SYNOPSICS
Rebound (2005) is a English movie. Steve Carr has directed this movie. Martin Lawrence,Megan Mullally,Breckin Meyer,Wendy Raquel Robinson are the starring of this movie. It was released in 2005. Rebound (2005) is considered one of the best Comedy,Family,Sport movie in India and around the world.
Coach Roy once was college basketball's top mastermind. But lately his attentions have been on his next endorsements, not on his next game. What¹s more, Roy's temper has run amuck, leading to his being banned from college ball until he can demonstrate compliance--in other words, not explode every time he walks onto the court. Roy waits and waits; for a suitable coaching offer, but he receives only one: the Mount Vernon Junior High School Smelters basketball squad. Roy reluctantly accepts the offer, hoping that a few weeks at the school will prove his good intentions and restore him to his high-living ways as a celebrated college coach. But when old school meets middle school, Coach Roy doesn't know what hit him. It's not until Roy decides to teach his young charges some new concepts--like passing, rebounding, dribbling, and scoring--that the Smelters begin to find success and Roy finds something long thought lost: his love of the game.
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Rebound (2005) Reviews
Not the best family film, but far from the worst
Too many critics seem to be expecting more from "Rebound" than it tries to offer. This movie is what it is - a simplistic, fun family movie aimed at kids - nothing more, nothing less. The filmmakers weren't trying to create "Casablanca 2" here. As a family movie, it succeeds at producing enough laughs to entertain the kids and keep adults from getting too bored. There are certainly elements in the movie that could've been better. It's WAY too formulaic and predictable, the scores in the games before Coach Roy arrive are totally unrealistic, and quite frankly, there are several actors who would've been funnier in the role than Lawrence. But the kids are very well cast, and do a real good job with the material they're given. There are many genuinely funny bits, and Megan Mullally is an absolute hoot in her role, which was far too small. So if you're looking for the next great cinematic classic, keep looking. But if you want a fun family movie that's suitable for the kids, check out "Rebound."
Decent, Predictable Kid's Movie
The filmmakers in Rebound diligently stick to the prescribed "kids sports movie" formula, and desperately hope that Martin Lawrence provides a flicker of spunk. I can't give Rebound more than two stars, not because it was necessarily bad, but because it was painfully predictable. It dares not stray from the tired but true progression of, "a small team of misfits is matched up with a reluctant savior, who inevitably leads the team to victory only after learning a valuable lesson." In this case, the reluctant coach, Roy McCormick, is played by Martin Lawrence, who attempts to single-handedly provide some unique quality to this film in order to distinguish it from all other kid movies. He fails. Roy McCormick is a hotshot college basketball coach with an outrageous temper and passion for endorsement deals. The audience is repeatedly shown how out of touch with basketball Coach Roy has become by showing many examples of his advertisements, his flashy car, his expensive suits, etc. We are even treated to the routine clips from "The Best Damn Sports Show," where Tom Arnold proclaims that Coach Roy is losing it. After we have firmly established that Roy is in fact out of touch already, we get the inevitable temper tantrum that results in his expulsion from the league. Coach Roy then reluctantly agrees to coach a struggling junior high basketball team. This brilliant plan will supposedly help him rebuild his reputation, thereby allowing him to gain readmittance to the league. Because apparently, the best way to gain credibility as a basketball coach is to instruct reject junior high kids, at which point one will just be rolling in offers from the NBA. We watch as Coach Roy methodically teaches the kids how to play basketball, one skill at a time, through a series of over-dramatic techniques. He brings in a weird hoodlum preacher who is not funny at all and looks suspiciously like Martin Lawrence dressed up as a hoodlum preacher. He scours the student body for a very tall kid who is also clumsy in a humorous way. He also recruits a large girl to the team, as she is Susie-Likes-to-Fight, and Roy thinks that if things get rough, he can always channel his inner John Chaney and send her out to pummel someone. The audience laughs because she's a girl! Haha, get itshe's a girl! And all the while, goofy and upbeat music plays helpfully in the background, reminding us that this is a stupid kid's movie. There's the romance factor of course, with Coach Roy trying to get a date with one kid's mom. There's also the slapstick assistant coach (played by SNL cast member Horatio Sanz), who bumbles around hoping to provide supplemental humor when basketballs slip out of his grasp and fly in all directions; there's the overzealous opposing coach who thinks junior high school basketball is as important as college or NBA--but then again, can you really blame the guy? After all, the film has already established that coaching junior high school basketball is a direct path to the big leagues. Needless to say, this movie is tiresomely predictable, but not necessarily bad. I know that kids will like it, so I would recommend it as a very family-friendly movie. It definitely has the "cute factor," in that sense, but those of us who are not 13 may not see the same value in Rebound.
