Gunnin' for That #1 Spot

Sports fans will certainly enjoy Beastie Boys hip-hop rapper Adam Yauch's documentary about the first all-star game at Harlem's famous Rucker Park in September 2006 featuring 24 of the country's top high-school hoops prospects—a contest happily devoid of sneaker company endorsements and almost entirely free of college recruiters. The first half, focusing on eight of the players, offers a solid introduction that may not delve very deeply into character or background, but certainly showcases the speed and flair you'd expect of standout young athletes, while the second half features amazing footage from the game itself. Gunnin' for That #1 Spot also offers running commentary on the extreme pressure that is put upon these players by the media, their communities, and sometimes even their families (though the remarks by reporters who criticize how the ranking process has become an over-publicized business tend toward the obvious). The visual style ranges from straightforward to ill-advised attempts to jazz things up with fish-eye lenses to suggest the boys' semi-amazed introduction to the Big Apple and flashy fast-mo and freeze frames during the game, while the music score features lots of hip-hop. An engaging documentary, overall, highlighting the competitive world of high-school basketball, this is recommended. [Note: DVD extras on this two-disc set include audio commentary by director Adam Yauch and narrator Bobbito Garcia, “Player Highlights” (35 min.), deleted scenes (13 min.), featurettes on “Kidd & Gordon” (13 min.) and “Coach Frank” (13 min.), 11 minutes of “Bobbito aka…” interviews, a 10-minute segment on the film's screening at the Newport Beach Festival, eight minutes of “NYC Video Diaries,” “Beasley Trash Talk” on one of the players (4 min.), an impromptu dunk contest (3 min.), a “Director vs Beasley” game clip (2 min.), brief announcer “Bobbitoisms,” a segment on the “Disco 4 vs Crash Crew” classic game, an audio Apple store segment featuring Yauch, and trailers. Bottom line: a fine extras package for a winning documentary.] (F. Swietek)