It's March, so of course I had to reflect March Madness with my selection of several basketball-themed movies. Numbering picks up from previous months and programs marked with an asterisk are ones I had not seen before. Movies are rated on a scale of 1-5 cans of tuna; or, this month, paint cans, gold records and crowns.
34. The Vanished* (2020, Netflix) – Paul and Wendy (Thomas Jane and Anne Heche) drive their RV to a campground to have a family vacation with their 10-year-old daughter Taylor. As Paul prepares the fishing gear while Wendy is away from the camper, Taylor suddenly disappears. They look frantically around the grounds and call the local police. Sherriff Baker (Jason Patric, who directed but who seems to sleepwalk through his part) assures them he has never lost a child. But this campground is rife with suspects. The owner is far from friendly, the maintenance guy is a meth-smoking ne’er-do-well and the people in the adjacent campsite seem somehow involved. This is a creepy movie with lots of red herrings and a plot twist you could not anticipate. There was plenty of suspense and many times I wanted to tell the characters, “Don’t go in there!” 3 cans.
35. Coming to America (1988) – Pampered Prince Akeem (Eddie Murphy) is living the good life in Zamunda, a small country in Africa, surrounded by servants and women who toss rose petals everywhere he walks. But when he is commanded to marry a beautiful woman chosen for him, he balks and decides to go to America to seek a bride who will love him for himself and not for his riches. He and best friend/servant Semmi (Arsenio Hall) land in Queens, New York, of course, where he eschews royal life and starts working in a McDowell’s hamburger joint owned by Mr. McDowell (John Amos). The Prince happily mops the floor and lives in a dump, and he soon develops an interest in the boss’s beautiful and unpretentious daughter (Shari Headley). Murphy and Hall play a bunch of characters who hang around a barbershop and take on all of their roles with great energy and enthusiasm. Will Akeem find the right woman to return home and be his princess bride, ready to one day become King and Queen? Murphy is extremely likeable and gives the movie its charm and innocence. And including a brief scene with Randolph and Mortimer Duke (Ralph Bellamy and Don Ameche) from my favorite Eddie Murphy movie, “Trading Places,” won me over! 3½ cans.
36. The Real Founder* (2018, Prime Video) – If you watched the Michael Keaton movie “The Founder” about McDonald’s leader Ray Kroc a few years ago, you might want to check out this documentary about the REAL founders – the McDonald brothers. The movie bogs itself down a bit by talking more about itself than the founders, but when Dick McDonald recalls how many times he and his brother failed in other businesses before they finally made a success out of a modest hamburger stand, it makes the movie worth seeing. I’m not a fan of Big Macs, but my mouth was watering watching this one. 3 cans and a side of fries.
37. Basketball County – In the Water* (2020, Showtime) – I always thought of NYC’s Rucker Park as the epicenter of amateur basketball, but I stand corrected. It is really Prince George County, Maryland, a stone’s throw (or a long pass) from DC and the home of such basketball luminaries as Kevin Durant, Michael Beasley, Quinn Cook, Nolan Smith, Marissa Coleman and many more. The prominence of the area included highly successful AAU teams and the DeMatha High team led by the legendary coach Morgan Wooten. Basketball kept the kids off the streets, playing dawn to dusk first at outdoor playgrounds and then in plenty of rec centers. Numerous NBA, WNBA and major college basketball players call this place home. The movie addresses the socio-economic issues and the dedication of the adults who rescued kids through the sport. 3½ cans.
38. Perfect in ’76* (1917, Showtime) – After losing just one game in 1975, Indiana men’s basketball Coach Bobby Knight declared that his 1976 team would not only win the National Championship but also go undefeated. I hope I don’t spoil it by telling you that they did. I personally dislike Knight for his abuse of his players, his volatile temper and his overall nastiness, but the man could coach. Whether it was faith or fear he instilled in his players, he got the results he demanded. The documentary traces the season and has plenty of interviews with the players. It was one shining moment for the Hoosiers, a perfect season. 3½ cans.
39. Allen v. Farrow* (2021, HBO) – I’m not saying you should believe Dylan Farrow, the adopted daughter of Woody Allen and his former leading lady on and off the screen, Mia Farrow, when Dylan says Allen sexually assaulted and abused her – even though her story today is consistent with the story she told as a 7-year-old. I believe her. I’m not saying you should never again watch one of his movies (I stopped several years ago when Dylan told her story as an adult). I’m not saying that Allen should not have had an affair with Farrow’s adopted daughter Soon-Yi, who was underage when the trysts began. This sad, disturbing, emotional and engrossing documentary shows once again the seedy side of money, power and influence (Allen told Farrow she’d never work again if she made these charges against him and he did everything he could to paint her as a vindictive, scorned woman). Please don’t presume his innocence because no charges were brought against him by a prosecutor who found them credible but declined to pursue the case out of concern for the further trauma it might inflict on the young child. Whatever conclusion you draw, this much is clear: Allen is a scumbag of the highest order. Once he knew no charges would be filed against him, he sued Farrow for custody – full custody – and ultimately was denied, but not until his outrageous charges against Farrow as an unfit mother ruined her career and credibility. I cannot separate the artist from this vile man, and because this is a case involving an adult whose own movies show him with plenty of sexual issues. I believe he was justly accused and used his clout and power to weasel out of charges against him. I find him repugnant. Not everyone could get through this 3-part series, but I just could not turn away. 4 cans.
