The Break (1995)

A depressed and destitute Nick Irons, a tennis pro banned from the tour for slugging a player during a TV match, agrees to coach a bookie's "head case" son, Joel, who wants to turn pro. The... See full summary »

Director:

Lee H. Katzin

Writers:

Vincent Van Patten (story), Tom Caffrey (story),

Stars:

Vincent Van Patten, Rae Dawn Chong, Martin Sheen

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Vincent Van Patten	...	Nick Irons
Rae Dawn Chong	...	Jennifer Hudson
Martin Sheen	...	Gil Robbins
Valerie Perrine	...	Delores Smith
Ben Jorgensen	...	Joel Robbins
Betsy Russell	...	Candy
Daryl Anderson	...	Dale Farley
Gerrit Graham	...	Bill Cowens
Trevor Goddard	...	Nails
John E. Schneider	...	Brock Haynie
Justin Page Buck	...	Blaylock
Roberto Bracone	...	Tito
Todd Rudland	...	Jimmy
Eric Hochman	...	Jai
Steve Zurk	...	Mel

Storyline

A depressed and destitute Nick Irons, a tennis pro banned from the tour for slugging a player during a TV match, agrees to coach a bookie's "head case" son, Joel, who wants to turn pro. The bookie wants his son to get out of tennis and contracts Nick to discourage him. Nick begins to do that but after an episode with his old flame, Jennifer, and after seeing the kid's determination he decides to teach him all the tricks, both physical and psychological, of the trade. The two battle the kids of a famous coach, unfair refs., injuries, travel all over the southern US, while Nick tries to woo his love back, finally to reach the big championship tennis match where all is resolved in dramatic fashion.

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Plot Keywords:

tennis | coach | tied to a bed | hit in the crotch | bonding | 

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Genres:

Drama | Sport

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for some racy sexuality and brief strong language

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

1 September 1995 (USA)

Also Known As:

Gioco, partita, incontro

Filming Locations:

Charleston, South Carolina, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Autumn Wind Films, Overseas FilmGroup

Technical Specs

Runtime:

104 min

Sound Mix:

Ultra Stereo

Color:

Color

User Reviews

Charming, yet cowardly...

Well keep in mind, I'm saying this as a person who likes tennis a lot, not obsessively or anything though. I saw this movie on HBO when it was fairly new, and something about it stuck with me, I have to give it that. I couldn't, until now, remember the name of it, but the content was in my head.

This movie is riddled with cliché, which is good and bad. There is a reason cliché is what it is...because it appeals to most people in some way. Being it centers around a sport, I can pardon some of that, but only some. What I think makes the movie a little seductive, and thus why I remembered it, are the few things that are hard to ruin... There are themes like a struggle against odds, as well as not judging a book by its cover. The coach has a bad reputation in the movie, and throughout, you see the good parts of him, and that makes you reconsider judgment in general to a point...if you look into that sort of thing.

Aside from that, this movie could have used some sort of twist...any sort, really, to make it a little interesting as well. If you are into tennis at all, you might find yourself in the mood to watch it now and then. Otherwise, you may be searching for something to keep it from being ordinary.