He Got Game A Movie Review	MPAA Rated - R It's 2:11 Long A Review by Stu Gotz

From Denzel Washington's portrayal of a jailbird dad trying to make good with his son who has grown to hate him, to Jim Brown playing a ball-busting parole officer, this movie had some great characters that I really enjoyed.  Unfortunately there were some characters I really didn't like.  Rosario Dawson played a two-timing, half-breed, hussy bitch that I hated.  Not her character mind you - I just hated what she called acting.  Then there was the ever lovely, always willing to show her tits, Milla Jovovich that played Denzel's hooker love interest.  That whole side line did nothing for the movie, and quite honestly I thought it should have been cut, but there is a rule in Hollywood that says all movies have to have a love interest or a character the female audience can connect with.  So that being the case this movie had a half baked love angle.  Oh well, at least I got to see Mila's tits!  Which reminds me - Parents, this is not a movie for the kiddies - Not only dose it promote poor grammar, but it also has a lot of titty.

Now, since I seem to be in a griping mood let me say that whoever scored (choose the music) should be shot.  This movie was not "The Natural," nor was it "Oklahoma," so I don't understand why it was filled with dramatic orchestrations and hokey cow-poke tunes.  I think something a little more contemporary would have suited the movie better,  but please, no Rap.  Then there was what I'll call the "Spike Influence."  Spike Lee is a great movie maker and no one can give an acted movie that documentary feel like Spike can, but I just wish he'd stayed a little more center focused when directing this movie.  This movie jumped from a drama feel, to a documentary look and feel, to an epic motion picture, back to a simple drama.  It was dizzying and lended itself to making the movie a little slow.

That all being said, I give "He Got Game" 4 of 5 stars and I'm Stu Gotz.  Oops…  I forgot to tell you what it's all about.  Well…  Umm…  Aw screw it!  Dude…  A little help here?

Dude on the Right here, and I'll make this kind of quick.  "He Got Game," for me, was almost like two stories.  First off you had our high school basketball star, Jesus Shuttlesworth (Ray Allen), faced with the "biggest decision of his life," whether to turn pro or go to college to play ball, and if college is the choice, where oh where should he go.  Manipulation is the name of the game, and he gets it from all angles, including his father, which is story-line part II.  Jake Shuttlesworth (Denzel Washington) is Jesus' dad, in jail for killing Jesus' mom.  Well, Jake gets let out for a week to try to convince his son to attend Big State, the alma matter of the Governor, who we are told, assures Jake he'll get out of the big house earlier if Jesus heads to the Gov's old stomping grounds.  But Jake has another problem, and that is that his son hates his guts.  So, in this week, Jake has to not only make friends with his son, but then convince Jesus that he should go to Big State so he can get out of jail early.

Jake has his goal, Jesus has his, and dozens of others have theirs, and "He Got Game" ties most of all of them together.  Spike Lee does a fantastic job of just showing the pressures a top high school recruit can have trying to decide his career, but intertwine that with the pressure of a father on a "work release" program, and I'm really quite amazed that Jesus didn't just quit and go work in a factory.  But, in the end, Jake ends up back in jail, Jesus stays in school, and you get a fantastic movie about growing up fast.

That's it for my part, I'm the Dude on the Right!!  L8R!!