''Sunset Park'' is a 1996 American

sports Sport pertains to any form of competitive physical activity or game that aims to use, maintain, or improve physical ability and skills while providing enjoyment to participants and, in some cases, entertainment to spectators. Sports can, ...

comedy drama film Comedy drama, also known by the portmanteau ''dramedy'', is a genre of dramatic works that combines elements of comedy and drama. The modern, scripted-television examples tend to have more humorous bits than simple comic relief seen in a typical ...

directed by Steve Gomer, based upon a screenplay by Seth Zvi Rosenfeld and Kathleen McGhee-Anderson. The film stars

Rhea Perlman Rhea Jo Perlman (born March 31, 1948) is an American actress. She played head-waitress Carla Tortelli in the sitcom ''Cheers'' (1982–1993). Over the course of 11 seasons, Perlman was nominated for ten Emmy Awards for Outstanding Supporting Ac ...

as the

head coach A head coach, senior coach or manager is a professional at training and developing athletes. They typically hold a more public profile and are paid more than other coaches. In some sports, the head coach is instead called the "manager", as in asso ...

of a high school boys basketball team from the Sunset Park neighborhood in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

. The film also stars

Onyx Onyx primarily refers to the parallel banded variety of chalcedony, a silicate mineral. Agate and onyx are both varieties of layered chalcedony that differ only in the form of the bands: agate has curved bands and onyx has parallel bands. The ...

rapper

Fredro Starr Fred Lee Scruggs Jr. (born April 18, 1971), better known by his stage name Fredro Starr, is an American rapper and actor best known as a member of the hardcore rap group Onyx. Fredro Starr was discovered by the late hip hop star Jam Master Jay o ...

and features an early film appearance from

Terrence Howard Terrence Dashon Howard (born March 11, 1969) is an American actor. Having his first major roles in the 1995 films ''Dead Presidents'' and '' Mr. Holland's Opus'', Howard broke into the mainstream with a succession of television and cinema roles ...

. It was produced by Perlman's husband

Danny DeVito Daniel Michael DeVito Jr. (born November 17, 1944) is an American actor, comedian, and filmmaker. He gained prominence for his portrayal of the taxi dispatcher Louie De Palma in the television series ''Taxi'' (1978–1983), which won him a Gold ...

. ''Sunset Park'' was released on April 26, 1996 and went on to gross about $10 million at the box office. It didn't garner much attention from award ceremonies and was not nominated for any major movie award. Filming took place in

. Included in filming locations were various high schools and public buildings as well as the world-famous

Madison Square Garden Madison Square Garden, colloquially known as The Garden or by its initials MSG, is a multi-purpose indoor arena in New York City. It is located in Midtown Manhattan between Seventh and Eighth avenues from 31st to 33rd Street, above Pennsylv ...

. The ''Sunset Park'' soundtrack featured one of the first solo appearances of

Ghostface Killah Dennis Coles (born May 9, 1970), better known by his stage name Ghostface Killah, is an American rapper and a member of the hip hop group Wu-Tang Clan. After the group achieved breakthrough success in the aftermath of '' Enter the Wu-Tang (36 ...

Plot

Phyllis Saroka is a P.E. teacher at Sunset Park High School in New York City, who reads a flyer that her school is looking for a new boys basketball coach. Looking for more money to pursue opening a restaurant on St. Croix, Virgin Islands, she decides to give the job a shot despite knowing nothing of basketball. She contacts the correct people and is given the job. She shows up for her first day on the job and the team is already skeptical of her. When she walks in, she lets basketball players run the team, calling their own fouls, running their own plays, and basically allowing them to be carefree. During a game, she makes some bad decisions which irks some of the players on the team. This inspires her to learn more about the game with the assistance of her players. They help her and the team begins to slowly find success. The team also has to deal with outside forces that threaten the team. Tyrik "Shorty Doo-Wop" Russell is on probation and eventually gets into more trouble. Spaceman is also on probation, is constantly using drugs, and has trouble with a teacher. Busy-bee got shot during the season and misses several games. Several other players are having academic trouble and some don't even get along with each other. The team also find out that the coach only plans to stay with them one season and then leave to open a restaurant. The team eventually comes together despite their differences and troubles. They end up with very successful season, and get into the city championship. They go to

to face their opponent (Washington Heights) and lose by a small margin. Afterward, the coach informs them that they should be proud of themselves and that she will return next season.

