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.

---

Plot Keywords:

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

---

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.

---

Genres:

Documentary | Sport

---

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?"

---

Connections

Spoofs Braveheart (1995)

---

Soundtracks

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

User Reviews

Review

First time filmmaker Ward Serrill has really created a wonderfully emotional film. The Heart of the Game, truly has heart and it beats hard throughout the movie. Serrill filmed a girl's basketball team for 7 years; he recorded a total of around 200hrs. The movie turned out to be 102 mins.

As the team competes in games you really start to get into it and begin to root for them in your head. You don't know if they're going to win or lose; when they lose you feel disappointed, when they win you feel relieved. This film just grabs you mentally and it feels like you're watching it live. I felt for the players, felt for the struggle of Darnellia Russell, central character. The film was even humorous at times. The coach, Bill Resler, was a unique character and enjoyable to watch. You really get interested in the narrative and really want to see what will be the out come of this team and it's players. I remember being amazed that it was a documentary; it could have been a storyline for a movie. It's an intense emotional film and it holds and keeps you until the credits run up the screen.

There wasn't much negatives to the film, except like in many films, the movie wasn't as exciting until the middle and then the end. Of course, the ending of the movie wouldn't have been that great unless you've seen the beginning exposition. It was an enjoyable film, so don't let the impression that it's a usual motivational sports documentary, drive you away. The film will be released in wider theater screenings in the summer and the DVD maybe late 2006. I recommend it.