RottenTomatoes.com
Log In | Register | What is RT?
Found a Bug? Squash It! Report Bugs Here
  • Home
  • Movies
  • DVD
  • Celebrities
  • News
  • Critics
  • Trailers & Pictures
  • CommunityBeta
  • Box Office
  • | Best Of
  • | Certified Fresh
  • | Showtimes
RT Search Powered by Google
help icon Enhanced RT
searches on Google
Click here to turn on enhanced search results from RT on your Google searches.
 
Movies / On DVD / Coach Carter
Coach Carter

Rate this Movie Help Icon

  • Write a Review
  • Read Reviews
  • Add to List
  • Buy Poster External Icon
  • Visit Official Site External Icon
Bookmark and Share

Coach Carter (2005)

  • T-Meter Critics
  • Top Critics
  • RT Community
  • My Critics
  • My Friends
  • DVD
64 %
Tomatometer
Template ImageTemplate Image

How does the Tomatometer work Help Icon

Reviews Counted:141

Fresh:90

Rotten:51

Average Rating:6/10

Consensus: Like a good point guard, Samuel L. Jackson is the clear leader on the floor in a film that critics say transcends its formula trappings to be inspirational. However, some have said the film is too preachy and too long.

Rated: 12A [See Full Rating] for violence, sexual content, language, teen partying and some drug material.

Runtime: 2 hrs 16 mins

Genre: Dramas

Theatrical Release:25-02-2005

Synopsis: In the tradition of LEAN ON ME and DANGEROUS MINDS comes COACH CARTER, an inspirational drama starring Samuel L. Jackson. Jackson portrays real-life figure Ken Carter, who graduated from... In the tradition of LEAN ON ME and DANGEROUS MINDS comes COACH CARTER, an inspirational drama starring Samuel L. Jackson. Jackson portrays real-life figure Ken Carter, who graduated from California's Richmond High only to return there years later, in 1999, and take over as head coach of the boys' basketball team. Unfortunately, the troubled school he remembered as a teenager is an even more insufferable place in his adulthood. Determined to make a change in his players' lives, Carter makes each young man sign a contract that ensures he will maintain a 2.3 GPA, attend every class, and wear a jacket and tie on game day. Of course, the players reject the contract at first, but when they realize that they don't have any other choice, they give in. And when it appears that their tough-as-nails coach is actually turning them into winners on the court, they embrace their coach's philosophy even further. But when Coach Carter receives the incomprehensibly awful progress reports of his players, he does the unthinkable: he benches the entire team. Directed by Thomas Carter (SAVE THE LAST DANCE), COACH CARTER is a sensitive drama that features an impassioned performance by Jackson, as well as the impressive young cast (most notably Rob Brown, Rick Gonzalez, and Robert Ri'Chard). [More]

Starring: Samuel L. Jackson, Robert Ri'chard, Rob Brown, Debbi Morgan

Starring: Samuel L. Jackson, Robert Ri'chard, Rob Brown, Debbi Morgan, Ashanti, Antwon Tanner, Ramsey Gbelawoe

Director: Thomas Carter

Director: Thomas Carter
Screenwriter: Mark Schwahn, John Gatins
Producer: Brian Robbins, Mike Tollin, David Gale
Studio: Paramount Pictures

[See More Credits]

  • Trailers
  • Pictures
  • Coach Carter Trailer
    >
1 of 1

See More Movie Trailers & Pictures

Reviews for Coach Carter

  • T-Meter Critics
  • Top Critics
  • RT Community
  • My Critics
  • My Friends
  • DVD
 
 
1 - 20 (sorted by comments; UK critics are listed first)
Text View | 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 >> >|
Arrange By:Fresh | Rotten | Comments | Name | Source | Date
 
 

Although this is an inspirational genre pic that pushes all the requisite buttons throughout, you can’t help but feel that rather than benching the team, director Thomas Carter should have benched a few of those ham-fisted sporting clichés instead.

Full Review Source: Time Out | comment Comment
02/09/06
Chris Tilly
Chris Tilly
Time Out
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

A worthy addition to familiar triumph-of-the-underdog stories.

Full Review Source: Channel 4 Film | comment Comment
03/25/08
Leigh Singer
Leigh Singer
Channel 4 Film
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

[Jackson] is, of course, born to shout things at teenagers on basketball courts and he delivers all the time-honoured usual speeches with his customary brilliance

Full Review Source: ViewLondon | comment Comment
02/26/05
Matthew Turner
Matthew Turner
ViewLondon

Over long and deeply manipulative, Coach Carter should nonetheless be praised for its far-from-fashionable celebration of personal advancement through academic achievement.

