by John Zenoni
While there are certain aspects of the latest entry into movies about basketball that I liked, unfortunately ‘Boogie’ falls mostly flat for me. There are some good scenes involving the game itself and this adds some excitement to the movie. But this is a film about teenagers (big issue here as the main ‘teen’ in this film is actually 28 years old and sad to say he doesn't pull off the age difference in my opinion) that has themes that have been seen before and been done much better in other movies.
Boogie, as he's called in the film, is a high school senior hoping to get full rides to colleges based on his basketball play but his angst and attitude is holding him back from his dream. His parents loathe each other - each with different opinions about how their son should play ball, schools he should try to get into, even just being near each other is hard for them. They also are very traditional and old school which also is a challenge for Boogie. The one positive in his life is his girlfriend Eleanor, played by Taylour Paige, who does a great job in the role. She believes in him and tries to get him to stand up for himself.
There's also a protagonist in the film, Monk, who's known around the area as the basketball superstar and who Boogie feels he needs to best in order to obtain his full ride scholarships. The energy between the two is ok but I didn't find it too believable. Needless to say, a ‘match-up’ had to happen of course and the expected outcome occurred. The acting in this film also left a lot to be desired.
I did enjoy that the film had a lot of diversity and I was able to watch the parents talk in their native language, even if it was hollering and screaming at each other during most of those moments.
While this isn't a bad film, let’s just say I'm glad it was a screening and not one I had to pay for.
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