Respect

PRIDE does not open any new doors in the genre of film biopics of teachers who raise the status of downtrodden students to the point of genuine appreciation of self worth. The story has been told countless times with different characters, both male and female, different races (African American, Hispanic, Caucasian, etc), and different areas of the United States. But despite the recurring similarity of heart-on-the-sleeve stories such as this, PRIDE stands solidly on its own merits, in part due to the well developed and written screenplay by Kevin Michael Smith, Michael Gozzard, J. Mills Goodloe, and Norman Vance Jr. based on the life and contributions to society of Jim Ellis, in part due to the sensitive direction of Sunu Gonera, and in part due to the fine cast. The idea behind the story may not be new, but PRIDE is a fine example of the genre.

Opening in the 1960s we meet Jim Ellis (Terrence Howard) as a superior swimmer unable to use his gifts because of his race. Jump 10 years forward and Ellis has finished college as a math major and seeks to teach in Philadelphia, only to face racism again. Desperate for work he accepts a 'closing down' job at a condemned Philadelphia Recreation Center tended by downtrodden Elston (Bernie Mac) who resents Ellis' intrusion into his domain. Ellis restores the center's swimming pool and gradually initiates a swim team for troubled teens, young boys and a girl who are new to swimming and even newer to the thought that they can become someone important and rise out of their slum surroundings and influence of drug lords. With time Ellis teaches the team not only how to swim like champions, but also how to gain faith in themselves through PDR (Pride, Determination, Resilience), eventually winning a championship as a team of African Americans in a city still plagued by racism.

The cast is excellent: Terrence Howard once again proves he can create a character of complete credibility, completely immersing himself in a role with all of the subtle facilities of fine acting; Bernie Mac at last is given a serious role and rises to the level of Howard in skill; Kimberly Elise and Tom Arnold provide fine cameo roles. But one of the treasures of this film is the cast of young actors who seem so natural that they deserve special plaudits: Brandon Fobbs, Alphonso McAuley, Regine Nehy, Nate Parker, Kevin Phillips, and Evan Ross. Clint Eastwood's son Scott Reeves plays a pivotal role as a racist swimmer.

So despite the overexposure of stories such as this, PRIDE stands out as one of the best. It is a beautifully filmed and well-developed homage to a very worthy man and coach: PDR. Grady Harp

Back in 1964, Jim Ellis (Terrence Howard) tried to compete in Salisbury, N Carolina but he's not wanted as the only black competitor. Then it's 1973. All he can get is a job to close down a rec center from the Philadelphia Department of Recreation. He finds bitter maintenance guy Elston (Bernie Mac) and a rundown swimming pool. Sue Davis (Kimberly Elise) is the representative who is reluctantly closing down the unused center. When the city takes down the basketball rims, Jim teaches the kids to swim. It turns out that Sue Davis is the sister and guardian of one of the kids.

It's a simple formulaic sports movie. It adds in a splash of racism, a splash of poverty, and stirs it up in an unconventional black sport. Terrence Howard holds it all together. Bernie Mac could have done some damage with his clowning but it's in small doses. It's heart warming at the appropriate time. Tom Arnold may not have the weight to play the bad guy. However the movie follows the underdog formula and does a good job.

I am interested to know how involved Coach Ellis was with this film. I am an African-American swimming coach as well; and I am delighted to see Black swimming get this kind of exposure. However, there were some technical aspects of the film relative to the swimming (the order of events, the starter's pistol, the starters command, the coaching instructions) that were not quite accurate.

Also, I thought Cheney State was a historically Black college. How was he the only Black swimmer on the team? I swam on a predominantly Black team during that era. We visited all-white venues. I do not remember any hostility. And we were traveling south of the Philadelphia area. I guess the tension was fictional and for theatrical purposes.

Lastly, the pulling at the heartstrings and tears were a little over the top. I guess the success of Oprah and chick flicks is precipitating this type of genre. I would have appreciated Bernie Mack's humor coming out a little more to balance the crying.

I'm surprised by some of the comments here. I'm white, I went to see the movie this weekend, and I thought it was great.

Yes, there are some white characters that treat our heroes horribly. But that rang true for me. This was 1974 Philedelphia, after all. And racism is a horrid part of our past.

But all the characters, even our heroes, are flawed. And there are a couple African American characters who are more evil then any of the white characters are.

Furthermore, the entire point of the movie is that pride is something you have to earn. Before you can be proud of yourself, you have to earn it. This applies to everyone, no matter what your background.

Go see this movie for yourself and make up your own mind. Personally, I found it inspiring and well worth watching.

It's obvious that a lot of people giving PRIDE a "1" are reacting to the trailers and radio ads that make this movie come off as a "black vs. white" thang. In reality, the movie it self is much more nuanced and filled with universal themes. It's been said that the achievement in sport by people of color is responsible more than anything to bring a semblance of equality in America. In sports, it's mathematical. A strike is a strike, a touchdown's a touchdown no matter who throws it. PRIDE is worth supporting because it shines light on a real-life person who used sports to teach young kids there's a bigger world past the playground, and if you develop your talents you won't have to fall back on the race card to catch breaks. Pride is a solid sports flick with strong performances by all that will suffer because of some unimaginative and lazy marketing. If you like Terrence Howard or Bernie Mac or even Kimberly Elise, make this one worth your time. Otherwise, wait for the Mark Gastineau story.