''Coach Carter'' is a 2005 American biographical

sports Sport is a physical activity or game, often competitive and organized, that maintains or improves physical ability and skills. Sport may provide enjoyment to participants and entertainment to spectators. The number of participants in ...

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. The drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular ...

starring Samuel L. Jackson and directed by Thomas Carter. It is based on the true story of Richmond High School basketball coach Ken Carter, who made headlines in 1999 for suspending his undefeated high school basketball team due to poor academic results. The screenplay was co-written by John Gatins and Mark Schwahn. The cast features Rob Brown,

Channing Tatum Channing Matthew Tatum (born April 26, 1980) is an American actor and producer. He made his film debut in the drama ''Coach Carter'' (2005), and had his Breakthrough role, breakthrough with the sports comedy film ''She's the Man'' (2006) and t ...

(in his film debut),

Debbi Morgan Deborah Ann "Debbi" Morgan is an American film and television actress. Morgan has appeared in a number of film and TV productions, and may be best known for the role of Angie Baxter–Hubbard on the ABC soap opera ''All My Children''. Morgan ...

, Robert Ri'chard, and the singer Ashanti. The film was a co-production between

MTV Films MTV Entertainment Studios (formerly MTV Production Development from 2003 until 2018 and MTV Studios from 2018 until 2021) is an American film and television Film production, production and Film distribution, distribution company and is the film ...

and Tollin/Robbins Productions. It was commercially distributed by

Paramount Pictures Paramount Pictures Corporation, commonly known as Paramount Pictures or simply Paramount, is an American film production company, production and Distribution (marketing), distribution company and the flagship namesake subsidiary of Paramount ...

for theatrical release and home video rental. The film 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), and simply known as Capitol, is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group through its Capitol Music Group imprint. It was founded as the first West Coast-base ...

, and the film's score was composed and orchestrated by musician Trevor Rabin. ''Coach Carter'' was released in the United States on January 14, 2005, and earned $77 million. It received a varied reception from critics.

Plot

Richmond, California Richmond is a city in western Contra Costa County, California, United States. The city was municipal corporation, incorporated on August 3, 1905, and has a Richmond, California, City Council, city council.

, Ken Carter becomes the coach of Richmond High School's basketball team, the Oilers, which he once played for. The team is initially undisciplined and disrespectful. Carter implements strict contracts requiring the players to sit in the front rows of their classes, maintain a 2.3 GPA, and submit to progress reports on grades and attendance. Despite parental opposition, most players sign the contracts, though some, including talented player and drug dealer Timo Cruz, walk out. Principal Garrison questions Carter's strict approach, doubting the players' ability to meet his demands. Carter imposes a rigorous training regimen focused on conditioning and teamwork. His son, Damian, joins the team after transferring from a private school. Cruz eventually asks to rejoin, agreeing to complete a series of tough exercises. Although he falls short, his teammates help him finish, allowing him to rejoin the team. Team captain Kenyon Stone struggles with his girlfriend Kyra's pregnancy, leading to tension between them with Kenyon wanting to go to college and knowing a baby will stop this from happening. Another player, Junior Battle, is suspended for skipping classes. His mother, Willa, pleads with Carter, who reinstates Junior after he apologizes. The team improves, bonding with Carter and becoming undefeated in the regular season. After winning a holiday tournament, the team sneaks out to a party, which Carter interrupts. He later discovers some players are failing academically and locks the gym, directing the team to study until they meet the contract's terms. Cruz quits the team again, but begs Carter to return after witnessing his cousin Renny being shot to death. Carter's gym lockdown draws media attention and community outrage. He argues that the boys need education to avoid a life of crime or limited prospects. At a school board hearing, Carter declares he will resign if the lockdown is lifted. Despite support from Principal Garrison and the board's chairwoman, the lockdown is ended by the majority vote. Carter prepares to leave, but the team, inspired by his message, chooses to continue studying instead of playing. Cruz, responding to Carter's repeated query about his deepest fear, quotes from '' A Return to Love'', thanking Carter for saving his life. The team reaches their academic goals. Kenyon reconciles with Kyra, who reveals she had an abortion, and invites her to join him at college. The team plays in the state tournament, losing narrowly to St. Francis. Despite the loss, Carter is proud of their perseverance and academic achievements. The team is celebrated by the community, with several players earning college scholarships.

