''Coach Carter'' is a 2005 American biographical teen

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, ...

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super- ...

starring Samuel L. Jackson and directed by Thomas Carter (no relation). The film is based on the true story of Richmond High School basketball coach Ken Carter (played by Jackson), who made headlines in 1999 for suspending his undefeated high school basketball team due to poor academic results. The story was conceived from a screenplay co-written by John Gatins and

Mark Schwahn Mark Schwahn (born July 5, 1966) is an American former screenwriter, director, and producer. He is best known as the creator of the WB/ CW teen drama series '' One Tree Hill''. His career largely ended in 2018 following widespread sexual harass ...

. The ensemble cast features Rob Brown,

Channing Tatum Channing Matthew Tatum (born April 26, 1980) is an American actor. Tatum made his film debut in the drama ''Coach Carter'' (2005), and had his breakthrough role in the 2006 dance film '' Step Up''. He gained wider attention for his leading rol ...

, Debbi Morgan,

Robert Ri'chard Robert Andrew Ri'chard (born January 7, 1983) is an American television and film actor, known for his roles as Arnaz Ballard on the UPN sitcom '' One on One'' and Bobby Walker on the Nickelodeon sitcom '' Cousin Skeeter''. Early life Ri'chard wa ...

and singer Ashanti. The film was a co-production between the motion picture studios of

MTV Films MTV Entertainment Studios is the film and television production arm of MTV Entertainment Group, a subsidiary of the Paramount Media Networks division of Paramount Global. Founded in 1991 as MTV Productions, it is a consolidation of the former MTV ...

and Tollin/Robbins Productions. Theatrically and for the home video rental market, it was commercially distributed by

Paramount Pictures Paramount Pictures Corporation is an American film and television production company, production and Distribution (marketing), distribution company and the main namesake division of Paramount Global (formerly ViacomCBS). It is the fifth-oldes ...

. ''Coach Carter'' explores professional ethics, academics, and athletics. Thomas Carter. (2005). ''Coach Carter'' otion pictureProduction Notes. United States:

. The sports action in the film was coordinated by Mark Ellis. On January 11, the film's soundtrack was released by

Capitol Records Capitol Records, LLC (known legally as Capitol Records, Inc. until 2007) is an American record label distributed by Universal Music Group through its Capitol Music Group imprint. It was founded as the first West Coast-based record label of not ...

. The film's score was composed and orchestrated by musician

Trevor Rabin Trevor Charles Rabin (; born ) is a South African rock musician and composer. Born into a musical family and raised in Johannesburg, Rabin took up the piano and guitar at an early age and became a session musician, playing and producing with a va ...

. ''Coach Carter'' was released in the United States on January 14, 2005. The film received good reviews with a score of 64% Fresh on Rotten Tomatoes and opened number one at the box office with a Martin Luther King Jr. Holiday Weekend total of over 29 million dollars. The film went on to gross $76 million worldwide.

Plot

Ken Carter lives in

Richmond, California Richmond is a city in western Contra Costa County, California, United States. The city was incorporated on August 7, 1905, and has a city council.

. He becomes the coach for Richmond High School’s

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

team, the Richmond Oilers, having played for the team thirty years earlier. Initially, the team is rowdy, rude, and disrespectful. Carter gives the team contracts to sign and obey, requiring them to sit in the front rows of all their classes, and maintain a 2.3 (C+) grade point average. Carter asks the school's staff for progress reports of the players' grades and attendance. Despite anger from the players' parents, most players sign the contracts, though several team members walk out in disagreement, including Timo Cruz, a gifted player who also deals drugs for his cousin Renny. The school's principal, Principal Garrison, questions Carter's contracts, suggesting that the players will be unable to meet his conditions and that he would be better off sticking to coaching basketball. Carter begins a strict, disciplinary training regime for the team, focused largely on conditioning and teamwork. Carter's son Damian joins the team, switching from the private school St. Francis, to play for his father. Cruz witnesses the team win a game, afterwards asking Carter to let him rejoin the team. Carter agrees, but only if Cruz completes a number of exercises impossible to achieve before that Friday. Cruz commits himself to this against the odds. When he comes up short on that Friday in spite of his best efforts, the rest of the team pitches in and does the missing number of exercises for him. He is able to rejoin. Kenyon Stone, the team's captain, struggles to come to terms with his girlfriend Kyra being pregnant. The couple have a falling out over Kenyon's inability to commit to fatherhood. Another player, Junior Battle, skips classes, leading Carter to suspend him from the team. Battle's mother Willa visits Carter, asking him to let Battle back on the team and explaining that things have been hard after her older son Antoine was killed. Carter agrees after Battle apologises. The team continues to train and improve, bonding with Carter and becoming undefeated in the regular season. After winning the Bay Hill holiday tournament, the entire team sneaks out of the motel and attend a party at a nearby mansion while Carter is speaking to his wife on the phone. Carter discovers their absence, crashing the party to round up the team. Carter berates the boys on the way home, though Cruz points out the team are now winners as Carter intended. Later, Carter discovers that some players have not been keeping to their contracts, skipping classes and receiving poor grades. A livid Carter locks the gym, directing the team to the library where they will study with their teachers until everyone's grades meet their contracts' terms. A disillusioned Cruz quits the team again. Carter enforces his lockdown, garnering media attention after he forfeits several games, and enraging the local community. Carter reasons that the boys have no other options in Richmond aside from crime or sports, and he is hoping their commitment to their studies will give them better options in life. After a drug deal goes bad, Cruz watches Renny get gunned down in front of him. Distraught, Cruz goes to Carter, begging to be let back on the team. The

