Movie concept: Promising. Actors: Goldberg perfect for the role. Script: 6 writers couldn't put something together with a tighter script than this?????This film has a pretty low rating on IMDb, and I'm not surprised. Although the concept was pretty good, the execution was sloppy...just about as sloppy as the team was during the first half of the film. I had the idea throughout the film that most people involved were just going through the motions.That's not to say there aren't some good moments here. There are some good laughs. Occasionally Whoppi shines like I expected her to shine. It's all pretty good natured, and some of the cameos by politicians and others are fun. Whoopi does fairly well in the lead. Although it's hardly his finest hour, Frank Langella is decent as the new Texan club owner. And Dennis Farina is fine as the old and opposing coach. But there was no danger here of anyone winning an Oscar or Golden Globe.It's a couple of hours of fun, but I'd never be tempted to watch it a second time.

Whoopi Goldberg is ideally cast as a passionate and loud-mouthed Knicks fan with the best of intentions. The film does as a good job of setting up its fantastic premise: Whoopi appointed as coach of the Knicks to help the owner break obnoxious coach Dennis Farina's ironclad contract. Farina is terrific as the ex-coach of the Knicks who tries to edge the Knicks out for the last playoff spot in the East as the Coach of the Hornets. Vlade Divac is hysterically funny, but not-at-all over-the-top as Ivan. Frank Langella is perfectly sinister but never unbelievable as the larger-than-life Cowboy owner who buys the Knicks to try to sell them for a profit. There are hilarious cameos throughout especially by two former NYC mayors.

As a black man, I need inspiration from fellow African Americans. This film provides it...IN FOLDS! Whoopi Goldberg gives a heartwarming performance, perhaps even better than her work in "The Color Purple", "Amistad", "Ghostbusters." Goldberg's performance is masterful; however, the true star of this magical movie is Greg Ostertag. His bravery in portraying this enigma of a character is mindboggling. Little known fact about Mr.Ostertag, he portrayed the ghost of Christmas future in his 10th grade production of "A Christmas Carol." Ostertag is not only a dominating force on the basketball court, he is dominating with his screen presence in "Eddie." I recommend seeing this film immediately if only for Greg Ostertag's performance. 9/10. If you enjoy this film I would also recommend "Space Cowboys"

When the New York Knicks are in the middle of a really poor run when they are purchased by a new owner, Wild Bill Burgess. In an attempt to get the fans into the Garden, he arranges a `honorary coach' contest which fan Eddie Franklin wins. She takes to the bench pushing Coach Bailey's patience to breaking point. When Wild Bill sees the fans react to Eddie he lets Bailey walk and gives her the job. When she turns the losing streak around the team starts to change but what is Wild Bill's financial plan for the Knicks?As a Knicks fan I am used to seeing them play rubbish and `snatch defeat from the jaws of victory' so I didn't think it would hurt to watch this film – at least in this fictional film they stand a chance of a playoff berth! The plot is quite silly in essence, and very unlikely but it is used well to create jokes and good basketball action. The jokes are a mix of Goldberg's usual stuff as well as New York & NBA in-jokes. The Goldberg stuff is OK if you like her, I always liked her smart mouth so I enjoyed it.The in-jokes and cameos also help the film. Be it Letterman, the Mayor or a host of NBA stars, the film is carried by these until it realises that it needs to get an actual plot to finish on! At one point I feared a romantic interest but was happy to see that dropped and a plot about Wild Bill's plans brought into play instead. This isn't great but it does OK and provides a good enough framework for Goldberg's wise mouth and lots of NBA cameos! The cast is deep in players, some knicks, most not, some knicks-to-be! Johnson, Jackson, Rodman, Patton, Mouges, Rick Fox and so on, they all play a good part in the film and the `oh look it's' effect helps keep the interest.Of course many jokes do fall flat and the overall narrative is pretty weak, but the film is a fun diversion. As a knicks fan I did enjoy it on that level but I also felt it wasn't a bad way to spend 90 minutes. It has a watchable energy and is worth seeing if you like basketball and are in an undemanding mood.