Went you going to grow

     I love me a good documentary they are for the most time good fun and quite interesting. Today I had the pleasure and I mean pleasure to watch a movie that was both fun and interesting and may be one of the best sport documentaries of all time. I'm talking about the film Hoop Dreams. The movie is about two inner city boys who have dreams of playing on the NBA. The movie follows them as they go to high school and off to college and this film talks about some hard stuff. One of the families is on welfare sadly they still had no money to pay the bills, so we see a powerful shot of the mother walking around carrying a camp stove for light. The movie also deals with drug abuse, painful injuries, and broken homes. You could call this standard sports movie material but there is something more to this film and that's the heart that is always present. The people may be going through some things you wouldn't which on your enemy but you would never be able to tell by there faces.
 
      The narrator has an annoying voice but that is one of the only criticisms I have on the whole picture. Sure it is paced slowly but it is a documentary so you have to allow that to slide a little bit. The movie is long almost three hours but the film never losses focus and hits home very powerfully. As a child I can't remember what I wanted to be when I grew up even at the age that these kids were at I was still drawing a blank. This movie made me think about how great of a thing hope as a child is, they had heroes. My childhood hero was Batman but I couldn't say to my parents one day I'm going to be him and then have there support as I try to make it in Gotham. This movie made me really think about happiness and how it is necessary to a child's life.

      This movie is not for everyone and those who don't like documentaries may not like this film. However if you love movies about overcoming trails and facing such things head on this is the picture for you. If you want to play basketball this film may give you a glimpse into that world. Allow me to paraphrase badly what Ebert once said about movies he said I go to movies to be placed into the body and mind of another race, gender, and age group. That's what movies do. That's what this film did for me.

Ebert's score 4 stars

Tyler's score 4 stars