Martin Lawrence plays Roy, an arrogant and famous basketball coach suspended after a rant during a match, and he's forced to coach a high school team of kids whose major kicks on the sport is to be losers. "Rebound" follows the clichéd path of many other films of the subject but fails almost in everything it tries so hard to copy. It tries to be funny but it isn't (I mean, not even a single joke); it tries to create a climatic match during the end but it's almost a boring thing to see and to get there you might fall asleep during the other scenes. Besides all the unfunny aspects there are more serious things to be said of "Rebound". With the notable exception of Steven Christopher Parker (who plays Wes, the intelligent kid but very unexperienced with basketball), all the other kids haven't got sympathetic characters, I couldn't relate with anyone of them (or relate with any character actually, everybody was boring or annoying). This was supposed to be a comedy, with some friendly characters and funny situations, but what I've got here was a distant, shallow and boring kid's movie. This wasn't a good comical vehicle for Lawrence although he has some good moments (the two scenes where he talks to one of the kids about being a good player, motivating the kids to not be "the only guy on the team who plays well and start thinking on the team as a whole). Sadly Breckin Meyer was reduced to two or three scenes, playing Lawrence's agent. This is not a case of a bad film with terrible things to show, but it is a misguided and unfunny little picture. 5/10
... View MoreFirst off let me start out by saying that I am not a huge Martin Lawrence fan. Big Momma's House 1 and 2 were pretty good for some dumb comedy movies (me owning the first one and liking it)but, National Security with Martin and Steve Zahn was passable. OK, now on to Rebound. Hot Head Basketball coach Roy McCormic (Lawrence) gets fired and loses his fame and decides to win the press and basketball league back by coaching a small middle school team called The Mt. Vernon Smelters. So he meets the kids, Keith, best player, One Love, loves shoes, hair and ego, Goggles, best spirit, always hit in the face, Ralph, two older brothers, lots of experience, and Fuzzy, the junk food addict (no offense). So bit by bit he starts to teach them to win and later they add two more players, Wes, the shy tall guy who Roy calls "The Sledgehammer", and Big Mac, the school bully who is not afraid of a fight. They get better and better and slowly make their way to victory. Some of the side joke adult characters such as the principal of the school (Meagan Mullaly of TV's "Will and Grace") and an over enthusiastic competitive coach (Patrick Warburton of (Kronk's New Groove). Overall I thought this movie was good and entertaining. It teaches a lesson to not be self centered. It was very sad in my opinion that the girl who played Big Mac died from a gunshot and was rumored to be in a gang. She would have become a "SuperSta". All and all very entertaining.2 out of 4 stars
... View MoreCollege basketball coach Roy McCormick is almost banned for life due to his aggressive behavior, but as his agent finds a clause in the rules that he must have another chance first, he ends up training a middle school team, the Mount Vernon Junior High School Smelters. As those movies go, after a few confrontations everyone works together to become champions. Add a love interest for the coach and some diversity in the characters of the team.One of the more funny scenes involves shy Wes and over-assertive Big Mac (this time not meant as a product placement I hope) ending up in a romance. Another thing well done is the way the coach instructs his team. Like in Coach Carter he takes time to learn the middle school team about passing, communication and rebounding. Martin Lawrence tries hard but lacks the comedy skills Eddie Murphy has. He even plays more than one character like Murphy did in Coming to America.Most Hollywood movies only get a bad treatment just because they are made in Hollywood. But Rebound gives those Hollywood-haters exactly the ammo they wish, as it is the kind of formulaic movie that has not a shred of intelligent writing, storytelling, directing or acting to be fond of (and being a kid's movie is not an excuse for that). The story has been told so many times that Rebound is boring to the extreme, as there is total predictability.
... View MoreI went with one of my best friends to see this with her family. Martin Lawrence kept you laughing. We literally giggled the entire time. And the her family behind us (her two brothers, 11 and 5, and cousins 7 and 10, and mom 42)...DON'T GET ME STARTED! If you enjoy a clean, funny movie for the family, this is a great one to choose. Actually, the basketball team reminded me of my own at school! (haha...we're pitiful! :S) But we really enjoyed it, and I encourage any of you that haven't seen it, it's a good one for the family. Sure, it would probably been more of a hit on Disney Channel as an Original Movie, but it kept you interested and laughing.
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