This film shows Whoopi Goldberg at her big mouth wise cracking best. The film is about a rich chairman who buys the New York Nicks and try's to turn a losing team into a freak show to make money. So he hires a big mouth fan as the head coach who he believes can't coach. The first half of the film is funniest as Whoopi Goldberg tells the Nicks coaches what she really thinks of them. Some of the misfit players are quite good to. There is a Russian who can't speak any English, a great player except he won't pass the ball and a player who is more interested in his failing marriage. And let's not forget the showman owner, who rides a real horse on the court, wants to "give the folks a good show", and sees a better money-making opportunity once Eddie turns the team around.
Sure it was kind of predictable, and as many have observed, it pretty much derails by the midway point. But Whoopi Goldberg as the Knicks fan-turned-coach gives a spirited, touching performance. Her initial awkward moments with team members ring true enough. The ways that attempts to reach out to team members range from the plausible (providing ad hoc marriage counseling to one) to the highly unlikely (learning enough Russian to begin to bridge the cultural and linguistic gap of a Russian born player). The contrived, feel-good ending brings the film down several notches on the originality scale. But Whoopi Goldberg gives it all she's got as does the rest of the cast. They wind up giving the movie pretty much all the appeal that it's got.
Overall rating: 7 out of 10.
Sure it was kind of predictable, and as many have observed, it pretty much derails by the midway point. But Whoopi Goldberg as the Knicks fan-turned-coach gives a spirited, touching performance. Her initial awkward moments with team members ring true enough. The ways that attempts to reach out to team members range from the plausible (providing ad hoc marriage counseling to one) to the highly unlikely (learning enough Russian to begin to bridge the cultural and linguistic gap of a Russian born player). The contrived, feel-good ending brings the film down several notches on the originality scale. But Whoopi Goldberg gives it all she's got as does the rest of the cast. They wind up giving the movie pretty much all the appeal that it's got.
Overall rating: 7 out of 10.