Cast

as Phyllis Saroka, a

physical education Physical education, often abbreviated to Phys Ed. or P.E., is a subject taught in schools around the world. It is usually taught during primary and secondary education, and encourages psychomotor learning by using a play and movement explorat ...

coach who takes a job coaching boys basketball at Sunset Park. First, she takes the job to earn extra money for a year to open a restaurant but begins to become close to the team and eventually helps make them successful. She informs the team she will return next season after the city championships. *

as Tyrik "Shorty Doo-Wop" Russell, the leader of the Sunset Park basketball team. He becomes the closest to the new coach and helps her out the most. He turns on her once he finds out about her restaurant plan and begins acting out. He then comes back to lead the team. * Terrence DaShon Howard as "Spaceman", a care-free, weed smoking, quiet member of the team and a close friend of Shorty. He eventually becomes a key component of the team on the inside. He has conflict with a teacher as the film progresses, and his friendship with Shorty is tested when Shorty begins acting out. *

Carol Kane Carolyn Laurie Kane (born June 18, 1952) is an American actress. She became known in the 1970s and 1980s in films such as '' Hester Street'' (for which she received an Academy Award nomination for Best Actress), '' Dog Day Afternoon'', ''Annie ...

as Mona, Phyllis's best friend who supports all of Phyllis's decisions and brags about her achievements to others. *

Camille Saviola Camille Saviola (July 16, 1950 – October 28, 2021) was an American actress and singer. She appeared in numerous films, television series, plays and musicals. Early life Saviola was born in The Bronx, New York City, New York, the daughter of ...

as Barbara, a lawyer and friend of Phyllis. At Phyllis's request, she defends Shorty when he gets into legal trouble. She gets very angry when she finds out Shorty actually committed the crime he was accused of and she got him off the charges. * De'aundre Bonds as "Busy-Bee", the undersized youngest player on the team. He is very supportive of the team and his teammates. He yearns to play but does not get very many chances to do so as he got shot while somebody tried to steal his coat. When he returns, he is given the chance to play and becomes successful. * James Harris as "Butter", the main post player on the team. He is a ladies man and is constantly bragging about how many women he has and has had in the past. * Antwon Tanner as "Drano", a guard who at first is scared to shoot the ball despite having good shooting skills. He is eventually given the confidence to shoot more and becomes a long-range threat for the team. He is also seen as the smart guy of the team because of his excellent school work. He is actually seen tutoring other team members. * Anthony Hall as Andre, a member of the team who takes a free throw at Madison Square Gorden which he misses. *

Shawn Michael Howard Shawn Michael Howard (born July 31, 1969) is an American film, television and theater actor. Howard was born in Newark, New Jersey, the son of Olivia C. and Frank Howard, Jr., brother of Brad Howard and Tyrone Scott Howard. Father of Elijah Howard ...

as Kurt *

Guy Torry Guy Torry is an American actor An actor or actress is a person who portrays a character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. T ...

as "Boo Man", a comedic character and heckler in the crowd during Sunset Park's games. He is constantly making fun of the players, their game, and the coach. Later in the film, however, he becomes more positive and supportive of the team. * John Vargas as Mr. Santiago, the principal that acts as a minor antagonist to both the coach and the players.

Reception

The film has a 13% rating on Rotten Tomatoes.

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Sunset Park (film) 1996 comedy-drama films American basketball films American sports comedy-drama films 1990s sports comedy-drama films Films set in Brooklyn 1990s hip hop films Films about alcoholism TriStar Pictures films Films directed by Steve Gomer Films produced by Danny DeVito Films scored by Miles Goodman 1990s English-language films 1990s American films

Plot

Cast

Reception

See also

References

External links