The Heart of the Game

Covering a span of seven years, Ward Serrill's uplifting sports documentary—narrated by Ludacris—is essentially an inner-city, gender-reversal version of Hoosiers, in which a modestly talented girls' basketball team is molded into champions by a distinctly unconventional coach. The setting is Roosevelt High School in Seattle, where the new head coach for the Roughriders is erstwhile University of Washington finance instructor Bill Resler, a voluble and enormously energetic bearded guy who comes up with a new unifying slogan each season and spouts comically vitriolic instructions during practice. The other main character is Darnellia Russell, a talented African American player whose transfer to the nearly all-white team from a nearby school proves to be a rocky transition. A good deal of footage is devoted to Russell's rebellious attitude, which Resler tries to control, and the film chronicles her legal fight with the state athletic authority over her continued eligibility to play after she becomes pregnant and drops out to have the baby. Unsurprisingly, the story culminates in a big championship contest marked by personal triumphs. While The Heart of the Game would likely be dismissed as corny and unbelievable if it were fiction (and it's not in the same league as the landmark documentary Hoop Dreams), the film is nevertheless both inspirational and enjoyable. Recommended. [Note: DVD extras include audio commentary by filmmaker Ward Serrill, 12 deleted scenes with optional commentary (27 min.), a 26-minute “making-of” featurette, 15 minutes of “On the Road with the Heart” interviews and bonus footage, five minutes of interviews with “Darnellia & Family,” interviews with narrator Chris “Ludacris” Bridges (2 min.) and Coach Bill Resler (2 min.), a brief “What Happened To…” update segment, and trailers. Bottom line: a fine extras package for a solid documentary.] (F. Swietek)