Air Ball -- Spike Lee's Shooting Slump Continues With Overblown `He Got Game'

Movie review XX "He Got Game," with Denzel Washington, Ray Allen, Milla Jovovich. Written and directed by Spike Lee. 131 minutes. Several theaters. "R" - Restricted for nudity, violence and language.

After watching acclaimed director/persona Spike Lee's new film, "He Got Game," I'd be curious to see an old syllabus from one of the film classes Lee taught at Harvard. It's bound to look something like this:

Section One: Creating Cinematic Characters.

Section Two: Dynamic Use of Film Homage.

Section Three: The Use of Superfluous Scenes and the Evils of Rigorous Editing.

With the exception of Lee's best film, "Do the Right Thing," there hasn't been a picture of his during which I haven't wondered, "OK, Spike, so how long is this digression going to take?" With "He Got Game's" basketball theme, there initially doesn't appear to be a chance for Lee to trail off in another direction. Basketball is timed; it has strict limits. Even Lee's script appears to have a tight focus.

Jake Shuttlesworth (Denzel Washington) is a convict serving the first stretch of a long sentence when he's offered a chance for early parole: Convince his son, the basketball phenom Jesus (Ray Allen), to sign a letter of intent with the governor's favorite college, and Jake can go free. The clock is running down though, as the college-signing date is seven days away. It also won't be easy for Jake to reconcile with his son: Jake is in prison for killing Jesus' mother. In addition to his unwelcome father, several other people are intent on influencing Jesus into making "the most important decision" of his life. It's a pressure situation.

With this framework, "He Got Game" starts out strong. Washington, who might be the most reliable actor today, plays Jake from the hot-headed, domineering father to the mellowed con with conviction and believability. He's such a failed human being, yet it's obvious to see his real imperative is to make a man out of his son.

Ray Allen, a star guard for the Milwaukee Bucks, has the misfortune of having to compete against that level of acting, and he just pops air balls by comparison.

As with Lee's creakier "joints," "He Got Game" really starts to suck wind about an hour into the movie. The film switches from a celebration of the sport to a tract on the trials of celebrity. Why the long, deadly-sins scene, the draggy, sports-agent scene and the unforgivable, Tech U recruiting scene? Each one makes its point, then makes it again, then pops one more short bank shot just in case someone might have missed it.

The final moment of the movie is analogous to what happens to the film as a whole; it starts with a near glorious moment of Jake throwing a basketball high over a wall and ends up with the ball landing (ridiculously) in another state altogether.

Almost every Lee film benefits from a second viewing and the same might hold true for "He Got Game," but who would want to take the time? You begin to doubt that any given scene has something to do with anything else. The film seems like the ramblings of a professor roaming in front of the dais long after his hour is up.

Sure it has moments of grace, sense, and truth to contrast with its meandering, solipsistic, congratulatory moments, but in "He Got Game," the latter takes the former to the hoop.