Taglines: The father, the son and the holy game.
He Got Game movie storyline. Jesus Shuttlesworth, the top basketball player in the United States, is being pursued by the top college basketball programs in the nation. His father, Jake, is a convicted felon serving time at Attica Correctional Facility for accidentally killing his wife, Martha, (Jesus’ mother) six years earlier.
Jake was pushing her and knocking her down hard on the ground, while arguing with a then-12-year-old Jesus (in flashbacks). The father is temporarily released by the governor, an influential alumnus of “Big State,” one of the colleges Jesus is considering, so that he might persuade his son to sign with the governor’s college. If successful, he’ll get an early release from prison.
While seemingly a sound plan, it turns haywire due to the strained relationship between Jesus and his father. Upon his first moments outside of prison, Jake contacts his daughter, Mary Shuttlesworth (Zelda Harris), who is happy to see him. Mary invites her father to the apartment where she and Jesus now live, having moved out of their Uncle Bubba’s place.
When Jesus returns home from school, he is unhappy to see his father. Refusing to look him in the eye, he tells his sister to get rid of the “stranger” in their living room. Jesus later agrees to meet with his father at an alternative location away from Mary. Throughout the movie, Jake tries to persuade Jesus to attend “Big State” with seemingly no success. Eventually, he divulges the deal set up by the governor. However, Jesus appears unsympathetic to his father’s situation.
He Got Game is a 1998 American sports drama film written, produced and directed by Spike Lee and starring Denzel Washington, Milla Jovovich, Ray Allen, Rosario Dawson, Hill Harper, Zelda Harris, Ned Beatty, Jim Brown, Joseph Lyle Taylor and Michele Shay. This is the third of four film collaborations between Washington and Lee.
Washington portrays Jake Shuttlesworth, father of the top-ranked basketball prospect in the country, Jesus Shuttlesworth, played by NBA star Ray Allen. Jake, in prison for killing his wife, is released on parole for a week by the state’s governor to persuade his son to play for the governor’s alma mater, in exchange for a much reduced prison sentence.
vHe Got Game (1998)
Directed by: Spike Lee
Starring: Denzel Washington, Milla Jovovich, Ray Allen, Rosario Dawson, Hill Harper, Zelda Harris, Ned Beatty, Jim Brown, Joseph Lyle Taylor, Michele Shay
Screenplay by: Spike Lee
Production Design by: Wynn Thomas
Cinematography by: Malik Hassan Sayeed
Film Editing by: Barry Alexander Brown
Costume Design by: Sandra Hernandez
Set Decoration by: Carolyn Cartwright
Art Direction by: David Stein
MPAA Rating: R for pervasive language, strong sexuality, some drug content and violence.
Distributed by: Buena Vista Pictures
Release Date: May 1, 1998
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