Ex-felon, Eugene Brown, establishes a Chess Club for inner city teenagers in Washington, D.C.
Director:
Jake Goldberger
From metacritic.com
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Title: Life of a King (2013)
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1 nomination.
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Cast
| Cast overview, first billed only: | |||
| Cuba Gooding Jr. | ... | Eugene | |
| Dennis Haysbert | ... | Searcy | |
 |
George Dick | ... | Jamal |
| Thurston Hill III | ... | Henry | |
| J.D. Walsh | ... | Fritz | |
| Rachae Thomas | ... | Katrina | |
| Derrick L. McMillon | ... | Billy West (as Derrick McMillon) | |
| LisaGay Hamilton | ... | Sheila King | |
| Richard T. Jones | ... | Perry | |
|
|
Meakil Bell | ... | Darius |
| Lyn Alicia Henderson | ... | Ms. Gadbaw | |
|
|
Carlton Byrd | ... | Clifton |
|
|
Kevin Hendricks | ... | Peanut |
| Malcolm M. Mays | ... | Tahime | |
| Hammerton Killick | ... | Derek | |
Learn more
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Plot Summary
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Add Synopsis
Storyline
Ex-felon, Eugene Brown, establishes a Chess Club for inner city teenagers in Washington, D.C.
Taglines:
Think before you move.Genres:
DramaMotion Picture Rating (MPAA)
Rated PG-13 for thematic elements, some drug content and brief violent images - all involving teens | See all certifications »Parents Guide:
View content advisory »
Edit
Searcy: [knocking over the king] Wanna play again? Chance to get those cigarettes back.
Eugene: I'm scared, man. I don't got too many friends on the outside. Not any more.
Searcy: Just keep your eye on the end game. Everything'll fall into place.
Eugene: I'm gonna miss you chess man.
Searcy: Listen to me, Eugene. Every day you out there, you out there for me, and every other brother in here. 'Cuz I'm never gonna be out there again.
See more »
Written by Israel Houghton and Ricardo Sanchez
Performed by Israel & New Breed (as Israel and the New Breed)
See more »
Did You Know?
Trivia
The sign on the Big Chair Chess Club has a chess board with pieces set for the beginning of a game..Only problem is the King and Queen are set on the wrong squares; their positions are reversed. See more »Goofs
When Eugene and Taheme are being interviewed at the radio station Taheme storms out of the session and throws his headphones on the floor. In the next shot the headphones appear perfectly arranged on the table. See more »Quotes
[first lines]Searcy: [knocking over the king] Wanna play again? Chance to get those cigarettes back.
Eugene: I'm scared, man. I don't got too many friends on the outside. Not any more.
Searcy: Just keep your eye on the end game. Everything'll fall into place.
Eugene: I'm gonna miss you chess man.
Searcy: Listen to me, Eugene. Every day you out there, you out there for me, and every other brother in here. 'Cuz I'm never gonna be out there again.
See more »
Soundtracks
Power of One (Change the World)Written by Israel Houghton and Ricardo Sanchez
Performed by Israel & New Breed (as Israel and the New Breed)
See more »
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Details
Country:
USALanguage:
EnglishRelease Date:
22 June 2013 (USA) See more »Also Known As:
Jogada de Rei See more »Edit
Box Office
Opening Weekend USA:
$4,231, 19 January 2014Gross USA:
$6,547Cumulative Worldwide Gross:
$44,161Company Credits
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Technical Specs
Runtime:
Color:
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Eugene Brown (Cuba Gooding Jr.) just got out of prison. His daughter Katrina doesn't want to deal with him and he's desperate to prove his worth to her. He gets a job as a janitor at an inner city D.C. school. The kids chase out the teacher monitoring detention and Sheila King (LisaGay Hamilton) puts Eugene in charge for a minute. He does such a great job that she puts him in charge permanently. He starts teaching them to play chess. The effort is opposed by drug lord Perry.
It's yet another 'teach inner city kids something different'. It takes a few different turns than the usual genre movie. The hurdles are a little different. Cuba is relatively good. The young kids are all great. Jake Goldberger's directing is not terribly inventive. It's more of a solid TV movie that is slightly better than the average movie in the genre.