Glory Road Photo

Glory Road

Starring: Josh Lucas, Derek Luke, Austin Nichols, Evan Jones, Mehcad Brooks

Directed by: James Gartner

RS: 2of 4 Stars

2006 Buena Vista Drama

The words "based on a true story" cover a lot of sins. Don't get me wrong. Don Haskins has a story worth telling. A basketball coach for the underdog Texas Western Miners, Haskins elbowed segregation in 1966 when he started five black players against the all-white team from the University of Kentucky Wildcats at the NCAA championships. And Josh Lucas plays Haskins with a no-bull vigor that comes in handy when the script saddles him with all-bull platitudes ("It's not about talent, it's about heart"). No one can beat producer Jerry Bruckheimer (Remember the Titans) at making the truth play like Hollywood fantasy. Authenticity is confined to the court action, and the performances, led by Derek Luke as the team's star player and Jon Voight -- his face a mask of putty -- as the Kentucky coach. The rest is a slick package with the wrinkles of real life smoothed clean out of it.