Respect

"... marathon swimming is the most difficult physical, intellectual and emotional battleground I have encountered, and each time I win, each time I touch the other shore, I feel worthy of any other challenge life has to offer." Diana Nyad

Pride is a cliché from the first frame to the end. But I can't change the truth on which these stereotypes were built. In 1974 Jim Ellis (Terrence Howard), a former swimmer now janitor, coaches a rag-tag, sand lot group of talented minorities from the Philadelphia Department of Recreation to state-wide championships in swimming by invoking PDR (pride, determination, resilience). Been there, done that in movies. Within the last year, several films were based on true stories told of coaches and players overcoming odds to become winners: Gridiron Gang, Glory Road, Coach Carter, and Invincible come to mind.

The difference from the usual fare is swimming, arguably not a strong sport for minorities. The real difference is Ellis, who slowly gains the trust of the lost young athletes at the local center. Ellis doesn't harangue like Bobby Knight or physically react like Woody Hayes; he just shows them how to swim precisely and focused while he also reinforces their need for education. Along the way, of course, is the hanging-about drug dealer/pimp with his alluring dollars and the nagging but attractive single mom, who reluctantly hooks up with Ellis.

All this usually formulaic film fiction-inspired-by-real events is made palatable by engaging actors and the spirit of this lovable coach, still working to this day, who never gave up on the students. Love and trust—sounds like an effective combo even for nations.

You've seen it all before, but you won't be bored because the truth about hard work and love is romantic and enduring.

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.

Pride is MUCH better than the 2.6 rating - yes, it does wear its heart firmly on its sleeve, but a turkey it most definitely is not. We loved Akeelah and the Bee last year and would put this in the same sense of journey: the ad campaign and tag line should be:"The waves they created changed their world forever..."

It does what sport movies should do - gives you the training, the sport, the lift. Of course you know the step by step play but that doesn't alter the fact that this is watchable.

I'm afraid I don't get the objections on ground of race - I would imagine being poor, black, and impoverished and the first in my sport in 1974 would be realistically unbelievably tough.

If you like your films to be about values - then is is definitely worth the view.

IMDb voters should be ashamed - this is not the worst film of all time by a long shot - or all our hearts dead?

Ignore the vote - and view with an open heart - we found it decent, inspiring, and all together a satisfying view.

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

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.