Respect

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.

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

I'm giving this movie a 5 out of 10. Sorry to those that think every movie that doesn't win an Oscar deserves less than a 3 on a scale of ten. But seriously, why can't people be honest or think rationally anymore? I don't care how much this movie lacked, whether in acting or script, the feeling that I felt leaving the theater may not have left me in complete satisfaction, but I felt happy and good inside. Is there something wrong with just feeling good now? I understand where the criticism comes from, which is why I don't rate this higher. The script was all over the place; sometimes you didn't know what was going on or why. Tom Arnold was more annoying to watch than anyone else, the fact that Mainline scheduled no-name recreation centers for their opponents sounds unbelievable, Franklin's so called gangster status was unconvincing (not to mention seeing what he did to pool was disgusting), and even Terrence Howard sounded way too corny at times. But COME ON! This isn't a 1.7 out of ten kind of movie. Bernie Mac was hilarious for the first time in a while, the setting and music was very accurate and good, and the swimming scenes were real and believable. People need to think about what they saw before giving movies such bad reviews. It doesn't matter how bad some of the recent movies have been, but there are about 10 movies from the last two years in the bottom 100 movies of all time! WHAT? Be honest. Give some of these movies a chance. And for some of those who are wondering, I'm white, so I'm not "defending by race" either. I think this movie is somewhat worth it, definitely watchable and, although I would not recommend this overly, I think that someone could get a lot out of this movie.

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.

"... 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.