Full Review Source: BBC | comment Comment
02/08/05
Neil Smith
Neil Smith
BBC
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Entertaining ... but you do wish they'd tell the tale without funnelling it through Hollywood's inspirational movie assembly line.

Full Review Source: Shadows on the Wall | comment Comment
01/16/05
Rich Cline
Rich Cline
Shadows on the Wall

On paper a routine sports yarn. On screen, thanks to Jackson refusing to phone it in, far more satisfying than you might expect.

Full Review Source: Empire Magazine | comment Comment
04/01/06
Simon Braund
Simon Braund
Empire Magazine
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

The clear irony of this genre is that it seeks to tell the story of a rebel in as conventional a way as possible.

Full Review Source: Film Freak Central | comment 1 Comment
01/13/05
Walter Chaw
Walter Chaw
Film Freak Central

If only Shaq and Kobe had Coach Ken Carter (Samuel L. Jackson) at the helm, the two fellas would be holding hands, frolicking in fields of daisies and racking up a few more NBA titles.

Full Review Source: E! Online | comment Comment
01/14/05
E! Online
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: St. Louis Post-Dispatch | comment Comment
01/14/05
St. Louis Post-Dispatch
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Boston Phoenix | comment Comment
01/15/05
Boston Phoenix
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Sydney Morning Herald | comment Comment
05/27/05
Sydney Morning Herald
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Ebert & Roeper | comment Comment
10/18/08
Ebert & Roeper

Samuel L. Jackson plays the real-life coach of a high school basketball team in this solid, unsurprising sports drama.

Full Review Source: New York Times | comment Comment
01/13/05
A.O. Scott
A.O. Scott
New York Times
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

The kind of boot-strap-pulling, tear-duct-tickling, I-am-Spartacus-crowing movie-on-a-mission that might rankle more cynical movie goers but sets hearts aflutter for most everyone else.

Full Review Source: Houston Chronicle | comment Comment
01/14/05
Amy Biancolli
Amy Biancolli
Houston Chronicle

Treats its subject in such a neutered, worshipful fashion that it ultimately does the actual accomplishment a disservice.

Full Review Source: The Stranger (Seattle, WA) | comment Comment
01/13/05
Andrew Wright
Andrew Wright
The Stranger (Seattle, WA)

When critics join in accepting this junk, is it any wonder few directors bother with fresh visions?

Full Review Source: Las Vegas Mercury | comment Comment
01/13/05
Anthony Del Valle
Anthony Del Valle
Las Vegas Mercury

Samuel L. Jackson's intense, dynamic presence lifts this film above the usual sports movie and makes it one to remember.

Full Review Source: ReelTalk Movie Reviews | comment Comment
01/17/05
Betty Jo Tucker
Betty Jo Tucker
ReelTalk Movie Reviews

Not even Jackson's thundering dynamism lifts the drama from mediocrity.

Full Review Source: Dallas Observer | comment Comment
01/14/05
Bill Gallo
Bill Gallo
Dallas Observer

The movie's 'message' -- life is more than just sports -- is delivered with the delicacy of a piano dropped from a fifth-story window.

Full Review Source: Arizona Republic | comment Comment
01/13/05
Bill Muller
Bill Muller
Arizona Republic

God love Coach Carter and what he's done to improve real kids' educations. But movies shouldn't feel like school, even when their subject is learning.

Full Review Source: Los Angeles Daily News | comment Comment
01/14/05
Bob Strauss
Bob Strauss
Los Angeles Daily News
 
 
1 - 20 (sorted by comments; UK critics are listed first)
Text View | 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 >> >|
all

Latest News for Coach Carter

March 22, 2007: Box Office Guru Preview: Six New Films Try to Shoot Down Spartans From #1 Spot
A half-dozen new soldiers enter the marketplace this weekend trying to topple the kingdom of "300" which has reigned supreme at the box office for the past two weeks. More...

January 15, 2007: Box Office Guru Wrapup: "Stomp" Steps All Over New Releases
Stomping into the number one spot over the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. holiday weekend was the college dance drama "Stomp the Yard," which grossed an estimated $22M in... More...

October 27, 2006: The Weekly Ketchup: "Casino Royale" Goodies, "The Dark Knight" Heads East, No Governator In "Terminator 4," And More!
In this week's Ketchup, we get the latest scoop on "Casino Royale," "The Dark Knight" has a possible new filming location, and because he has other... More...

September 14, 2006: Box Office Guru Preview: Rock's "Gang" Aims to Score Big
Following the worst box office weekend in three years, Hollywood has nowhere to go but up. It hopes. More...

