"Pride" Dive's Into The Running

I know what you are thinking...a movie about a Black swim team? Most of us can not even swim, and when we do learn how to swim, swimming pools are so far and few between where most of us live, that preparation to compete is out of the question. Not to mention the fact that the slightly extra bone density that African American posses is not conducive of producing a good swimmer. I just thought back to when I learned how to swim, and one of the exercises was to float in water. Needless to say, only my head stayed a float and I could not understand why.

So I could imagine what people thought of an all African American Swim team back in 1974. That is what Terrence Howard's current film is about. I ventured 'across the water' to AMC theatres at Newport on the Levee to see the movie Pride and was surprised when my friend and I were the ONLY PEOPLE IN THE ENTIRE THEATRE!

Most of the film takes place in Philadelphia, where Howard's character fights the odds by inspiring a Black community and a White elite swim team to embrace a poor African American swim team. By doing this, Howard's character manages to save a community center as well.

It was great to see Kimberly Elise (Set It Off and Beloved) play opposite of Howard, though her true acting ability did not shine through, safe for one emotional scene, it was good to see her on the big screen again. Bernie Mac, was true to is House Party days (where he played the wise-cracking Unle Vester), playing the older, wittingly cynical father figure who had has an uncanny knack for 'telling it like it is'. Tom Arnold makes a surprising appearance in the film as the rival swim team's coach. Kudos to Tom for taking on this project, it not like he had anything else to do.

Though this may not be a movie to go see on a Friday night, I would not recommend waiting to see this once its on DVD. Go out and support this feel good movie so that poor saps like my friend and I are not the only ones sitting in the movie theatre...lol