Sixteen years after the events chronicled in the seminal documentary "Hoop Dreams," Arthur Agee returns to his alma mater (Chicago's Marshall High School) and discovers a new prodigious talent in point guard Patrick Beverley. The documentary both catches viewers up on Arthur's life and gives us another glimpse into the world of high school basketball, as Beverley's team goes downstate to the Illinois high school tournament, just as Agee's team did all those years ago.
Grandfatherly coach Luther Bedford has passed on (the documentary shows us his open-casket wake) and been replaced by stern, profane taskmaster Lamont Bryant. Bryant's obviously a skilled coach who gets great results out of his team, but his presence also lays bare the documentary's big weakness: it makes many of the same points as its unofficial predecessor, but the subjects are less appealing. Bedford's cranky charm wears better over the course of a film than Bryant's constant hectoring, even if their points are equally valid. Similarly, Patrick Beverley does not have Agee's infectious smile or ease before the camera, even if he is the better basketball player. Of the new participants, only Patrick's tough-as-nails mother Lisa matches her earlier counterpart (the equally tough Sheila Agee, who makes a brief appearance). The film could have benefited by featuring Lisa more prominently.
Arthur's life gets an update. We learn that his father Bo Agee had cleaned up his life and become both a minister and clothing seller, only to be brutally murdered in a planned hit. The aforementioned Sheila returns to Chicago to visit her husband's gravestone (and charmingly chews out Arthur for getting the birth year wrong). Arthur never made it to the NBA, but has dedicated his life to the Hoop Dreams brand and is hoping to sell an entire clothing line based on it.
Some points are glossed over or ignored outright. Arthur is reputed to have had two children with two different women, but neither is so much as mentioned in the film. The viewer gets the sense that Arthur is holding his current life very close to the vest. In addition, the earlier film's co-protagonist William Gates is neither seen nor mentioned. William's brother Curtis was murdered in 2001, and William himself is now an inner-city minister and is happily married to his girlfriend from the first movie, but "Hoop Reality" makes no mention of any of this.
In short, "Hoop Reality" is a workmanlike update on the first film, but by no means comes close to its predecessor's excellence.
Grandfatherly coach Luther Bedford has passed on (the documentary shows us his open-casket wake) and been replaced by stern, profane taskmaster Lamont Bryant. Bryant's obviously a skilled coach who gets great results out of his team, but his presence also lays bare the documentary's big weakness: it makes many of the same points as its unofficial predecessor, but the subjects are less appealing. Bedford's cranky charm wears better over the course of a film than Bryant's constant hectoring, even if their points are equally valid. Similarly, Patrick Beverley does not have Agee's infectious smile or ease before the camera, even if he is the better basketball player. Of the new participants, only Patrick's tough-as-nails mother Lisa matches her earlier counterpart (the equally tough Sheila Agee, who makes a brief appearance). The film could have benefited by featuring Lisa more prominently.
Arthur's life gets an update. We learn that his father Bo Agee had cleaned up his life and become both a minister and clothing seller, only to be brutally murdered in a planned hit. The aforementioned Sheila returns to Chicago to visit her husband's gravestone (and charmingly chews out Arthur for getting the birth year wrong). Arthur never made it to the NBA, but has dedicated his life to the Hoop Dreams brand and is hoping to sell an entire clothing line based on it.
Some points are glossed over or ignored outright. Arthur is reputed to have had two children with two different women, but neither is so much as mentioned in the film. The viewer gets the sense that Arthur is holding his current life very close to the vest. In addition, the earlier film's co-protagonist William Gates is neither seen nor mentioned. William's brother Curtis was murdered in 2001, and William himself is now an inner-city minister and is happily married to his girlfriend from the first movie, but "Hoop Reality" makes no mention of any of this.
In short, "Hoop Reality" is a workmanlike update on the first film, but by no means comes close to its predecessor's excellence.
