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Printer-Friendly ModeGlory Road not quite a slam dunk
Box office hit based on a 1960s championship season
January 23, 2006 —
In its first week, Glory Road was tops at the box office. How appropriate, since this is a movie about success. Inspired by actual events, Glory Road tells the story of the 1966 Texas Western college basketball team.
What makes the story worth telling - what differentiates this basketball season from any other - is that the Texas Western Miners were the first NCAA basketball team to actively recruit black players and in 1966 utilize an all-black starting lineup in the NCAA championship.
Coach Don Haskins (Josh Lucas) is the man responsible for changing the face of basketball forever. Hired in the fall of 1965, Haskins had one thing in mind while putting together his team - winning.
Through discipline and fundamental basketball, Haskins believed he could lead his team to a winning season. However, he did not know it would be one of the most memorable seasons in sports history.
But with the wins came the attention, both good and bad. Many criticized the black players and Haskins for putting them on the court. This conflict is where the heart of the movie lies.
Had this been about any other basketball season, real or fictional, Glory Road would be just another underdog success story in a long line of sports movies. But this movie has a bigger message than play to win - play as a team, regardless of color. The players overcome more than just injuries and technical fouls. They overcome prejudice, ignorance, and arrogance on the court and off.
Really, Glory Road is two movies in one. Thankfully, it manages to blend those two movies seamlessly. Director James Gartner does a fine job switching the focus from basketball to racial tension and vice versa.
But, much like the game of basketball, the movie is fast-paced, with scenes rarely lasting more than a couple minutes. This does not detract from the overall appeal of the film, but it does leave some scenes feeling underdeveloped. This is a shame, really, because the moments between basketball games are the ones worth watching. These are the moments filled with laughter, love, and pain.
Obviously the basketball action is necessary for a movie like this, but sometimes basketball is not the most important thing. Glory Road confirms this at times, but also emphasizes the importance of winning. Even though the movie does a fine job balancing on-court and off-court struggles, it sometimes shoots for three to cushion its lead.
It would be easy to pass Glory Road off as the basketball version of Remember the Titans and forget about it the next day. In fact, both Glory Road and Remember the Titans are Walt Disney pictures, and both movies come from superstar producer Jerry Bruckheimer. But do not dismiss Glory Road as just another moneymaker for Disney. This story is real. These players are real. Their championship season should always be remembered, and Glory Road is a worthy testament to their road to glory.