He Got Game
He Got Game is a 1998 film directed by Spike Lee starring Denzel Washington and Ray Allen as a father and son trying to reconcile on the eve of the son's graduation from high school and under pressure to decide which college basketball scholarship offer he will accept. Allen's character, named Jesus Shuttlesworth, is an extremely talented basketball player being pursued by the top college programs in the nation. Washington's character is a convicted felon who is released by his warden, an influential alum of one of the colleges Jesus is considering, so that he might direct his son to sign with the warden's college. The film offers emotional looks into the varied topics of basketball (including urban dreams of professional success), the dynamics of the father-son relationship, the effects on young black men of growing up with absent fathers or parents, and the moral dilema of choosing between material gain and the 'right' thing to do. The film features cameos by several well known basketball players, coaches, and announcers. It opened to mostly mixed reviews.
|
|
