Pride

Entertainment Weekly Owen Gleiberman

Pride doesn't have much surprise, but it's a formula picture of genuine feeling.

Chicago Tribune Michael Phillips

Howard, playing an inspirational and resourceful man up against long odds, really is an inspiration.

Charlotte Observer Lawrence Toppman

It'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.

Washington Post Desson Thomson

Inspired 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.

Christian Science Monitor Peter Rainer

Whether 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.

Seattle Post-Intelligencer Sean Axmaker

As exasperating as it is conventionally satisfying.

The Onion (A.V. Club) Keith Phipps

There 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.

Boston Globe Wesley Morris

It'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

Miami Herald Connie Ogle

A measured, magnificently understated and intense performance by Academy Award nominee Terrence Howard (Hustle & Flow, Crash) as Ellis gives Pride its fire and heart.

USA Today Claudia Puig

Worth 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.

The New York Times Matt Zoller Seitz

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.

Variety Dennis Harvey

Despite a second half that feels more routine than its first, Pride is a definite crowd-pleaser.

New York Magazine David Edelstein

This 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.

Village Voice Robert Wilonsky

If nothing else, Pride has the best sports-film soundtrack ever--Philly funk and soul, '70s style. And hell, that'll get ya wet.

Chicago Reader J.R. Jones

Canned racial uplift and tear-streaked faces abound, though they're offset somewhat by a nicely funky blaxploitation vibe.

TV Guide Ken Fox

Sadly, 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.

ReelViews James Berardinelli

Pride has little to be proud about.

New York Post Kyle Smith

It follows exactly the same path as both "Glory Road" (except that was basketball) and "Gridiron Gang" (football).

San Francisco Chronicle Ruthe Stein

That Pride ultimately gets to you is more of a surprise than the outcome because it's not very well-constructed.

New York Daily News Elizabeth Weitzman

Yeah, the story is corny and tired. But when you aren't rolling your eyes, you'll probably be wiping them dry.

The Globe and Mail (Toronto) Jason Anderson

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.

Philadelphia Inquirer Steven Rea

If 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.

The Hollywood Reporter Kirk Honeycutt

Terrence Howard delivers another solid lead performance and competition swimming is a new arena for such films. Nonetheless, Pride is just plain trite.

Los Angeles Times Sam Adams

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.

Baltimore Sun Michael Sragow

If 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.

Austin Chronicle Josh Rosenblatt

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.

Wall Street Journal Joe Morgenstern

Despite Mr. Howard's best efforts in the role, though, the film rarely realizes its subject's potential.