And this week's Friday Night movie has been... Hoop Dreams!
Sports movies are not one of my favourite genres. Because to me they are seem so formulaic. Seriously, you see one 'Struggling team of no-hopers guided by equally troubled coach achieve against-the-odds success' movie you've seen them all. And when formula is involved, as is often the case, it can be difficult to break away from.
But I will give props to any movie that attempts to do so. So what we have here is a (very long) documentary that follows two kids, who are keen on basketball, trying to make their passion work for them.
Over the course of the documentary we follow the kids, William Gates and Arthur Agee, go from playing basketball in school to doing what it takes to make the NBA tryouts. Along the way, they face challenges such as poverty, injuries, race, getting an education, troubled family lives, finding employment, and staking a lot on eventual success.
Personally whilst my knowledge of basketball may be very limited, I have to admit that the sport itself isn't really the focus here: It's about two kids trying to achieve success despite a whole range of obstacles coming at them. It really showcases what it means to have a dream and the blood, sweat and tears that are involved to make them happen. And to that end the movie succeeds.
Guess it is possible to break the formula.
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