Okay But Could Have Been Better
I always felt that the problem with Martin Lawrence movies is that the scripts always limit all of the raunchiness and outrageous humor that makes Martin Lawrence funny. Bad Boys I is probably the only movie that parallels the comic potential that you can find in Lawrence's stand-up acts. Otherwise, the moviegoer will only see a fraction of the comedian's talent. I walked into the theater expecting to see another terrible Martin Lawrence movie, but I was surprised that this film was somewhat enjoyable. Being rated PG, Rebound checks Lawrence's ability to offend through his usual graphic language, but Lawrence actually shows that he can be funny and gentle at the same time, relying on easygoing charm and witty dialogue to appease the audience. One of the prime examples of this is a scene where he is teaching a kid not to be a ball hog on the court. He makes his point in a way that is charming, smart, and funny. Another scene is where Lawrence plays a secondary character, a street preacher who gives the middle schoolers a pep talk before a big game. A similar scene was used in Blue Streak, but unlike in that movie, this scene works, mainly because the audience gets to see an unsuspecting, straight-laced Martin react to a more sketchier version of himself. It's a clever device that is guaranteed to generate some laughter. So why did I give this movie only five stars? The problem falls mainly with Rebound's poorly-written script. Martin Lawrence stars as a once great college basketball coach, whose short temper causes him to be kicked out of the league. In order to redeem himself, he takes up a coaching job at his old middle school to prove to the NCBA that he is not only as good of a coach as he was in his prime but a charitable one as well. The school's team is a group of misfits that can never seem to score a single basket in any of the games they play. Will Lawrence bring the team to victory? While the premise is promising, the delivery is weak and lacking substance. Lawrence is supposed to be a Bobby Knight-type coach and seeing him throw tantrums in the Martin Lawrence style we all know and love would have been hilarious to see. But the problem is that we rarely see Lawrence carry this angry persona. In fact, his so-called emotional outburst appears accidental when he kicks a ball at the opposing team's mascot. Is this reason enough to expel him from the league? Aside from this err in the plot, the rest of the movie feels a bit rushed. Every time a scene begins to ascend in humor, it abruptly ends and goes onto another scene. As a result, Lawrence wins the trust of the middle schoolers too quickly, he brings the underdogs onto a winning streak too quickly, he decides that he loves coaching middle school too quickly. Plus, Lawrence wins the heart of one of the kid's mother ALL TOO QUICKLY! Better pacing along with a couple of twists would have made for a better film. Aside from Lawrence's strong performance, Rebound's young cast delivers as well. The chemistry between Lawrence and the kids is great, and their characters are well-developed. However, the rest of the adult cast feels wasted. Patrick Warburton puts in a lot of energy in his performance but he doesn't have anyone to play off. Megan Mullally is hilarious as the sarcastic school principal but she seems to vanish halfway through the film. I felt that Rebound would have benefited from more interplay between her and Lawrence. Seeing these two wacky comedians bump heads would have been fun to see. Breckin Meyer does a decent job as Coach Roy's shrewd agent, but you get the feeling that he probably has something better to do. Wendy Raquel Robinson is a suitable love interest for Martin and does her job well. But as stated before, her character falls for Martin a little too fast to be truly believable. Sadly, Horatio Sanz is given very little to do. Overall, this movie was decent and provided some great insights on learning to work with others cooperatively despite personal differences. Everything else feels a bit forced and redundant. Martin Lawrence proves that he has a superb screen presence and broad comic appeal but it will take more than this poorly written piece for him to rebound and get back into the game.
So sad...nobody was laughing
It's a shame when a movie tries so hard to be funny but no one laughs at it. I went seeing this with expecting for a couple hours of light, predictable and forgettable fun, but instead of that I got a pointless sitcom that fails miserably at being funny or dramatic. The main problem with Rebound is that it never comes together; it's that kind of movie that is sorta made by two directors with opposite purposes: light-hearted humor and deep thoughtful drama. So, the whole film is like a struggle between these two visions, and none comes to win. Unfortunately, viewers become the great losers with all this mess. Megan Mullaly makes a good job of her role, though Martin Lawrence looks uncomfortable and overwhelmed by his. I have read some good reviews about Lawrence's performance, but I have to disagree on that one. I think that this is one of his worst performances, totally unfunny or whatsoever. For those who defend this film saying that is a kid's movie, I should defend children's rights to have intelligent options, like Pixar and Dreamworks had been doing lately. There is no excuse for showing dull and naive movies only because "it's for the children"...
Above average family TV comedy becomes something less when you have to pay ten bucks a head in theaters
If Hollywood wants to know why theater attendance is off they need look no further than this movie. The problem is not they are making bad movies, they're simply making movies you feel ripped off for having paid ten bucks to see. Once you get over the shock that you've paid too much for what you're seeing, Rebound is actually a good little movie. Rebound tells the story of Coach Ray, a highly paid NCAA basketball coach who ends up banned from coaching for bad behavior. With no other options open to him he ends up coaching back at his old junior high school where things take mostly predictable, but enjoyable turns. For example the team is so bad at basketball it hasn't won a game in twelve years, and is made up of the typical assortment of kids who don't know left from right, so even though you know whats going to happen but you don't mind because Lawrence and the kids are fun to watch. And while it strives and fails to be a Bad News Bears of basketball, it is an enjoyable movie on its own terms. Just wait for DVD or cable, because paying 10 bucks a head to see this will spoil your enjoyment of whats a nice funny little movie.