Hoop Realities

Hoop Reality (2007)

* 1/2 (out of 4)

Disappointing "sequel" to HOOP DREAMS is more exploitation than anything else. Arthur Agee narrates this film and appears in a few spots as he updates a few bits of information about his life but it seems the real focus of this movie is to show off a new talent, Patrick Beverley, who is now considered by many to be the next big thing trying to make it to the NBA. It's easy to see why this documentary was attacked by so many people. I mean, if you're going to sell yourself as a sequel to HOOP DREAMS then people are going to expect a lot more than what they actually get here. For the most part the stuff dealing with what Agee has been doing since the release of that classic 1994 film is interesting. We hear some incredibly sad stuff including the brutal murder of his father but sadly there's really not too much else told. What on Earth was the point of having Agee here if we weren't going to learn more? I really don't see any reason for him to be here except so that the producers could push this as a sequel and try to milk fans of the original movie. What's even dumber about this picture is the fact that this so-called sequel doesn't even update us on the status of William Gates. Yes, that's right. As far as the "new" player is concerned, his story might have been interesting but this film has such a low production value that the entire thing just feels cheap. I'm sure another interesting movie could have been made about Beverley as his career certainly got farther than any of the previous two kids but this isn't the movie for that. Again, if you're going to sell yourself as a sequel it's best that you actually deliver and HOOP REALITY doesn't come anywhere close. Hopefully one day someone will come along and give us a real update on those from the original movie.

Thirteen years after "Hoop Dreams" we get somewhat of a follow up in "Hoop Realities." "Hoop Dreams" followed Arthur Agee and William Gates, two high school basketball players from two different schools with aspirations of becoming basketball stars. "Hoop Realities" is narrated by Arthur Agee, so we get to see what became of him, while at the same time it charts the basketball life and aspirations of Patrick Beverly. If you're familiar with the NBA, then you know that Patrick Beverly has had a fruitful NBA career. Personally, I think he's one of the peskiest players in the NBA who borders on reckless with his "tenacious" defense, but nevermind that.

Knowing that Patrick Beverly made it to the NBA makes watching "Hoop Realities" a little more fun. Everyone likes to see the origins of a success story. It is sharply contrasted to "Hoop Dreams" which was largely depressing as we saw William Gates' basketball career end before it started, and Arthur Agee was a big unknown. "Realities" wasn't done as professionally as "Dreams," but it was done well enough for a documentary.

I think any aspiring Black high school basketball player should watch BOTH documentaries. They both inform you of how extremely rare it is for a high school basketball player to make it to the NBA (a fraction of a percent) and while "Dreams" shows two guys who never made it, "Realities" shows two guys who did (Patrick Beverly and Derrick Rose). I know that's ironic: "Dreams" is about guys who failed in a sense while "Reality" is about guys who succeeded.