DRAMA

What sports fan can resist an underdog story? Well, University of Kentucky fans may want to give Glory Road a pass – not only do their beloved Wildcats blow a crucial game, but also revered coach Adolph Rupp is portrayed as a snotty racist. Everyone else who enjoys cheering courtside, though, will have a ball (ahem) with Glory Road, which grafts the glossy trappings of a Jerry Bruckheimer production (including endless pop songs) onto a doozy of a true story. In 1966 the blip-on-the-map Texas Western basketball team made it to the NCAA tournament finals – a circumstance amazing enough to constitute movie fodder, compounded by the fact that the starting lineup was comprised entirely of African Americans, a first at the time. Instead of working the Hoosiers angle (coach in need of redemption, blah blah), Glory Road instead focuses on the players, embodied by a talented cast (Derek Luke, Mehcad Brooks, and Al Shearer among them) who make the most of their sketched-in individual story lines (the ladies' man, the guy with the overbearing mama, etc.). More important, all of the teammates – black and white – have an easygoing, natural rapport, which renders the film's civil rights themes particularly heartfelt. Though there are no last-minute twists, à la Friday Night Lights, Glory Road's game scenes are still pretty exciting, especially when Coach Don Haskins (Josh Lucas, saddled with quite a bit of cliché-ridden dialogue) lets his players dunk a little. (Cheryl Eddy)

GLORY ROAD

For theaters and showtimes, go to www.sfbg.com.