“Rebound” (20th Century Fox)
A few months ago there was a movie released about a man who took over a high school basketball team and coached them to victory. This film was rated PG-13, titled “Coach Carter” and was a drama. Now we have the Martin Lawrence film “Rebound” and it is the PG rated sanitized version of “Coach Carter.” It is a comedy.
Lawrence plays Roy McCormack, a college basketball coach who thinks more about his endorsements and perks than he does his team. He also tends to get in the referee’s face during the games which results in more technical fouls than he can handle. Finally he is fired from his job with the proviso that if he coaches somewhere else and stays cool for a year he will get his job back.
The problem is no one wants to hire him except his middle school alma mater – and they won’t pay him. Still a job is a job and good PR is good PR, or so says his agent Tim Fink (Breckin Meyer). So Roy tells the principal (Megan Mullaly) he will take the job.
Of course the team is made up of a group of misfits who he has to unite. And while he is making them see the importance of the game, he comes to remember the reason he loves it too.
This basic plot line has been around forever, and generally it always touches the heart when the trainees pull it together. It does here thanks to the performances of all of the kids on the team and the fact Lawrence is at his most charming in this role. He also is funny.
This is not a challenging role for Lawrence. He mugs and acts silly as only he can do but the effort is just a walk in the park for him. Mullaly could have been a good comic foil but she barely is a blip on the entertainment radar in her role. She has one or two brief scenes and then is gone. I guess she got called back to the set of “Will and Grace.”
The film is rated PG for mild profanity.
“Rebound” is a good film for the kids in your family, and the adults will have a good time watching it with them. It has good lessons in it and the language and actions are PG rated clean. Lawrence is obviously just filling time until his “Big Momma” sequel is released but he does no harm to his career with this role.
I scored “Rebound” a bounce back 5 out of 10.
