Pride (watch trailer) is a semi-biopic of charismatic swimming coach Jim Ellis.
Synopsis: Set in 1970s Philadelphia during the height of racial discrimination, Terrence Howard (Lt. Col. James "Rhodey" Rhodes in Ironman) plays Jim Ellis, a fresh college graduate who finds himself struggling to find a teaching position despite his mathematics degree due to his being an African-American. Desperate and out of options, he takes a job at the local recreation center or "rec" assisting the grouchy but kind-hearted janitor Elston played by comedian Bernie Mac (Soul Men & Mr. 3000). Being a former competitive swimmer himself, Ellis cleans up the rec's swimming pool upon discovering its poorly maintained state. One day, a group of boys find that the rec's basketball hoop has been removed and soon discover that the rec center is closing down. Taking pity on the kids, Ellis allows them to swim inside on the condition that the kids do not fool around. When one of the elder boys takes Ellis' suggestion to "cup his hands when pulling so he'll swim faster" as an insult and challenges him to a race, Ellis nonchalantly outraces the boy, demonstrating his swimming prowess to the disbelief of the other kids. The kids quickly ask Ellis for some pointers and before anyone of them knew it, the Philadelphia Department of Recreation (PDR) Swim Team was born. After a rough first meet with an all-white swim team (coached by Tom Arnold) wherein PDR is soundly beaten and humiliated, the brash neophyte swimmers begin taking the sport seriously and dramatically improve under Ellis' stern but patient tutelage. Against all the odds, the kids eventually win the state championship by embodying PDR--Pride, Determination, Resilience.
Review: When I first watched Pride, the first thought that ran through my head was, "At last! A decent swimming movie!" I half expected that it would be like Coach Carter or Remember the Titans in a swimming pool but when the credits rolled, I was quite disappointed. Not at the story, let me make it clear. It was an underdog story first and foremost so the struggle-to-succeed tale was very much complementary to the turbulent 1970s setting. Not at the actors' performance, either. Terrence Howard gave a commendable performance though sometimes lacked the charisma Jim Ellis is known for. However, Howard's rolling thunder portrayal of Ellis was a breath of fresh air when Denzel Washington's larger than life Herman Boone of Remember the Titans as well as Samuel L. Jackson's authoritatively cool Coach Carter was becoming the status quo when portraying coaches. What I am disappointed at is how the swimming competitions and competitive swimming as a whole were depicted.
Synopsis: Set in 1970s Philadelphia during the height of racial discrimination, Terrence Howard (Lt. Col. James "Rhodey" Rhodes in Ironman) plays Jim Ellis, a fresh college graduate who finds himself struggling to find a teaching position despite his mathematics degree due to his being an African-American. Desperate and out of options, he takes a job at the local recreation center or "rec" assisting the grouchy but kind-hearted janitor Elston played by comedian Bernie Mac (Soul Men & Mr. 3000). Being a former competitive swimmer himself, Ellis cleans up the rec's swimming pool upon discovering its poorly maintained state. One day, a group of boys find that the rec's basketball hoop has been removed and soon discover that the rec center is closing down. Taking pity on the kids, Ellis allows them to swim inside on the condition that the kids do not fool around. When one of the elder boys takes Ellis' suggestion to "cup his hands when pulling so he'll swim faster" as an insult and challenges him to a race, Ellis nonchalantly outraces the boy, demonstrating his swimming prowess to the disbelief of the other kids. The kids quickly ask Ellis for some pointers and before anyone of them knew it, the Philadelphia Department of Recreation (PDR) Swim Team was born. After a rough first meet with an all-white swim team (coached by Tom Arnold) wherein PDR is soundly beaten and humiliated, the brash neophyte swimmers begin taking the sport seriously and dramatically improve under Ellis' stern but patient tutelage. Against all the odds, the kids eventually win the state championship by embodying PDR--Pride, Determination, Resilience.
Review: When I first watched Pride, the first thought that ran through my head was, "At last! A decent swimming movie!" I half expected that it would be like Coach Carter or Remember the Titans in a swimming pool but when the credits rolled, I was quite disappointed. Not at the story, let me make it clear. It was an underdog story first and foremost so the struggle-to-succeed tale was very much complementary to the turbulent 1970s setting. Not at the actors' performance, either. Terrence Howard gave a commendable performance though sometimes lacked the charisma Jim Ellis is known for. However, Howard's rolling thunder portrayal of Ellis was a breath of fresh air when Denzel Washington's larger than life Herman Boone of Remember the Titans as well as Samuel L. Jackson's authoritatively cool Coach Carter was becoming the status quo when portraying coaches. What I am disappointed at is how the swimming competitions and competitive swimming as a whole were depicted.
Some of the things which I had to shake my head in disbelief were the relays and the demeanor of the coaches. In the movie, the swimmers had to amass a certain number of team points through their individual events so that their team can qualify for the relays. Or should I say relay; the teams only swam the 4x50 freestyle relay. I would be so bold as to wager that maybe--just maybe--that was the case during the 1970s. But to someone who has swam more relays than individual events, that scenario is truly ludicrous. Other than the relays, the coaches', particularly Tom Arnold's, Bobby Knight-like antics were hilarious. Tom Arnold was barking orders and screaming like a madman as he followed his swimmer's races from the pool deck. That behavior would be helpful when your swimmer is racing distance but if he's sprinting, he can no more make out the gibberish you are saying than breathe underwater. Hollywood cinematography strikes again, I guess.
The Verdict: On a scale of A+ to F, I'll give this movie a solid B+ because it is purely about swimming. Nevermind the unrealistic rate of improvement the swimmers had or the barely passable stroke mechanics employed by these supposed elite swimmers on top of the two above. Swimming finally has some substantial screen time. Unlike most sports movies, Pride, sadly, does not make you want to pick up the sport when you step out of the cinema. (I remember feeling unenthused about attending 430 am training even after watching this). It does, however, leaves us with three qualities which every swimmer needs to embody in order to succeed--Pride, Determination, Resilience.
Next Swimming & The Silver Screen Movie Review: The Guardian
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