PRIDE

Terrence Howard and Bernie Mac give touching and inspirational performances in Pride, a film inspired by true events. Howard plays Jim Ellis, a college graduate and former collegiate swimmer, looking for a teaching position at a Philadelphia high school in 1973. Turned down for the job by the racist high school principal (Tom Arnold), Ellis finds a low- paying job to shut down an inner-city recreational center. What he eventually finds is his life-long dream to teach swimming.

Ellis's first encounter at the center is with Elston (Mac), the custodian since its inception. The center has been Elston's life, and its eventual demise is inextricably linked to his spirit. Bernie Mac, better known for his comedic roles, brings surprising authenticity to his spiritually dying, cranky character. Initially, Ellis and Elston struggle over the center's future but find common ground when they organize the first African-American teenage swim team in Philadelphia in hopes of saving the facility.

There is not much new about this story; you have seen it before: An inspirational teacher/coach/guardian inspiring a group of inner-city kids, most recently in Freedom Writers or last year's Akila and the Bee. But this is the first time in my memory that swimming has been an integral plot device. There are obligatory scenes of Ellis shaping these undisciplined kids into a team, and the team standing up for their coach (à la Dead Poets' Society). And there are moving sentimental moments. But it is the scenes between Howard and Mac that give this hackneyed story the emotional punch that make it worth seeing. I hope these two team up again; they were wonderful together.

                                                        James R. Janowsky