The Heart of the Game (2005)

A documentary Roosevelt Roughriders, a girls' high-school basketball team in Seattle, and one player's fight to regain her eligibility to play.

Director:

Ward Serrill

Writer:

Ward Serrill

Stars:

Darnellia Russell, Bill Resler, Ludacris

3 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Ludacris	...	Narrator (as Chris 'Ludacris' Bridges)
Darnellia Russell	...	Herself
Bill Resler	...	Himself
Devon Crosby Helms	...	Herself (as Devon Crosby-Helms)
Meghan Miller	...	Herself
Jade White	...	Herself
Lindsey Wilson	...	Herself
Michael Silva	...	Himself (as Mike 'Riderman' Silva)
Emily Watson	...	Herself
Hillary Seidel	...	Herself
Aaron Jack	...	Himself
Maria Mendoza	...	Herself
Keasha Beward	...	Herself
April Swafford	...	Herself
Maude Lepley	...	Herself

Storyline

A documentary Roosevelt Roughriders, a girls' high-school basketball team in Seattle, and one player's fight to regain her eligibility to play.

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Plot Keywords:

basketball team | high school | basketball | five word title | physical workout | 

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Taglines:

THE HEART OF THE GAME captures the passion and energy of a Seattle high school girls' basketball team, the eccentricity of their unorthodox coach, and the incredible true story of one player's fight to play the game she loves.

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Genres:

Documentary | Sport

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for brief strong language

Details

Official Sites:

Miramax Films [United States] Official site

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

7 July 2006 (USA)

Also Known As:

I kardia tou paihnidiou

Filming Locations:

Seattle, Washington, USA

Box Office

Opening Weekend USA:

$11,251, 11 June 2006, Limited Release

Gross USA:

$444,687, 3 September 2006

Company Credits

Production Co:

Woody Creek Productions, Flying Spot Pictures, Welb Film Pursuits Ltd.

Technical Specs

Runtime:

97 min 102 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Quotes

Bill Resler: One of the things really that makes coaching fun is when you tell teenagers "Go do 'ABC'", and they'll look at you and say "Yes, we're going to go do 'ABC'", and they're excited about "ABC", and five seconds later you watch them do "XYZ", and sometimes I'll ask them "Why did you do 'XYZ'?" and they never have an answer. They always look at you like, "Why would you ask a question like that?"

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Connections

Spoofs Braveheart (1995)

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Soundtracks

Believe It
Written by M. Ludlum and The Angel (as Angel C.)
Performed by The Angel featuring Mystic

User Reviews

By-the-numbers success story finally dunks at the end

This is a decent sports documentary which covers six intense seasons on a Washington high school girl's basketball team. At the heart of The Heart of the Game, the focus draws towards the Roosevelt Roughrider's passionate, dedicated coach, and his relationship with a troubled and talented point guard. The portraits afforded here do offer uplifting, adversity-conquering glimpses into the soul of true athletes and the support systems set up to help make them thrive, but still usually ends providing more glimpse then revelation. During the six year season coverage, the random ups and downs that occur for this championship-hungry pack of females do become redundant, often substituting genuine sentiment for cold statistics, summed up by rapper Chris "Ludacris" Bridges boring narration.

Coach Bill Resier remains an inspiration throughout, showing unfettered dedication to his young team, though the focus on young star Darnellia Russell does become questionable in the articulation of this simple film's thesis. It can feel at times that the filmmakers are trying to paint this talented young women in a light that will best serve their movie, despite the contradictory behavior coming from her on-screen. Nevertheless, the ensuing legal battle that saw her coaches and teammates fighting for her to finish senior year on the team drives a uniting morale that finally brings an emotional sting near the satisfying conclusion. Certainly not necessary, especially given the overshadowing Hoop Dreams that will forever dominate this niche, the realistically moving finale somewhat justifies the majority of doc's uninvolved detailing.