A Hora da Virada

From the director of "Dr. Dolittle", and "Daddy Day Care", once again, true genius sparks from the filmaking of the genius of satire, parody, and downright outrageous comedy, as Steve Carr strikes again with "Rebound", the story about a crazed college coach, thrown of college basketball, gets the opportunity to go back to his roots and become the coach of the Smelters (A Middle School basketball team).

Martin Lawrence, the man who plays coach Roy McCormack, is again, the usual hysterical that he is. His witty humor and deadpan relationship with the kids are not even far between. The baskets are as funny as the game itself, as some yuppy comedy would put it, and is as good as it can get.

Tara Correa, this one's for you.

Too many critics seem to be expecting more from "Rebound" than it tries to offer. This movie is what it is - a simplistic, fun family movie aimed at kids - nothing more, nothing less. The filmmakers weren't trying to create "Casablanca 2" here. As a family movie, it succeeds at producing enough laughs to entertain the kids and keep adults from getting too bored.

There are certainly elements in the movie that could've been better. It's WAY too formulaic and predictable, the scores in the games before Coach Roy arrive are totally unrealistic, and quite frankly, there are several actors who would've been funnier in the role than Lawrence. But the kids are very well cast, and do a real good job with the material they're given. There are many genuinely funny bits, and Megan Mullally is an absolute hoot in her role, which was far too small.

So if you're looking for the next great cinematic classic, keep looking. But if you want a fun family movie that's suitable for the kids, check out "Rebound."

I went with one of my best friends to see this with her family. Martin Lawrence kept you laughing. We literally giggled the entire time. And the her family behind us (her two brothers, 11 and 5, and cousins 7 and 10, and mom 42)...DON'T GET ME STARTED! If you enjoy a clean, funny movie for the family, this is a great one to choose. Actually, the basketball team reminded me of my own at school! (haha...we're pitiful! :S) But we really enjoyed it, and I encourage any of you that haven't seen it, it's a good one for the family. Sure, it would probably been more of a hit on Disney Channel as an Original Movie, but it kept you interested and laughing.

College basketball coach Roy McCormick is a great coach but also known for his fiery reputation. When one of his outbursts sees the very public death of another college's animal mascot, McCormick finds himself banned from the league but with one chance to redeem himself if he can work the remainder of the season without any trouble. Problem is, nobody will hire him to give him that chance to prove himself worthy of challenging the ban, which leads him to his old high school who haven't won a single game for decades.

I have checked so in 2005 I know we had the technology available to do this film a much easier way. What technology you ask? Well, to answer that you just need to look at the opening montages in the Oscars where Billy Crystal is inserted into the big films that year, or the adverts that feature dead stars in modern locations – essentially I guess it is a video version of Photoshop. For Rebound you see we could easily have accessed a handful of selected films, paid for the rights and left them alone with a team of digital editors for about two weeks and then there you have it. For the sports stuff we can go right to pretty much any family-friend basketball film that has comedy fat kids, cocky kids, a kid who "has talent but just needs the right leadership™" but who are a total bunch of losers but perhaps can pull it out for "the big game™". In regards of the rest of it, well, Lawrence certainly is not short of basic films where he plays the same character who learns lessons, makes smart remarks and, oh, hits it off with the sexy black single mom who originally disliked him for his arrogance but ultimately sees the good in him. If nothing else it would have been both an interesting technical project and a cutting commentary on modern family films if it had all been done by digital composite.

Sadly for us, it is instead a whole new film that does everything that other films have do and aspires to do nothing different and, certainly, nothing better. All the genre boxes are ticked, all the obvious pieces of humour are wheeled out and the narrative (for what it is) goes where you know it will from the very start. The "wacky" music lets us know when we are supposed to laugh and all the cast pull faces whenever they get the chance to do so. Lawrence screams laziness in every aspect – whether it be his body or his performance it is clear he cannot be bothered. I write that as someone willing to forgive him because he is pretty funny when he is "on" but in this family rubbish I think he took getting to the set as doing enough. Robinson has a great body and forces herself into affection with Lawrence in the same way everybody else does in these things, whether it be her, Nia Long or whoever. The kids are actually reasonably OK as they have a more straightforward job to deliver; Williams is cool enough to carry the "good kid" role, Martin is a bit irritating but mainly due to his character, McElroy, Hoffman and the others fill in with solid comedy turns. Shawkat is a weird find for Arrested Development fans, but at least she is amusing even if you cannot help feel it must have pained her to go from that to this. Correa-McMullen turns in a similarly solid "I'll do what is required" performance but is sadly more notable now for being killed in a gang-related shooting not long after this film came out.

Other than that tragic footnote though, there is nothing else of particular note about Rebound. It could easily have been other films run together because all it does is tick all the genre boxes without bringing anything new to the party. It is worse than that actually because, in accepting the basics as its all, it is not only mediocre but it mostly wallows in its mediocrity to the point where it offers nothing for adults and only very base entertainment for young children.

It's a shame when a movie tries so hard to be funny but no one laughs at it. I went seeing this with expecting for a couple hours of light, predictable and forgettable fun, but instead of that I got a pointless sitcom that fails miserably at being funny or dramatic.

The main problem with Rebound is that it never comes together; it's that kind of movie that is sorta made by two directors with opposite purposes: light-hearted humor and deep thoughtful drama. So, the whole film is like a struggle between these two visions, and none comes to win. Unfortunately, viewers become the great losers with all this mess.

Megan Mullaly makes a good job of her role, though Martin Lawrence looks uncomfortable and overwhelmed by his. I have read some good reviews about Lawrence's performance, but I have to disagree on that one. I think that this is one of his worst performances, totally unfunny or whatsoever.

For those who defend this film saying that is a kid's movie, I should defend children's rights to have intelligent options, like Pixar and Dreamworks had been doing lately. There is no excuse for showing dull and naive movies only because "it's for the children"...