Cast

* Samuel L. Jackson as Coach Ken Carter * Rob Brown as Kenyon Stone * Robert Ri'chard as Damien Carter *

Rick Gonzalez Rick Gonzalez (born June 30, 1979) is an American actor. He is known for his roles as Timo Cruz in the motion picture ''Coach Carter'', as Spanish in ''Old School (2003 film), Old School'', as Ben Gonzalez on the The CW Television Network, CW su ...

as Timo Cruz * Nana Gbewonyo as Junior Battle * Antwon Tanner as Worm *

as Jason Lyle * Ashanti as Kyra *

as Tonya Carter * Vincent Laresca as Renny * Denise Dowse as Principal Garrison * Mel Winkler as Coach White * Ray Baker as St. Francis Coach * Octavia Spencer as Mrs. Willa Battle * Texas Battle as Maddux * Adrienne Bailon as Dominique * Dana Davis as Peyton *

Sonya Eddy Sonya Eddy (June 17, 1967 – December 19, 2022) was an American actress. She was best known for playing Epiphany Johnson in the American American Broadcasting Company, ABC soap opera ''General Hospital'' (2006—2022) for which she won a posthu ...

as Worm's mother * Lil Scrappy as Kentrell

Production

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

Long Beach, California Long Beach is a coastal city in southeastern Los Angeles County, California, United States. It is the list of United States cities by population, 44th-most populous city in the United States, with a population of 451,307 as of 2022. A charter ci ...

and

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

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

Release

''Coach Carter'' was released 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'' (sometimes known as ''Meet the Parents 2'') is a 2004 American romantic comedy film directed by Jay Roach, and the sequel to the 2000 film, '' Meet the Parents''. The film stars Robert De Niro (also one of the film's producer ...

'' ($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. Following its cinematic release in theaters, the Region 1 edition of the film was released on VHS and 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. A restored widescreen high-definition

Blu-ray Disc Blu-ray (Blu-ray Disc or BD) is a Digital media, digital optical disc data storage format designed to supersede the DVD format. It was invented and developed in 2005 and released worldwide on June 20, 2006, capable of storing several hours of ...

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, television shows and films Digital distribution, digitally on request. These multimedia are accessed without a traditional video playback device and a typica ...

has been made available as well.

Critical reception

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review aggregator, 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 ...

, the film has an approval rating of 64% based on 149 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 June 1, 2024. On

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

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

. CNET Networks. Retrieved February 3, 2013. Audiences polled by

CinemaScore CinemaScore is an American 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 from the data. Background Ed Mintz, who ...

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

Accolades

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

Soundtrack

The soundtrack for the film was released by

on January 11, 2005. The score for the film was orchestrated by Trevor Rabin. 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 Contemporary R&B, R&B singer and songwriter. After being discovered by record producer Troy Taylor (record producer), Troy Taylor in 2003, Songz ...

; "Balla" by Mack 10 featuring Da Hood; "Beauty Queen" by CzarNok; "What Love Can Do" by Letoya; and "Wouldn't You Like to Ride", by

Kanye West Ye ( ; born Kanye Omari West ; June 8, 1977) is an American rapper, singer and record producer. One of the most prominent figures in hip-hop, he is known for his varying musical style and polarizing cultural and political commentary. After ...

, Malik Yusef, and

Common Common may refer to: As an Irish surname, it is anglicised from Irish Gaelic surname Ó Comáin. Places * Common, a townland in County Tyrone, Northern Ireland * Boston Common, a central public park in Boston, Massachusetts * Cambridge Com ...

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 2005 films African-American biographical dramas African-American films 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 drama films based on actual events Cultural depictions of American people 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 2000s 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 English-language sports drama films Films about high school sports English-language biographical drama films English-language crime films