40. Last Chance U – Basketball* (2021, Netflix) – The Last Chance U franchise switches from 4 seasons covering juco football to featuring basketball this time around, and I found this version superior to the other installments. These community or junior colleges field teams that provide the promise of a possible scholarship to 4-year colleges where the athletes can play ball – if their teams do well. Here, Coach John Mosely is a dedicated man of faith, pushing his athletes hard. Some can’t make it academically while others have family problems and have had their high hopes shattered. The whole series is both hopeful and hopeless, as the players keep their eyes on the prize but don’t always help themselves. It is also an indictment of a society where young men only see the option of becoming a professional athlete, a reality that will escape the vast majority of them, instead of preparing themselves for broader opportunities that graduation from a two-year college might provide for them. This is an 8-part series, so if you can take the time, see for yourself. 4 basketballs.
41. Kobe Bryant: Muse* (2015, Showtime) – Watching this documentary by and about Kobe Bryant was bittersweet. The film is his life story, from living in Europe with his parents, including his professional basketball player Joe, to returning home, graduating from high school and going straight to the NBA. The film mercifully ends five years prior to the fatal helicopter crash that took the life of Bryant, his daughter and seven others. And despite what seemed like a charmed life for the rich, good-looking and supremely gifted Kobe, the film deals tangentially with problems in his marriage and the tribulations of growing up. If you are a basketball fan, you will want to relive the highlights and sympathize with the injuries and comebacks. 3½ cans.
42. Audrey* (2020, Netflix) – Audrey Hepburn is synonymous with elegance, grace and style. Movie directors wanted to work with her. Top designers wanted to dress her. The camera loved her. But her life was not always a good one, starting with the father’s desertion of the family when Audrey was a child. She and her mother lived in the Netherlands while under Nazi rule. She was educated in Europe, discovered by author Collette, and enjoyed a career in such memorable movies as “Funny Face,” “Roman Holiday,” “Sabrina,” the iconic “Breakfast at Tiffany’s” and “My Fair Lady.” This documentary includes plenty of interviews with people who knew her and reflected on her life, her work and her marriages. Audrey had a fascinating life full of both love and disappointments, and she left behind a catalog of work that even today distinguishes her from other actresses of her time. 4 cans.
43. Operation Varsity Blues: The College Admissions Scandal* (2020, Netflix) – Unless you have been living under a rock, you probably have heard the story told in this docudrama about wealthy parents paying a so-called admissions coach, Rick Singer, to get their kids into college. Using real taped conversations but delivered by actors, the story unfolds as the brazen Singer steers high school students (and their parents; mostly their parents) to colleges as athletes or with other credentials they clearly don’t have. Wealthy parents, eager to get their kids certain schools, made sizable donations to his foundation, which funneled the money to the schools as part of their athletics departments. It didn’t matter that the kids didn’t play the sports they listed on their applications; doctored photos of them in volleyball or water polo uniforms made it look realistic. Some athletic departments, coaches and administrations were happy to take the money. When the parents questioned Singer’s tactics – having an adult take tests for their child, as an example – they were assured that this step would ensure admission. The whole thing came crashing down, along with some famous Hollywood names ended up with very brief prison sentences. In most cases, the kids did not know the strings their parents were pulling behind the scenes to gain them admission, and how humiliated they might be by parents who lacked trust in their ability to be get into the likes of Harvard, Stanford and USC on their own merits. 3 cans and no diplomas.
44. The Last Blockbuster* (2020, Netflix) – You will have to go to Bend, Oregon, to find it, but the last remaining Blockbuster video rental store is still there. Contrary to popular view, it was not solely the rise of streaming services like Netflix that proved the undoing of the once ubiquitous chain. This documentary explains the business reasons behind the eventual failure, but it is the cultural reminiscence that provides the charm here. The store in Bend is managed by the warm Sandy Harding, and she treats the employees and customers like her extended family. Remember going into Blockbuster to pick out a movie for the night? The experience of searching multiple screens on Netflix is just not the same. 3½ cans.
