Blue Chips (1994)

Directed by William Friedkin. Starring Nick Nolte, Mary McDonnell, J. T. Walsh, Shaquille O’Neal, Matt Nover, Anfernee “Penny” Hardaway, Ed O’Neill, Alfre Woodard, Anthony C. Hall, Bob Cousy, Cylk Cozart. [PG-13]

In a case of trying to do too much with an unfocused wealth of obvious behind-the-scenes college sports material, director Friedkin and writer Ron Shelton wind up with a watchable but uninspired movie superficially detailing scandals in the basketball department at a fictional California university—illegal recruiting, points shaving, etc. Nolte puts his trademark cranky charisma and volatile rage to good use as a once-successful coach who wants to win again and turns a blind eye to the shady deals necessary to land a trio of promising freshman talents (two of them played by young NBA teammates Shaquille O’Neal and “Penny” Hardaway). Zero surprises, and too many of the supporting characters are either by-the-book (McDonnell’s weary but patient ex-wife), one-dimensional (Walsh’s crooked booster), or ill-defined (O’Neill’s dogged sportswriter). One refreshing change of pace: like Shelton’s first film (Bull Durham), there’s no phony manufactured drama predicated on a “big game” climax—it’s actually the post-game press conference where the proverbial blood gets spilled, an emotionally-satisfying but hard-to-swallow scene. Shelton also produced. In addition to Shaq and Penny, several other sports figures show up, usually as themselves (Larry Bird, Bobby Knight, Rick Pitino, etc.); Louis Gossett Jr. also appears briefly.

55/100