Pride

Clichéd though it may be, this fanciful biopic of African-American swimming coach Jim Ellis manages to inspire, if not exactly entertain, thanks to the bullish performances of Terrence Howard and Bernie Mac. Struggling to get a job in mid-1970s Philadelphia, ex-college swimming star Ellis (Howard) locks horns with caretaker Elston (Mac) when he is sent to decommission a run-down sports facility. However, when the local kids flock to the cleaned-up pool, the two men form a swim team that makes the headlines when it accepts a girl member (Regine Nehy) and attracts the support of a city councillor (Kimberley Elise). A romantic subplot involving Howard and Elise and a showdown with a local drug dealer flesh out the slender storyline. But, while Sunu Gonera's direction captures the downbeat post-Black Power mood and strives to show how kids can thrive if given a chance, it's too deliberate to get you cheering on these genial underdogs.