Reviews

I love Neil Simon's work; George Burns- one of the funniest straight-man of all time; Walter Matthau among my favorites- How could this all-star lineup finish in last place?

The opening scene of the pigeon standing on George M. Cohan's statue is the best part of the movie.

The rest is worse than crash and burn, it's burn the whole way down before crashing into nothingness.

I agree with the many who feel this remake of 'The Male Animal' falls far short of the original- but- Gene Nelson's dancing is worth suffering through the rest.

This film is a cleverly produced recounting of the Battle of Brooklyn in 1776. The presentation calls upon the viewer's knowledge of history (or lack thereof) to be mixed with equal parts imagination and curiosity. The narrator appears in period costume and intersperses scenes featuring re-enactors, present-day denizens, and set pieces, all to great effect. History indeed comes alive once again. Hail to the brave and nearly forgotten four hundred!

Couched within a story about a female African-American coach in a man's world, we discover a parable demonstrating how the combination of dedication, persistence and human compassion can overcome any number of obstacles one encounters in life, both external and self-imposed. The backdrops of an HBCU (Historically Black Colleges and Universities) as the setting for both gender and (reverse) race bias, politics within a university system, and a few 'good-old-boy' networks help set the stage for the development of the main character played so ably by Taraji Henson. The film effectively develops the secondary story about the group of young men who comprise the golf team struggling to make adjustments in an unfamiliar environment as they transition from adolescence to maturity. Michael Clarke Duncan's character adds a comforting, soothing balm throughout the film. Henry Simmons' does quite a bit with his portrayal of the antagonist as a conflicted administrator, though the part is written rather thinly. Consistent humor throughout the film effectively keeps the film moving along swiftly and helps prevent it from becoming 'message-heavy'. At film's end you're likely to come away smiling and carrying a heart-warming feel-good aura about you as well… and oh, by the way, it's based on a true story; enjoy!