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05/21/07
Something to Cheer About (2002)
43 %
Reviews Counted: 14 Fresh: 6 Rotten:8 Average Rating: 5.3/10
Runtime: 64 mins
Synopsis: This crowd-pleasing documentary celebrates the accomplishments of Oscar Robertson and the Crispus Attucks Tigers. Led by future NBA MVP Robertson, the Indianapolis high school team challenged racial prejudice in 1950s America. Future Harlem Globetrotter Hallie Bryant and All... [More]
Genre: Sports/Recreation
Director: Betsy Blankenbaker
Reviews
1 - 16 (sorted by date; UK critics are listed first)
Top CriticClick to read the article
05/05/07
Plodding but heartfelt, Something to Cheer About pays tribute to a time when basketball scholarships and professional opportunities were practically unknown. Back then, a player's only opportunity was to make history.
04/30/07
Top Critic
Utterly conventional...but still works as an uplifting tale of success in adverse circumstances, and as a testimony to the power of one dedicated teacher.
04/29/07
Despite a last-reel schmaltz attack, this sports doc presents its blockbuster-baiting material with unfussy immediacy and dignity.
04/28/07
The film is really geared toward basketball fans who won't mind the talking-heads format, and the glowing interviews that have more the tone of testimonials than a historical documentary.
04/27/07
It muddies key details (it's not clear we're seeing the '55 championship game until it's over), while never addressing others (the team's gifted coach quit in '57, but who knows why?).
04/27/07
The movie could have had much greater resonance were it not focused so monolithically on basketball. One wonders what life was like at Attucks High, or how the players' success on the court affected their lives off it.
04/27/07
Top Critic
At just over an hour, it seems better suited for TV viewing than a theatrical release.
04/27/07
One of [director] Blankenbaker's key acquisitions here is the grainy black and white footage of Crispus Attucks in action during the mid-1950s. It is stunning stuff.
04/27/07
Top Critic
Writer-director Blankenbaker fails to get much out of her subjects beyond surface generalities. It's a shame, because you know these men have stories to share.
04/26/07
An affectionate tribute to the Attucks program under the leadership of visionary coach Ray Crowe.
04/26/07
Understands sport as much more than athletics, when basketball served not as a source of endorsement deals but as an opportunity for people who never had much before.
04/26/07
Betsy Blankenbaker’s film doesn’t possess the kinetic charge of the tale itself; it’s too reliant on talking heads and faded photos. In short, Cheer feels amateurish for a generation raised on sports films.
04/26/07
1 - 16 (sorted by date; UK critics are listed first)
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