Game Day

This film chronicles the sad and pathetic existence of a second-tier college basketball coach (Richard Lewis) as he prepares for the big game. Rather than preparing by running drills with the team, or going over special plays he catalogs his drug collection and scams on the local college girls. Everything culminates on game day, with one of the most unpredictable basketball games ever filmed.

Richard Lewis is brilliant in this film. His "pep" talks to the basketball squad sound as if they were written by Mamet on his best and most cynical day. The delivery of one speech in particular is perfectly done, you will recognize it when you hear it. This speech is the antithesis of every lame "rah-rah" game winning speech I have ever heard in a sports related movie.

The tag line for this film is: "This ain't Hoosiers," and it is an apt one. It is as if Steven Klein (writer and director) has seen every relevant sports film and passed judgment on them, banishing the sports film to a strange bizarro-world, then returning it, just recognizable.

I am always surprised to see a movie on cable that I never even heard about, and I really like. Richard Lewis is a very convincing coach, although I think that small town would drive a coach like him crazy. I especially like the key basketball player coming to the realization that his career and life to that point has been a monumental waste. The coach's conversation with the stripper was very important for the audience's understanding of his talent, and how it transcends his debauchery. What I mean is he can perform in spite of his "sex, drugs, rock and roll" lifestyle.

While this movie isn't exactly "Hoosiers" or "Pride of the Yankees", it is a pretty good movie, a must see for every girl or boy who has dreams of playing big time college sports. Richard Lewis is at his neurotic/wise guy best.

Don't buy this movie in the one dollar bin from Wal-mart... they must have cut out all the good parts like the nudity and drug use.... I discovered this when I found that there was no cursing and saw the movie was cut from 105 minutes listed on this IMDb page to the 75 minutes i saw. Overall i thought it was a good film. A few laughs, a few stirring moments and a twist ending that will will stick to you like rice to teriyaki chicken...

Imagine my surprise after watching this film that there are thirty five more splendid moments of cinema left to watch. I was horrified. Watching RIchard Lewis change from a comedian to submitting one of the most stirring portrayals of a basketball coach is something that was a joy to watch. Anyhow, I recommend this film to all studying movie-making.

When I first saw this movie it was because I was up late at night and couldn't sleep. It was showing on shotime, and I decided to watch it because it was a sports movie. I really enjoy watching sports movies because they are inspiring. Unfortunately this movie didn't inspire me at all, but it made me laugh real hard. The movie has many characters, and it takes you into their lives one by one. The drugged out basketball coach, the town mayor who gambles people's money, and the basketball player who feels like a he didn't accomplish anything in his life. All of these characters all share one common interest, and that is that they're all going to be at the national game against Miami. This movie is really funny, and Richard Lewis is really funny as he plays the role of the head coach. His pre-game speeches are just hilarious. I highly recommend this movie to anyone who is into that dark sort of comedy, and I would give it 4 out of 5 stars.