Back in the nineties, Spike Lee really began evolving as a storyteller, exploring well beyond his era of being known as “the black Woody Allen”. He created something all his own in the 1990’s, and carved out a fascinating little niche for himself in the cinematic landscape. He Got Game is sort of his answer to Martin Scorsese’s gritty urban films. It comes down to a story of family, and is one of Lee’s all time must download movies.
The film follows Jesus, pronounced just like Jesus as in Jesus Christ… It’s a Biblical name. He’s a basketball prodigy being hunted relentlessly by all the top athletic schools. His scholarship is obviously covered, of course, and now it’s just a matter of deciding which school to attend, and these guys are incredibly aggressive in how they try to scout him out.
The other lead is Jesus’ father played by Denzel Washington. He’s been in prison for years for accidentally killing the mother. Jesus has never forgiven him for this. Whether he ever finds his son’s love again forms one of the film’s main two plots alongside that of Jesus’ being courted by the various athletic schools in the area.
The warden at the prison offers a deal: Let the father out for a little while to convince Jesus to join the warden’s alma mater, and they’ll see about reducing the sentence.
Of course, this isn’t really the point for the father. A reduced sentence is a nice bonus, but he really wants to take the opportunity to find the son’s forgiveness, to be close to him and to love him and be loved by him. The way these two plot threads tie together is really incredible, in that what school Jesus chooses has to be right for him.
The father has other issues to deal with, such as a prostitute he falls in love with, while the son already has enough on his mind as the talent scouts put him through an endless parade of cash bribes, drugs and sex with gorgeous women in attempts to get him to join up. Through it all, Jesus has to maintain his righteousness, he has to stay strong and make the right decision for himself and for his little sister, who he’s cared for all these years. He enjoys these offerings, but tries to resist temptation.
The ending of the film is surreal, moving, and fitting. It defies all logic and laws of physics in order to give us a conclusion that is, while not entirely logical, is at least one of the most emotionally satisfying endings put to film.
At times, the film can be frightening and shocking, but in the end it’s all about feeling, it’s about character. It really is one of his most emotionally rich efforts to date. The soundtrack by Public Enemy isn’t bad, either. Spike Lee has since gone on to create more polished, more marketable films, but in the nineties he really created a unique niche for himself in the cinematic landscape.
Check out Tokyo Zombie, but make sure you get it in Japanese with subtitles. Tired of paying too much and not having enough time to watch the movies before you have to return them? And then, if you bought the movie instead of renting it, it was played over and over again for the family to enjoy.