school board A board of education, school committee or school board is the board of directors or board of trustees of a school, local school district or an equivalent institution. The elected council determines the educational policy in a small regional are ...

holds a hearing, where Carter explains that sending his players to college and a better life is more important than basketball, and promises to resign if the lockdown is lifted. Though Principal Garrison and the board's chairwoman vote in his favor, every other councillor votes to end the lockdown. Carter prepares to leave, but discovers the team is refusing to play, choosing to continue with their studying and hold to their goal. Cruz, whom Carter had repeatedly asked "what is your deepest fear," answers by quoting from '' A Return to Love''. Carter decides to stay, and the team soon succeeds in their academic goal. Kenyon reunites with Kyra, learning she had an abortion. She said to him that she had a choice to make and she made it, for herself. They make up, and Kenyon asks Kyra to come with him to college, to which she agrees. The team play in the State Quarterfinals match against St. Francis, but lose by two points. Though they did not win, Carter expresses his pride that the team came together to persevere, give themselves options, and achieve the "ever elusive victory within." The film ends with the team celebrating with the community, and captions telling the fate of several key players who receive scholarships and go on to college.

Cast

* Samuel L. Jackson as Coach Ken Carter * Rob Brown as Kenyon Stone *

as Damien Carter * Rick Gonzalez as Timo Cruz * Nana Gbewonyo as Junior Battle * Antwon Tanner as Jaron "Worm" Willis *

as Jason Lyle * Ashanti as Kyra * Texas Battle as Maddux * Denise Dowse as Principal Garrison * Adrienne Bailon as Dominique *

Dana Davis Dana Davis (born October 4, 1978) is an American actress, voice actress, and novelist known for playing Monica Dawson on the NBC series '' Heroes'' (2007), Chastity Church on the ABC Family television series ''10 Things I Hate About You'' (2009� ...

as Peyton * Octavia Spencer as Mrs. Willa Battle * Sonya Eddy as Worm's mother * Debbi Morgan as Ken Carter's wife

Production

Production started in mid-2004 and then ended later in 2004. Filming locations for the motion picture included,

Long Beach, California Long Beach is a city in Los Angeles County, California. It is the 42nd-most populous city in the United States, with a population of 466,742 as of 2020. A charter city, Long Beach is the seventh-most populous city in California. Incorporate ...

and

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world ...

. Such locations in Long Beach included St. Anthony High School’s gymnasium.

Soundtrack

The soundtrack for the film was released by

on January 11, 2005. The score for the film was orchestrated by

. An extensive list of songs are featured on the soundtrack, which differs from the soundtrack recording. The recording includes five songs which were not featured in the film: "About da Game" by

Trey Songz Tremaine Aldon Neverson (born November 28, 1984), known professionally as Trey Songz, is an American R&B singer and rapper. His debut album, ''I Gotta Make It'', was released in 2005 through Atlantic Records. His follow-up album, ''Trey Day'', ...

; "Balla" by

Mack 10 Dedrick D'Mon Rolison (born August 9, 1971), better known by his stage name Mack 10, is an American rapper. He has sold nearly 11 million records combining his solo and group works. Mack 10 made his first appearance on Ice Cube's 1994 " Bootle ...

featuring Da Hood; "Beauty Queen" by CzarNok; "What Love Can Do" by

Letoya LeToya Nicole Luckett (born March 11, 1981) is an American R&B singer and actress. She rose to fame in the late 1990s as a founding member of the R&B girl group Destiny's Child, one of the world's best-selling girl groups of all time. As a me ...

; and "Wouldn't You Like to Ride", by

Kanye West Ye ( ; born Kanye Omari West ; June 8, 1977) is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, record producer, and fashion designer. Born in Atlanta and raised in Chicago, West gained recognition as a producer for Roc-A-Fella Records in the ea ...

