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83Pride doesn't have much surprise, but it's a formula picture of genuine feeling.
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75Howard, playing an inspirational and resourceful man up against long odds, really is an inspiration.
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75It's about black athletes, and they swim. It's as reassuringly uplifting as its predecessors, but the African-American and aquatic elements set it pleasantly apart.
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70Inspired by the true story of Ellis, has Hollywood formula practically stitched to its Speedo. But the characters and the actors who play them are so captivating, we're too entertained and charmed to notice.
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67As exasperating as it is conventionally satisfying.
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67There are formulaic moments aplenty in Pride, the "inspired by a true story" tale of Philadelphia swimming coach Jim Ellis, but in its first scenes, at least, it deserves some credit for doing the unexpected.
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67Whether this is all a case of life imitating art or vice versa matters little. Few of these movies aspire to art. What counts is the trajectory of uplift.
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63A measured, magnificently understated and intense performance by Academy Award nominee Terrence Howard (Hustle & Flow, Crash) as Ellis gives Pride its fire and heart.
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63Worth seeing, not only because it shows how an ordinary man can do something extraordinary, but because it allows audiences the opportunity to watch an extraordinary actor in a performance that could have been rote, but instead is nuanced and intelligent.
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63It's called Pride, and, while it's neither as socially urgent as "Freedom Writers" nor as danceable and soapy as "Stomp the Yard," it's better acted and tougher to resist
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60This is familiar terrain jazzed up by unfamiliar voices--principally Terrence Howard and his high-pitched, singsong drawl. You don't quite know what he's thinking; he might even be demented. But he keeps you watching and guessing.
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If nothing else, Pride has the best sports-film soundtrack ever--Philly funk and soul, '70s style. And hell, that'll get ya wet.
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The movie serves up the expected ratio of setbacks to triumphs and closes with video footage of the real Jim Ellis. But when sinewy young idealists glide through water to the tune of "I'll Take You There," the heart still leaps.
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60Despite a second half that feels more routine than its first, Pride is a definite crowd-pleaser.
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50Terrence Howard delivers another solid lead performance and competition swimming is a new arena for such films. Nonetheless, Pride is just plain trite.
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50Yeah, the story is corny and tired. But when you aren't rolling your eyes, you'll probably be wiping them dry.
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50It follows exactly the same path as both "Glory Road" (except that was basketball) and "Gridiron Gang" (football).
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50If only the screenplay had more going for it than hackneyed homilies and living-in-the-ghetto stereotypes. If only first-time director Sunu Gonera had a surer hand, a knack for something bolder, wilder, goofier.
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50That Pride ultimately gets to you is more of a surprise than the outcome because it's not very well-constructed.
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50Sadly, the only aspect of this well-intentioned film that doesn't feel completely formulaic is its refreshingly unromantic picture of an inner-city neighborhood in the early '70s: Life in Nicetown is hard and very, very poor.
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50Pride has little to be proud about.
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One wishes the makers of Pride had stuck with non-fiction, because their movie reduces Ellis's story to the level of generic sports-flick hokum.
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Howard seems to be in an altogether different and substantially more idiosyncratic film. When the story calls for him to be Patton, he plays Kurtz.
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50Canned racial uplift and tear-streaked faces abound, though they're offset somewhat by a nicely funky blaxploitation vibe.
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42If Pride had concentrated on a gifted coach's teaching and training techniques, it might have been a contender. Instead, all the overheated melodrama evaporates our rooting interest.
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Pride's story was etched in stone ages ago by mysterious movie powers beyond our understanding, and all the Staples Singers' songs in the world won't keep it from its appointed rounds.
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40Despite Mr. Howard's best efforts in the role, though, the film rarely realizes its subject's potential.
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User score distribution:
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Positive: 5 out of 5
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Mixed: 0 out of 5
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Negative: 0 out of 5
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ChadS.7
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SusieH.9Very uplifting story. One of the best movies I've seen in awhile.
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PearlJr10What a magnificent inspirational story of triumph! I love Terrence Howard and every parent should take their child to see this film of perserverence.