The Top 40 Basketball Movies - #8. He Got Game

 The Top 40 Basketball Movies - #8. He Got Game

Spike Lee can't call this one the worst sports movie ever made. Denzel Washington is one of the top actors of our time and this vehicle 100% doesn't work without him. And he is placed against Ray Allen, whom doesn't look too great next to the legend. Rosario Dawson and Milla Jovovich don't get passes either, their moments at times are cringe. Dawson's character is obviously important to the plot which is - Ray Allen's Jesus Shuttlesworth is being recruited by many schools as a top recruit. His father Jake, played by Denzel, is incarcerated due to the death of his wife and Jesus's mother. The prison warden allows Jake a temporary guarded release and promises him a reduced sentencing if Jake can get Jesus to go to the school of the warden's choice (I don't actually remember what school, State vs University?). They show the scene where the mother dies and it happens while Jesus is pretty young. Jake takes so much pride in what he taught his boy but you would think quite a bit happens between the first time you see Jake destroying Jesus on the court and the showdown in the future between them which leads to Jake's defeat. Supposedly Denzel and Allen played for real and Denzel got 4 on Allen. Young Dawson plays the girlfriend, but she is unusually unlikable here. Jovovich, not necessary to the plot, plays a prostitute which we are supposed to care about when Jesus gets involved in her life and 'saves' her. The basketball cameos and other cameos are endless - Michael Jordan, Scottie Pippen, Shaq, Bill Walton, Charles Barkley, Ned Beatty, John Turturro, Jim Brown, Rick Fox, George Karl, Rick Pitino, Dick Vitale, Reggie Miller all show up. It would have been more interesting with Kobe instead of Allen. The movie filmed in 23 days, opened up at number one. The ending has both moments of greatness and also contrived at the same time. This was the second time I've watched it, though it's been a really long time and I might have only saw parts before. 8 is exactly where the internet places it on my scoresheet, solid scores but none remarkable. I put it at 15 originally but bumped it to 8 eventually settling in at 11 but it really does deserve to be in the top 10, you could make a good argument for being even higher than 8 and a favorite of many people. I am tempted to add a Letterboxd score at the very end to see how that would change the top 10. 

Movie	Rotten Tom	Rotten Tom Aud	IMDB	Internet Rank	My Rank
8. He Got Game	80	83	6.9	8	11
9. Uncut Gems	91	52	7.4	13	9
10. One on One	88	75	6.5	15	12
11. Above the Rim	52	82	6.6	18	10
12. Champions	59	95	6.7	12	17
13. BASEketball	41	74	6.5	28	2
14. Glory Road	55	81	7.2	14	18
15. Finding Forrester	74	79	7.3	10	22
16. Rebound: The Legend of Earl “The Goat”	50	94	7.6	6	27
17. Inside Moves	50	77	7.0	19	16
18. Hoop Dreams	98	92	8.3	2	35
19. Uncle Drew	61	48	5.7	32	6
20. Final Shot: The Hank Gathers Story	50	99	6.9	11	28
21. The Winning Season	50	55	6.6	26	15
22. Fast Break	50	59	6.1	30	13
23. Believe in Me	60	74	7.0	16	29
24. High Flying Bird	91	50	6.2	20	26
25. "O"	64	58	6.1	22	25
26. Forget Paris	48	56	6.5	29	19
27. Sunset Park	13	83	5.9	31	21
28. Game Day	50	82	5.4	25	30
29. Blue Chips	37	51	6.2	33	23
30. Amateur	60	66	5.9	24	32
31. The Air Up There	21	35	5.5	38	20
32. Space Jam	43	63	6.5	27	31
33. Semi-Pro	22	38	5.8	36	24
34. Heaven Is a Playground	50	84	5.8	21	39
35. Hurricane Season	50	69	6.5	23	38
36. Teen Wolf	42	52	6.1	34	34
37. Boogie	42	57	5.2	35	36
38. Rebound	14	38	5.1	40	33
39. Slam Dunk Ernest	50	31	4.5	37	37
40. Eddie	17	36	5.2	39	40