, Malik Yusef, and

Common Common may refer to: Places * Common, a townland in County Tyrone, Northern Ireland * Boston Common, a central public park in Boston, Massachusetts * Cambridge Common, common land area in Cambridge, Massachusetts * Clapham Common, originally ...

Release

Following its cinematic release in theaters, the Region 1 edition of the film was released on DVD in the United States on June 21, 2005. Special features for the DVD include; two commentaries: ''Coach Carter: The Man Behind the Movie, Fast Break at Richmond High'', Deleted Scenes and Music Video "Hope" by Twista Featuring Faith Evans. The film was also released on VHS. A restored widescreen high-definition

Blu-ray Disc The Blu-ray Disc (BD), often known simply as Blu-ray, is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 2005 and released on June 20, 2006 worldwide. It is designed to supersede the DVD format, and capable of sto ...

version of the film was released on December 16, 2008. Special features include two commentaries - The Man Behind the Movie; Fast Break at Richmond High; 6 Deleted scenes; "Hope" music video by Twista featuring Faith Evans; Writing Coach Carter: The Two Man Game; Coach Carter: Making the Cut; and the theatrical trailer in HD. An additional viewing option for the film in the media format of

Video on demand Video on demand (VOD) is a media distribution system that allows users to access videos without a traditional video playback device and the constraints of a typical static broadcasting schedule. In the 20th century, broadcasting in the form of ...

has been made available as well.

Reception

Critical response

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wan ...

, the film has an approval rating of 64% based on 150 reviews, with an average rating of 6.1/10. The site's critical consensus reads, "Even though it's based on a true story, ''Coach Carter'' is pretty formulaic stuff, but it's effective and energetic, thanks to a strong central performance from Samuel L. Jackson."Coach Carter (2005)

. IGN Entertainment. Retrieved 2013-02-03. On

Metacritic Metacritic is a website that aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created by Jason Dietz, Marc ...

, which assigns a

weighted average The weighted arithmetic mean is similar to an ordinary arithmetic mean (the most common type of average), except that instead of each of the data points contributing equally to the final average, some data points contribute more than others. The ...

, the film has a score of 57 out of 100, based on 36 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".Coach Carter

. CNET Networks. Retrieved 2013-02-03. Audiences polled by

CinemaScore CinemaScore is a market research firm based in Las Vegas. It surveys film audiences to rate their viewing experiences with letter grades, reports the results, and forecasts box office receipts based on the data. Background Ed Mintz founded Ci ...

gave the film an average grade of "A" on a scale of A+ to F.

Box office

''Coach Carter'' was released in theaters on January 14, 2005 in the United States. During that weekend, the film opened in 1st place grossing $24.2 million from 2,524 locations, beating out ''

Meet the Fockers ''Meet the Fockers'' is a 2004 American comedy film directed by Jay Roach and the sequel to the 2000 film ''Meet the Parents''. The film stars Robert De Niro (who was also one of the film's producers), Ben Stiller, Dustin Hoffman, Barbra Streis ...

'' ($19.3 million). The film's revenue dropped by 24% in its third week of release, earning $8 million. For that particular weekend, the film slipped to 5th place with a slightly higher theater count at 2,574. ''Coach Carter'' went on to top out domestically at $67.3 million through a 16-week theatrical run. For 2005 as a whole, the film would cumulatively rank at a box office performance position of 36.2005 DOMESTIC GROSSES

Box Office Mojo Box Office Mojo is an American website that tracks box-office revenue in a systematic, algorithmic way. The site was founded in 1998 by Brandon Gray, and was bought in 2008 by IMDb, which itself is owned by Amazon. History Brandon Gray be ...

. Retrieved 2013-02-03.

Accolades

The film was nominated and won several awards in 2005–06.

References

;Footnotes ;Further reading * * *

External links

*
Coach Carter's official website
* * * {{MTV Films 2005 biographical drama films 2000s coming-of-age drama films 2000s high school films 2000s sports drama films 2000s teen drama films 2005 films African-American biographical dramas American basketball films American coming-of-age drama films American high school films American sports drama films American teen drama films Biographical films about sportspeople Biographical films about educators Coming-of-age films based on actual events Cultural depictions of American men Cultural depictions of basketball players Films about educators Films about race and ethnicity Films about teacher–student relationships Films scored by Trevor Rabin Films set in the San Francisco Bay Area Films shot in Los Angeles Films shot in San Francisco Films with screenplays by John Gatins Hood films MTV Films films Paramount Pictures films Teen sports films 2005 drama films Films directed by Thomas Carter (director) 2000s English-language films 2000s American films