Rebound

Martin Lawrence plays his usual immature, loud-mouthed clown in this kiddie-friendly underdog sports comedy that is so predictable director Steve Carr doesn't even bother with scenes of its basketball team of generic 13-year-old misfits discovering their skills and a love of the game. He just cuts straight to Lawrence, playing an egomaniac coach who is booted out of college ball for his temper and can't get a job anywhere except back at his old junior high school, where he eventually becomes a life-affirming altruist full of feel-good advice and game-winning strategy. Somehow this sloppy, mechanical movie (even the minimal game scenes lack vibrancy) manages to dig up some energy and spirit in the last act, which keeps it from completely collapsing under the weight of its own ineptitude (and kids may well like it). But it's clear that while Carr seems comfortable with Lawrence's utter insincerity as an actor, he doesn't know what to do with real talent, as Megan Mullally (Will & Grace) and Patrick Warburton (Puddy on Seinfeld) are wasted in throwaway roles. Not a necessary purchase. [Note: DVD extras include audio commentary by screenwriters Jon Lucas and Scott Moore, a brief alternate ending, a storyboard gallery, and trailers. Bottom line: a so-so extras package for a run-of-the-mill sports film.] (R. Blackwelder)