Rebound

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"...

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 it—she'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.

From the director of "Dr. Dolittle", and "Daddy Day Care", once again, true genius sparks from the filmaking of the genius of satire, parody, and downright outrageous comedy, as Steve Carr strikes again with "Rebound", the story about a crazed college coach, thrown of college basketball, gets the opportunity to go back to his roots and become the coach of the Smelters (A Middle School basketball team).

Martin Lawrence, the man who plays coach Roy McCormack, is again, the usual hysterical that he is. His witty humor and deadpan relationship with the kids are not even far between. The baskets are as funny as the game itself, as some yuppy comedy would put it, and is as good as it can get.

Tara Correa, this one's for you.

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."

Rebound/2005/***

Main Stars: Martin Lawrence Oren Williams

Breckin Meyer

Martin Lawrence definitely brought the laughs in this movie. There were other people that were funny but mainly Martin Lawrence was. This movie is all about basketball and barely anything else. Roy McCormick (Martin Lawrence) gets fired from coaching college basketball because of his maniacal temper tantrums. Now he has to coach 13 year old kids in a middle school. At first, it was bad for Roy but then he became more patient and better to the kids. It's difficult to explain why I liked this movie but it was just funny and I really was into it for some reason. Movie directed by Steve Carr.