Nowitzki: The Perfect Shot

Stereotypes about Germans being stolid, hardworking, and severely disciplined won't be overturned by director Sebastian Dehnhardt's playful portrait of Dallas Mavericks basketball star Dirk Nowitzki, who was drafted from distant Bavaria. The strapping youth—the product of a marriage between two athletes—found mentorship with eccentric coach Holger Geschwindner, a former German basketball great whose self-dubbed “Institute for Applied Nonsense” purports (half-seriously, it seems) to have perfected a scientific formula for a never-miss free throw. With American team managers tolerating Geschwindner's controlling and meddling, Nowitzki becomes a popular hit with crowds, although the newcomer's performance is uneven. One interviewee, Chinese NBA import Yao Ming, can relate to the mixed blessing of Nowitzki's cross-cultural appeal/novelty. Since Nowitzki himself is a friendly but not terribly expressive guy, the narrative surrounds him with ancillary hoops drama, from an American fiancée who turned out to be a wanted criminal, to Gerschwindner's own arrest on financial irregularities. A solid profile that is likely to appeal to more than just b-ball fans, this is recommended. [Note: DVD/Blu-ray extras include deleted scenes (35 min.), an interview with subject Dirk Nowitzki (13 min.), and trailers. Bottom line: a solid extras package for a fine sports doc.] (C. Cassady)