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He Got Game (1998)
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Overview
User Rating:
Release Date:
1 May 1998 (USA) moreTagline:
The father, the son and the holy game. morePlot:
A basketball player's father must try to convince him to go to a college so he can get a shorter sentence. full summary | full synopsisAwards:
9 nominations moreNewsDesk:
(10 articles)
Top Ten Working American Directors (From Rope Of Silicon. 7 October 2009, 2:18 AM, PDT)
Top 7 Actors playing Athletes in Sports Films
(From Scorecard Review. 3 October 2009, 7:30 AM, PDT)
User Comments:
A fascinating performance by Denzel Washington in a solid film. more (109 total)Cast
(Cast overview, first billed only)| 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 |
Additional Details
MPAA:
Rated R for pervasive language, strong sexuality, some drug content and violence.Parents Guide:
View content advisory for parentsRuntime:
136 min | Argentina:137 minCountry:
USALanguage:
EnglishColor:
Color (Technicolor)Aspect Ratio:
1.85 : 1 moreCertification:
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:15Filming Locations:
Cabrini-Green Public Housing Projects, Near North Side, Chicago, Illinois, USA moreFun Stuff
Quotes:
Jake Shuttlesworth: [when the clerk sees his ankle monitor] It's arthritis, you know. I got that arthritis thing happenin'.Sneaker Clerk: Yeah?
Jake Shuttlesworth: Yeah!
Sneaker Clerk: My brother's got the same arthritic condition
Jake Shuttlesworth: Really?
Sneaker Clerk: Only it's on his left ankle. It's goin' around here in Coney Island.
Jake Shuttlesworth: Yeah, yeah, yeah. It's contagious!
Sneaker Clerk: Yeah!
more
Soundtrack:
Black Jesus moreFAQ
What high school are the basketball scenes shot in?more
more (109 total)
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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.