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Film & Video


He Got Game, 1998, 136 minutes, Rated R
By Lisa Foeman

He Got Game certainly isn’t a Spike Lee masterpiece -- that would be Do The Right Thing…period. But Game is a worthwhile film that shows flashes of brilliance.


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Unlike other Spike Lee films, Game exemplifies the effectiveness of simplicity and universality. The plot is straightforward. Jake Shuttlesworth (Denzel Washington) is a convict serving time at Attica who is promised an early parole if he can persuade his basketball phenom son, Jesus [pronounced Jee-zus] (Ray Allen), to sign a letter of intent with the governor’s alma mater, Big State University. Arrangements are made for Jake to leave prison, albeit strapped to a radio transmitter, to accomplish the job within seven days. Not such an easy job since Jake is in prison for killing Jesus’ mother. Understandably, Jesus wants nothing to do with his father.

 

Game opens with a mosaic of people playing basketball, a game of universal appeal that crosses man’s artificial lines of difference. As the plot develops, we see a myriad of relationships - father/son, boyfriend/girlfriend, brother/sister, player/coach, posse/athlete, agent/prospective client - all with varying levels of conflict to which anyone can relate. What’s more, the characters in Game do not merely share a screen as in other Spike Lee films, but actually have a relevant connection. At times, the characters seem almost allegorical. Significantly, the relationships are the vessels through which Lee depicts the pressures and ethical dilemmas inherent in the most important decision in Jesus’ life.

As Game develops, you’ll discern a common characteristic descriptive of the relationships: egoistical. Seemingly, everyone’s actions are motivated by what’s best for Jesus, yet there’s a certain level of distrust among the characters and not coincidentally, everyone stands to gain something from his success. It is disappointing, however, that the interaction between Jesus and Jake was so predictable. Their interface and the conflict between them is the essence of the film, but there are no twists. Jesus hates his father who was an overbearing tyrant before his imprisonment. Jake is now repentant and wants to be the father he never was to Jesus. What’s so novel about that? Nothing and that’s a problem. It would have been more effective if Jake and Jesus were allowed to operate outside the arbitrary boundaries set by Lee.

Relationships aside, Denzel Washington does an exceptional job of portraying Jake. He’s convincing and displays a facility with the material that makes him easy to watch. With Ray Allen, on the other hand, hang your head the way a parent does in response to a child’s royal screw-up of his/her lines in the school play. Granted, Allen is a pro basketball player in real life and not an actor. Maybe that explains why he monotonously and rather unemotionally delivered his lines as opposed to feeling the character.

 

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True to form, Spike Lee concludes the film in dramatic fashion. This time, the ending is mystical, metaphorical, and dare one say, effective. Here's a clue: the ending is a metaphor for the boundaries we all encounter in life. That’s one interpretation…what do you think? M

March 2000

 

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He Got Game

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