from
the first second to the last. I can’t. This family-pleaser, directed
by James Gartner, is strictly by-the-numbers, containing all of the
elements we’ve come to expect in sports films. In other words,
it’s tired and tattered. Josh Lucas stars as Don Haskins, who took a coaching
job at tiny Texas Western College and guided the school’s basketball
team, the Miners, to an NCAA championship in 1966. Winning a national title
is, of course, remarkable in itself, but the way in which Haskins pulled it
off was, at the time, almost incredible. With little money to work with, he
recruited young African-American players whom other institutions had passed
by because of their race. Cobbling together a ragtag group of rural Texas
cagers and urban hoopsters from New York City and Gary, Ind., Haskins
assembled a team that, emphasizing defense, marched to a 28-1 record,
stunning nearly every opponent they encountered. Dominating as they did for nearly the entire season,
the team provided little tension on the court for the filmmakers to work
with. Instead, Glory Road focuses on the interactions between the teammates, who
initially distrust each other; their relationship with Haskins, whom they
hate for pushing them so hard; and the turmoil the team encountered each
time they played on the road. Of course, as the sports-movie formula
dictates, the players’ success on the court solves all of their
problems. In winning, they learn to respect each other and their coach, and
their opponents must acknowledge their efforts, albeit grudgingly. Lucas, though a capable actor, is miscast here; he is
far too young for the role. His inspirational speeches, for example, seem
to lack sincerity because he just doesn’t seem to have enough
experience to relate the life lessons he passes on. Equally troubling is
the quick pace at which Gartner presents the story. Although his fast-paced
style is perfect for the exciting basketball sequences, it is ill suited
for the film’s narrative passages. Characters and situations
aren’t fully developed, and the film winds up playing like a Cliff
Notes version of a sports saga rather than a fully realized story.
This article appears in Jan 12-18, 2006.
