Written by Spike Lee
Directed by Spike Lee

I’m not really a basketball fan, so I somewhat avoided seeing Spike Lee’s He Got Game for years. After finally viewing it, I’m sorry that I did.  Even someone who has no clue about the rules of the court can appreciate the film that has more to do with success and relationships than on-the-court action.

Denzel Washington is Jake Shuttlesworth.  He’s serving time in prison when he’s called to the warden’s office.  His son, Jesus (portrayed by basketball star Ray Allen) is a rising star on the basketball court currently being courted by a variety of colleges as well as a few professional teams.  The warden (portrayed by Ned Beatty) wants Jake to convince Jesus to play for the same college the governor attended, and promises an early parole if he can pull it off.  To do that, Jake is given time outside of prison to be with his son.

This story is really the backdrop for all of the leeches hanging onto Jesus and his potential.  To his credit, Jesus is pretty grounded.  Since his father was incarcerated, he’s been caring for his younger sister, Mary (portrayed by Zelda Harris), somehow finding a way to keep the two of them in a decent apartment and away from the uncle he can’t stand.

I really liked that right from the beginning He Got Game keeps you guessing.  What Jake is in prison for is slowly revealed, then raises its own set of questions as his demeanor doesn’t seem to be that to have committed the crime he’s incarcerated for.  Once the crime is shown, it’s believable in the context of the film and the relationships.  The same is true for just how Jesus has managed to afford the apartment he and his sister live in.  It sort of sat there nagging at me as I watched this: how is he paying for this?

However, the leeches smell a free ride and everyone has their hand out.  From the Uncle who took Jesus and his sister in when Jake went to jail to the girlfriend who thinks she is owed something and doesn’t mind hanging on to Jesus for the payday she thinks is coming while she’s actually already in bed with another man.

The sheer fact that everyone in this film who’s with Jesus seems to want a piece of his success should be sobering to anyone who dreams of their child being a star athlete.  Even the beloved high-school coach who’s guided Jesus through his high-school success is hedging his bets on getting a piece of the action.  There’s not a single person with the exception of his sister that isn’t looking at him and smelling money.  Who would seriously want to see their child in the position Jesus is in?

I could believe that Jake was cultivating this talent in his son believing it was a way out of the life they had in the projects.  That was what drove him most of the time: wanting his son to have a better life than he did.  Washington and Allen really pull off the relationship between the father and son quite well.  The tension there is palpable and with good reason.  Ray Allen completely holds his own in every scene with him, and the sometimes diffident air he adopts works well for someone in his position.  Washington seems to give Jake the edge of just wanting to be out of prison for a while.  I wasn’t convinced that he really cared whether or not his son opted for the college the governor wanted.  I think he just wanted the time with his son before he headed off for the life he had in front of him.  Perhaps this was done on purpose – of that, I can’t be sure.  It just seemed that although Jake had the most to lose if Jesus chose a college other than Big State, he would accept the decision without any bad feelings as long as he had some time with his son.  The actors pull all of this off quite well.

There are some flaws in He Got Game.  I couldn’t really see Jake getting an offer like this to be furloughed from prison without a huge political backlash.  Of course, it’s also easy to believe that no matter what happened the governor would have just welched on the deal.  How would Jake extract the payment of a commuted sentence or early parole from the governor over it?  It’s strictly a plot point and is one that’s pretty hard to believe.  There are a few minor points like this as well, such as a few things Jesus does while being courted by various sources not being discovered.  Suspend disbelief a bit over these points, though, and the rest of the film is quite good.

I can’t put into words how much I liked this movie.  As someone who isn’t a fan of basketball, I really didn’t think it would have an appeal.  What made it work were the relationships, which Lee got down pat.  The acting is superb, which is surprising with an untrained athlete acting opposite the consummate actor Denzel Washington is.   Lee did a great job with this and although there are a few plot points in the film that make it hard to swallow completely, the story is excellent overall.  It’s a cautionary tale, really, about the price of success and gives insight into what it’s like for people in that world.