Cast overview, first billed only: | |||
Whoopi Goldberg | ... | Eddie | |
Frank Langella | ... | Wild Bill Burgess | |
Dennis Farina | ... | Coach Bailey | |
Richard Jenkins | ... | Assistant Coach Zimmer | |
Lisa Ann Walter | ... | Claudine | |
John Benjamin Hickey | ... | Joe Nader | |
Troy Byer | ... | Beth Hastings (as Troy Beyer) | |
John Salley | ... | Nate Wilson | |
Rick Fox | ... | Terry Hastings | |
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Malik Sealy | ... | Stacy Patton |
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Mark Jackson | ... | Darren Taylor |
Dwayne Schintzius | ... | Ivan Radovadovitch | |
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Greg Ostertag | ... | Joe Sparks |
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Vernel Singleton | ... | Jamal Duncan |
Marv Albert | ... | Marv Albert |
Edwina "Eddie" Franklin (Whoopi Goldberg) is a New York City limousine driver and a fanatical follower of the New York Knicks professional basketball team. The team is struggling with a mediocre record when, in mid-season, "Wild Bill" Burgess (Frank Langella), the new owner, as a public relations gimmick, stages an "honorary coach" contest, which Eddie wins. The fans love it, so "Wild Bill" fires the coach and hires her. She takes the bunch of overpaid prima donnas that make up the team and turns them around. But the owner hopes to move the team, now the darling of the New York City fans, to St. Louis. He may own the team, but it belongs to the city and the fans. Written by Bruce Cameron <dumarest@midcoast.com>
When the New York Knicks are in the middle of a really poor run when they are purchased by a new owner, Wild Bill Burgess. In an attempt to get the fans into the Garden, he arranges a `honorary coach' contest which fan Eddie Franklin wins. She takes to the bench pushing Coach Bailey's patience to breaking point. When Wild Bill sees the fans react to Eddie he lets Bailey walk and gives her the job. When she turns the losing streak around the team starts to change but what is Wild Bill's financial plan for the Knicks?
As a Knicks fan I am used to seeing them play rubbish and `snatch defeat from the jaws of victory' so I didn't think it would hurt to watch this film at least in this fictional film they stand a chance of a playoff berth! The plot is quite silly in essence, and very unlikely but it is used well to create jokes and good basketball action. The jokes are a mix of Goldberg's usual stuff as well as New York & NBA in-jokes. The Goldberg stuff is OK if you like her, I always liked her smart mouth so I enjoyed it.
The in-jokes and cameos also help the film. Be it Letterman, the Mayor or a host of NBA stars, the film is carried by these until it realises that it needs to get an actual plot to finish on! At one point I feared a romantic interest but was happy to see that dropped and a plot about Wild Bill's plans brought into play instead. This isn't great but it does OK and provides a good enough framework for Goldberg's wise mouth and lots of NBA cameos! The cast is deep in players, some knicks, most not, some knicks-to-be! Johnson, Jackson, Rodman, Patton, Mouges, Rick Fox and so on, they all play a good part in the film and the `oh look it's' effect helps keep the interest.
Of course many jokes do fall flat and the overall narrative is pretty weak, but the film is a fun diversion. As a knicks fan I did enjoy it on that level but I also felt it wasn't a bad way to spend 90 minutes. It has a watchable energy and is worth seeing if you like basketball and are in an undemanding mood.