45. The Day Sports Stood Still* (2021, HBO) – Actually, this documentary is not restricted to a 24-hour period, as it only begins with the time last March when the NBA shut down its season, the NCAA Tournament was canceled and every other sport this side of cornhole was affected. Here we get to see players like respected basketball veteran Chris Paul as they navigate the health and safety issues at the beginning of the pandemic and the fallout from the George Floyd and Brianna Taylor deaths that helped spur athletes to speak up about racial injustice. But they are also shown as humans, as the NBA players agree to go into a “bubble” in Florida to resume the NBA season, giving up the ability to see their families for months and using that opportunity to address social justice issues that are acutely felt in leagues where the vast majority of players are Black. This documentary does a great job of addressing the events of the time and the players’ reactions as professionals and human beings who worry about their health and the well-being of their families. 3½ cans.
46. Coming 2 America* (2021, Prime Video) – Eddie Murphy and Arsenio Hall return to Zamunda (and Queens, NY) as Murphy’s Prince Akeem ascends to the throne following the death of his father, the king. Murphy and the wife he went to America to find in the original have three lovely daughters but no sons – and thus, no heir to the throne. But his sidekick Semmi confesses that while they were in Queens 30 years ago, Akeem had a drunken tryst with a woman who fathered his only son, so they go back to America to claim Lavelle and bring him to Zamunda to claim his rightful place as a prince. The plot is immaterial in this self-indulgent romp. More important to Murphy & Co is cramming in star cameos and as many characters as they themselves can portray. The result is a sometimes funny but more often sloppy mess of a movie, enriched less by genuine humor and more by the portrayal of life in Zamunda, the rich costumes and the uproarious Leslie Jones as Akeem’s baby mama from Queens. She steals the show. If the gang comes back to America next time, I’ll watch Murphy’s much superior “Trading Places” instead. 3 cans.
47. TINA* (2021, HBO) – The last name isn’t necessary to tell the story of the whirling dervish that is Tina Turner on stage. By now, most people know her story – singing in the church, singing with Ike Turner, becoming a huge star only to lose everything but her name when she fought back and abandoned her abusive husband after years of domestic abuse and violence. This is a courageous woman who did what she felt she had to do to survive, who resurrected her career with the help of the loyal Roger Davies and became a huge star. But no matter how high her star ascended, someone was always there to ask her about Ike – were they still married, what happened between them, is the love still there? There was no escape from her past. Here she tells her story on her own terms, and probably for the last time, as she prepares to live out her life with a husband who adores her in the peace and tranquility of her Swiss home. So, watch this movie to know more about her career, to enjoy her performances, to stand in awe of her explosive talent and to appreciate her strength and resilience. Tina is simply the best! 4½ cans.
48. Genius: Aretha* (2021, National Geographic Channel) – How fitting to watch the story of Aretha Franklin right after seeing the HBO documentary on Tina Turner, two musical legends of epic proportions. The Aretha story is an eight-part drama starring Cynthia Errivo, who has plenty of presence and power to not be totally overtaken by Aretha. The story traces Aretha as a child who loses her mother early and is, with her sisters, dominated by her preacher father, a philanderer who wants to control Aretha’s career from the time she is a child singing on the Gospel Circuit to her award-winning career. Her desire to control her own destiny, select her own songs and get credit as a producer on her albums is at least in part because of her father’s selfish need to control her. It seems to me that all Aretha really wanted was R E S P E C T. And she deserved it. 4 gold records. PS – I’m still trying to figure out what this show was doing on the National Geographic Channel!
49. Made You Look* (2020, Netflix) – The subtitle of this documentary is, “The true story about fake art,” and that sums it up perfectly. You don’t have to know anything about the world of art buying, selling, authenticating works and collecting them to be fascinated by this documentary. But despite being uneducated about the commercial aspects of art, I think I would have questioned the veracity of a woman unknown in the art world who showed up in a prestigious gallery with the promise of a bunch of paintings by well-known modern artists such as Mark Rothko and Jackson Pollack. She offered to sell them to Ann Freedman, a dealer with a great reputation and directo of the Knoedler Gallery in New York. Authenticating the work of known artists seems to be a hit-or-miss proposition, and Freedman claimed to follow all the protocols. But were these real works of art? Or did a former math professor in Queens, NY, reproduce them, thus rendering them worthless phonies? Following this case are lawyers, journalists and countless others in the art world, and the people who paid millions for works eventually considered fakes were not amused. If you are talented enough as a painter to mimic the works of others, why not just create your own? The art here might be fake, but the movie is very real. 4 cans of paint.
50. Elizabeth & Margaret – Love and Loyalty* (2021, Netflix) – I never got around to finishing “The Crown,” so this will have to be my royal flush for the month. I know it is hard to take pity on members of the royal family, and Elizabeth and Margaret led privileged but sheltered lives. When their father suddenly died, Elizabeth became the Queen. She was torn between her loyalty to the Crown and her love for her free-wheeling (by royal standards) sister, who was ready to marry a married man before she turned 25. Heavy is the head that wears the crown, as the Queen had to dissuade her sister from continuing the romance. It appears that Margaret had a lot more fun than her elder sibling, but the two overcame their different lives and stayed close. If you are really into the royals, this one’s for you. 3 crowns.
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