He Got Game (1998)

Director:

Spike Lee

Writer:

Spike Lee (written by)

Release Date:

1 May 1998 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Sport

Tagline:

The father, the son and the holy game.

Plot:

A basketball player's father must try to convince him to go to a college so he can get a shorter sentence.

Plot Keywords:

Basketball | Jesus | Prison | College | High School

Awards:

9 nominations

Cast

Denzel Washington	...	Jake Shuttlesworth
Ray Allen	...	Jesus Shuttlesworth
Milla Jovovich	...	Dakota Burns
Rosario Dawson	...	Lala Bonilla
Hill Harper	...	Coleman 'Booger' Sykes
Zelda Harris	...	Mary Shuttlesworth
Ned Beatty	...	Warden Wyatt
Jim Brown	...	Spivey
Joseph Lyle Taylor	...	Crudup
Bill Nunn	...	Uncle Bubba
Michele Shay	...	Aunt Sally
Thomas Jefferson Byrd	...	Sweetness
Roger Guenveur Smith	...	Big Time Willie
John Turturro	...	Coach Billy Sunday
Lonette McKee	...	Martha Shuttlesworth

MPAA:

Rated R for pervasive language, strong sexuality, some drug content and violence.

Runtime:

136 min | Argentina:137 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital | SDDS

Certification:

Finland:S | Iceland:12 (video rating) | Iceland:L | USA:R (certificate #35973) | Singapore:PG (cut) | South Korea:18 | Philippines:R-18 | Argentina:16 | Australia:MA | France:U | Germany:12 | Italy:VM14 | Netherlands:12 (video premiere) | New Zealand:R16 | Peru:14 | UK:15

Filming Locations:

Cabrini-Green Public Housing Projects, Near North Side, Chicago, Illinois, USA

Company:

40 Acres & A Mule Filmworks

Trivia:

For the scene where Jesus and Jake play for the letter of intent, the original script called for Jesus to win 15-0. However, Spike Lee encouraged the actors to play for real. The scene in the film reflects the actual game between Ray Allen and Denzel Washington.

Quotes:

Dom Pagnotti: When making a business decision, the only color that matters is green.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Kenan & Kel: He Got Job (#3.18)" (1999)

Soundtrack:

Interlude

A fascinating performance by Denzel Washington in a solid film.

Denzel Washington has one of his greatest charcaters in Jake Shuttlesworth in this compelling film by Spike Lee. Jake is a man serving a life sentence for the accidental murder of his wife during a domestic dispute. The dispute centered around Jake's aggressive coaching of his young son Jesus who he is obsessed with turning into a basketball star. As the film opens we learn that Jesus (effectively played by Ray Allen) has indeed become a high school basketball star and is being now aggressively pursued by University teams and commercial agents. In a somewhat fanciful, yet unfortunately believable plot device the Governor promises Jake early release from prison if he can convince his son to go to Big State. Much of this film is amazingly well executed my only regret comes around some of the gender politics of the film (many of the female characters are underdeveloped and/or cartoonishly stereotyped). This is particularly unfortunate because the film has so much to say about the intersections of patriarchy/economic injustice/racism that I wish Spike Lee could have been a little more consistent with his development of the women characters (one notable exception is a brilliantly realized performance by Milla Javovich as a prostitute that rooms next to Jake). This said the film is still an important accomplishment and should be seen.