He Got Game at 25: Bonus cinematic throwback

I cannot believe that the summer of 1998 is 25 years old. One of the greatest, most formative times of my life. 

And surely one of the points in my life where movies meant the most. I wasn't quite able to drive to go to see them on my own yet (next summer, baby), but I was always there.

So what a time for what, for my money, was the best movie summer of the 90s. In fact, I could legitimately do about ten special throwbacks from this summer and not be stretching. I won't. I just don't have the time. 

But it was a movie summer that was as diverse in its great films as any summer ever. And it started off with one of the greatest films by one of my all time favorite directors.

Spike Lee's He Got Game

By 1998 Spike was well established as one of the greats. And established as a maniacal Knicks fan. I guess it figured that at some point he was going to do a basketball movie. But true to form he didn't do just some sports film.

He Got Game is about basketball, but like many of the great sports films it isn't THAT about the sport.

Denzel Washington is Jake Shuttlesworth, a man in prison who gets let out (secretly) to try to convince his basketball star son, Jesus (Ray Allen, then of the Bucks) to commit to play at the governor's alma mater. But that's just the inciting incident that gets things going.

Jesus hates Jake since he killed his mom. I guess you would call it accidentally manslaughter? 

The father-son story is the heart of the film for sure. Denzel gives one of this best performances, on par with anything he won awards for, and Allen is quite good opposite him. That's the key casting. If he stunk, the movie wouldn't work. 

The film is dazzling. Lee's editing was in peak form. The music, primarily the Aaron Copland score, is phenomenal. I own both the score and the soundtrack for this film. Public Enemy's title track is one of my favorite rap songs of all time.

The film touches on all the potential temptations for Jesus, from the self-serving coaches to the slick, slimy agent, to even his opportunistic girlfriend, played by the then still pretty new Rosario Dawson. Yeah I'd probably let her play me. 

Jake's story includes what has always been the film's weakest element. He has an awkward sort of friendship with a prostitute (played by Milla Jovovich) who lives in the cheap apartment building he's staying at. I've softened on this subplot over the years (it fits thematically), but obviously Denzel's acting is so vastly superior to Jovovich's in these scenes that it does throw things off a little. Honestly you cast her better and it's good. 

The eclectic cast is full of a lot of Lee regulars like John Turturro and Bill Nunn, but also some vibrant performances from Jim Brown, and Crooklyn's Zelda Harris (too bad she quit acting).

This is a very emotional film. And it ends at a real peak, with an on court showdown between father and son and a final shot that is kind of perfect.

The film was a modest hit, and has grown in estimation I think over the years. There have even been rumblings of some sort of sequel, but I think that would be very unnecessary. He Got Game is incredible enough as one contained story.