See All

More DVDs

Top Rentals
Tomatometer Percentage Movie
36% 36% Angels & Demons
25% 25% Four Christmases
68% 68% Funny People
95% 95% Star Trek
14% 14% The Ugly Truth

More Rentals…

New On DVD This Week
Tomatometer Percentage Movie
32% 32% Terminator Salvation
44% 44% Night at the Museum: B…
86% 86% A Christmas Tale
60% 60% Paper Heart

More New Releases…

What’s Hot On RT

Twilight Saga: Eclipse

Twilight Saga: Eclipse

5 facts straight from the cast.

Disney Animation

Disney Animation

We chart the studio's classics.

Avatar

Avatar

An exclusive look at the human hardware.

Eric Bana

Eric Bana

The Star Trek star talks cars with RT.

Other News

  • Top Stories
  • Popular
  • Interviews
 
 

Comments

 
 
Top Stories
Headlines Comments
  
  • Spielberg Hops Away from Harvey Source: Variety
17
  • Tarantino Could Have Directed Green Lantern Source: MTV
24
  • Will Duvall be Gilliam's Don Quixote? Source: Collider.com
26
  • No Hobbit Until 2012? Source: The Wrap
22
  • Don't Hold Your Breath for Hancock 2 Source: HitFix
42
  • Peter Berg Talks Battleship Source: CHUD
2
  • Summit Ponders Twilight Finale Source: Variety
159
  • First Look at Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Source: USA Today
56
  • Jeremy Renner Talks Hawkeye Possibilities Source: Superhero Hype
14
  • Todd Phillips Talks The Hangover 2 Source: Entertainment Weekly
18
Popular
Headlines Comments
  
  • Total Recall: Natalie Portman's Best Movies
67
  • 10 Horrifically Profitable Films
45
  • Five Favorite Films with Jason Reitman
43
  • Box Office Guru Wrapup: Vampires and Football Break Thanksgiving Records
42
  • Critics Consensus: Everybody's Fine Is Just OK
41
  • Five Favorite Films with Jesse Ventura
39
  • RT on DVD & Blu-Ray: Terminator Salvation and a Smithsonian Battle
21
  • Awards Tour: National Board of Review Winners List!
19
  • Sundance 2010: RT's 10 Most Anticipated Movies
12
  • 2010 Sundance Film Festival Lineup Announced
10
Interviews
Headlines Comments
  
  • Director Ruben Fleischer Talks Zombieland
1
  • "I Don't Hate Women": Lars von Trier on Antichrist
17
  • Eric Bana talks Love the Beast - RT Interview
11
  • Fight Club Sound Designer Reflects on Film's 10th Anniversary
21
  • James Schamus talks Taking Woodstock - RT Interview
8
  • John Hurt Talks Harry Potter, Quentin Crisp and Alien - The RT Interview
15
  • Terry Gilliam Talks Doctor Parnassus
22
  • Wes Anderson Talks Fantastic Mr. Fox - RT Interview
9
  • Wolverine Creator Len Wein Talks About the Film
28
  • Gavin Hood Talks Wolverine; Possible Sequel
28
 
 

Sponsored Links

Around The Network

  • Coach Carter at Rotten Tomatoes
  • Coach Carter at IGN
  • Coach Carter at AskMen

Fresh Links

Featured
RT on YouTube
RT on YouTube External Link

Subscribe to RT's YouTube channel and don't miss a second of our cracking video content.

RT on Twitter
RT on Twitter External Link

Follow Rotten Tomatoes and join us as we tweet about the week's releases.

 
 
About| Site Map| Help| RT To Go| Contact Us| Critics Submission| Linking to RT| Licensing| Movie List| Celebs List| Newsletter
IGN Logo

IGN.com | GameSpy | Comrade | Arena | FilePlanet | GameSpy Technology
TeamXbox | Planets | Vaults | VE3D | CheatsCodesGuides | GameStats | GamerMetrics
AskMen.com | Rotten Tomatoes | Direct2Drive | Green Pixels


By continuing past this page, and by the continued use of this site, you agree to be bound by and abide by the User Agreement.
Copyright 1998-2009, IGN Entertainment, Inc. About IGN | Support | Advertise | Privacy Policy | User Agreement | Subscribe to RT's XML feed! IGN RSS Feeds
IGN's enterprise databases running Oracle, SQL and MySQL are professionally monitored and managed by Pythian Remote DBA
Certain product data ©1995-present Muze, Inc. For personal use only. All rights reserved.