The Heart of the Game (2005)
-
86% of critics liked it
(96 reviews) -
50% of users liked it
(24,063 ratings)
Bill Resler was a professor at the University of Washington who had possessed a passionate interest in basketball. Resler decided to put his love of the game to work when he heard that Seattle's Roosevelt High School needed a coach for their women's basketball team. Despite having almost no… More Bill Resler was a professor at the University of Washington who had possessed a passionate interest in basketball. Resler decided to put his love of the game to work when he heard that Seattle's Roosevelt High School needed a coach for their women's basketball team. Despite having almost no experience as a coach, Resler landed the job, and soon began making a difference with the team, firing his players up with enthusiasm and encouraging them to think of themselves not as girl basketball players, but as athletes. Resler's coaching helped to turn a team that usually sat near the bottom of the rankings into serious contenders for a district championship, and produced at least one star player, point guard Darnella Russell. Russell is a gifted player who hopes she can turn her talent on the court into a college scholarship, since her family can't afford to send her on their own dime, but Russell also has a sharp tongue and a short temper that has earned her a reputation as a disciplinary problem. When Russell becomes pregnant, she finds herself fighting to remain in school, and to hold on to her eligibility to play on the team in the future. The Heart of the Game is a documentary which examines Bill Resler's fight to rebuild the women's basketball program at Roosevelt and Russell's battle to stay in the game. The Heart of the Game earned an enthusiastic reception following its screenings at the 2005 Toronto Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
- Directed By
- Ward Serrell, Ward Serrill
- Genres
- Documentary, Sports & Fitness, Special Interest
PG-13,
- In Theaters
- Jun 11, 2005 Wide
- Studio
- Miramax Films
Critic Reviews
-
Richard Corliss, TIME Magazine
Girls have hoop dreams too. And dreams can come true at the final buzzer.
-
J. R. Jones, Chicago Reader
[The film] covers seven years and touches on some of the same social issues that gave Hoop Dreams its epic sweep, yet Serrill fails to treat any of them adequately, and the narrative loses its shape as events unfold.
-
Nick Funnell, Time Out
The intrusive narration, from hip hopper Chris 'Ludacris' Bridges, offers little sense of real lives unfolding, more of a way being paved to an, admittedly tense, all-American triumph-over-adversity climax.
-
Roger Moore, Orlando Sentinel
Emotional, uplifting, vexing and infuriating, it's the first basketball documentary worthy of being compared to 1994's Hoop Dreams.
-
Robert Denerstein, Denver Rocky Mountain News
Sketchy as it can be at times, The Heart of the Game keeps us involved.
See more critic ratings and reviews on Rotten Tomatoes
Fresh (60% or more critics rated the movie positively)
Rotten (59% or fewer critics rated the movie positively)
Featured Audience Ratings
Also available on
UltraViolet Retailers
Other Retailers
Not Available
Not Available
Subscription Services
Not Available
Not Available
Not Available
Cast
-
Chris "Ludacris" Bridges
as Narrator
- Darnellia Russell
- Bill Resler
- Devon Crosby-Helms
- Meghan Miller
- Jade White
- Lindsey Wilson
- Mike "Riderman" Silva
- Hillary Seidel
- James White
- Jack Aaron
- Mona Mendoza
- Keasha Beard
- April Swafford
- Maude Lepley
- Joyce Walker
- Joel Waters
- Marjorie Russell
- Jerry Ronk
- Shannon Costello
- Jenny Wild
- Alex Jessup
- Emiko Harris
- Leondrae Morris
- Betty Harris
- Urika Russell
- Leyla Khastou
- Tracey Leddo
- Secoy Clemmons
- Trekayla Clemmons
- Kenyon Luce
- Malia O'Neil
- Mike Colbrese
- Kelli Cutright
-
Mackenzie Argens
as The Roughriders
-
Molly Boyd
as The Roughriders
-
Colleen Bresee-Woods
as The Roughriders
-
Alex Capelotto
as The Roughriders
-
Jen Cheun Bouddy
as The Roughriders
-
Korleana Davico
as The Roughriders
-
Ariel Evans
as The Roughriders
-
Alaina Forbes
as The Roughriders
-
Breianna Gaines
as The Roughriders
-
Tammy Hartung
as The Roughriders
-
Johanna Hase
as The Roughriders
-
Mattie Hesch
as The Roughriders
-
Corry Holme
as The Roughriders
-
Libby Jansen
as The Roughriders
-
Kimmy Kirkwood
as The Roughriders
-
Jamie McIntyre
as The Roughriders
-
Laura Mohler
as The Roughriders
-
Colleen Mori
as The Roughriders
-
Anne Moxon
as The Roughriders
-
Betsey Neel
as The Roughriders
-
Angela Nefcy
as The Roughriders
-
Monica Nelson
as The Roughriders
-
Piper Nims
as The Roughriders
-
Rachel Nord
as The Roughriders
-
Amanda Ostrom
as The Roughriders
-
Morgan Patterson
as The Roughriders
-
J'Nai Pich
as The Roughriders
-
Erin Pursell
as The Roughriders
-
Allison Reiman
as The Roughriders
-
Anna Sarff
as The Roughriders
-
Maggie Torrance
as The Roughriders
-
Amber Warren
as The Roughriders
-
Jamila Bates
as The Bulldogs
-
Kaneshia Brooks
as The Bulldogs
-
Delaney Conway
as The Bulldogs
-
Nicole Higgins
as The Bulldogs
-
Anna Johnsen
as The Bulldogs
-
Laura Kanter
as The Bulldogs
-
Jazmyne Kendrick
as The Bulldogs
-
Ashley Knight
as The Bulldogs
-
Briana Lewis
as The Bulldogs
-
Ashley Mitchell
as The Bulldogs
-
Neal Natasha
as The Bulldogs
-
Mitia Oliver
as The Bulldogs
-
Lacale Pringle-Buchanan
as The Bulldogs
-
Kanika Rogers
as The Bulldogs
-
Brenia Sherrod
as The Bulldogs
-
Tashara Simpson
as The Bulldogs
-
Tashara Ticeson
as The Bulldogs
-
Samantha Tinned
as The Bulldogs
-
Jessica Tinned
as The Bulldogs
-
Quanitta Underwood
as The Bulldogs
-
Laura Washington
as The Bulldogs
-
Chanieka Williams
as The Bulldogs
-
Robyn Williams
as The Bulldogs
- Emily Watson
- David Scully
