Blue Chips

I am not a basketball fan. Instead, I am an oddball..a bad movie buff. While I do NOT watch a steady diet of lousy pictures, every so often I watch some god-awful movies. I have seen all 50 bad films from Harry Medved's great book "The Fifty Worst Films of All Time" as well as 96 of the current Bottom 100 on IMDB. And, while "Blue Chips" is not on any of these bad films list it has something which does interest me....Shaquille O'Neal. While he seems like a nice guy in real life, Shaquille has a long, sorry track record of incredibly bad films....such as "Kazaam", "Steel" , "Jack and Jill", "Scary Movie IV" and "Freddy Got FIngered". In fact, while I don't blame him completely, as he's first and foremost a basketball star, few, if any, can match his sad record in films.

In this basketball flick, in addition to O'Neal, you've got some other huge stars...Penny Hardaway, Marques Johnson and an older basketball great, Bob Cousy (who STILL is a great shot even at his age). In small roles are Jerry Tarkanian, Larry Bird, Bobby Knight and a few others. This is reason enough to see this movie....as well as to watch Nick Nolte play an interesting role as a college basketball coach...and it's one of Nolte's best performances.

So why, in particular, is Coach Bell (Nolte) so angry and upset this particular season? Well, for the first time ever he's in danger of coaching a team with a losing record. Sick of seeing the best recruits going to other college programs, Bell is intent on bringing in some new and very talented blood into the program. Much of the film consists of him traveling the country, interviewing prospects and doing everything he can to hook them for his team. The problem is that there is a LOT of pressure for him to cheat and bend the rules....as it seems like everybody is doing it to get the best recruits.

The film is an excellent case study of the ugly side of college sports. And, as the film seems to say, 'everybody's doing it'....which seems likely. I appreciated this plot very much...and Nick Nolte really blew me away with his acting. He was clearly at his best here. Also, it was nice to see Shaquille O'Neal...his acting seemed natural and likable. Overall, a surprisingly good film that exceeded my expectations....and I am not sure why it only has an overall score of 6.2 at this time.

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This movie is very underrated, it hasn't gotten nearly the credit it deserves. I thought it was very well done, although it wasn't perfect, it was still very good. It is the first movie to talk about a problem that is very prominent in todays colleges and their methods of recruiting. The film is very well written and Nick Nolte does a great, great job playing the conflicted coach.

Nick Nolte carries the movie and Mary McDonnell is great in a supporting role. It's not just a film for those who follow hoops or hate the inexplicable incompetence of the NCAA, it's also a story about the human condition.

Pete Bell is a college basketball coach. He's under pressure to win and is under pressure to get the players by any means necessary. How will he stand up to the pressure or will he give in to pressure?

Basketball movies are often the `weak team overcomes' type and are not exactly great. Some are good (Hoosiers) but most are mildly distracting at best (The air up there), few reach the heights of Hoop Dreams. However Blue Chips is good because it manages to cast a critical eye over the real world of college ball – there are no small town winners, there are no `kids with hearts of gold' etc – instead it is as much a business as the NBA and the stakes are high to get the best players.

Bell shows us how he must juggle doing what's right but also doing what the players want in order to get a winning team. This is refreshing – rather than yet another sports movie with the same old cliches. The down side is that it doesn't go far enough in my mind and it doesn't offer solutions.

Nolte is good and is really convincing as a coach – even if he's a bit OTT at times on the sidelines. His support is great in the form of McDonnell, Walsh, Woodard and the real players of Shaq and Penny do OK. The cast is also filled out with plenty of coaches, commentators and such from real life – so there's plenty to see.

Overall this is one of my favourite basketball movies simply because it tells it like it is – even if it does have it's weaknesses.

This isn't a bad movie at all. Considering the scandals that have come to light about college athletes receiving cars, houses, money, etc. this film has even more relevance today than it did when it first came out.

To see a Shaquille O'Neal full of potential and natural talent (yet not yet spoiled by his own success) is a thrill - even for a Kings fan. His acting isn't the point; it's the few scenes that show him actually playing basketball that are worth watching for.