This is a good film which is thoroughly entertaining with some snappy dialogue. None of the actors had really spectacular film careers but in this effort all came to the front of the class with very good performances. The cast mixes well. Without a doubt this is Gabe Kaplan's best effort, even overshadowing his TV role as Mr. Cotter.
10 Reviews
eh.
zengator16 May 2004
Not great, not bad, this film from the disco era has not aged well but still contains some amusing moments. (Is it me, or does film and TV from the late 70s seems so much older and dated than from any other time period in the post-WWII era?)
But the thought that kept entering my head as I watched Gabe Kaplan smirk and wink-wink through his performance was that 10 years later, Billy Crystal could have done this movie is his sleep... and done it better.
6 out of 10 stars: perfect during a snooze on a lazy rainy afternoon...
But the thought that kept entering my head as I watched Gabe Kaplan smirk and wink-wink through his performance was that 10 years later, Billy Crystal could have done this movie is his sleep... and done it better.
6 out of 10 stars: perfect during a snooze on a lazy rainy afternoon...
A Dream fulfilled
bkoganbing24 July 2020
Fast Break never turned out to be a film that would make Gabe Kaplan a major
film star name. Still on its own itsbout a a man from Brooklyn who fulfills a
dream of any sports fan.
Kaplan's sport is basketball and he's written hundreds of letters to colleges announcng his availability as a coach. He gets one reply from a ramshackle broken down college un Nevada, They'll pay him and he works cheap and comes with his own players.
Quite a collection too that include Harold Sylvester, Michael Warren and a secret weapon Mavis Washington who oes incognito to all in male drag. Her character provides some gender bending humor along the lines of Victor/Victoria.
The big day is when hs Cadwllader College team beats Nevada State coahced by state celelbrity Bert Remsen. Quite a game too.
Wome in the cast include Randee Heller and Connie Sawyer as Kapllan's wife and mother. Both are well cast in their parts.
As for Kaplan he incorporates a lot of his character and humor from his character in Welcome Back Kotter. I'm sure Kaplan regrets the decision he made to leave Welcome Back Kotter. It killed the series and he didn't obtain movie stardom. But we did get a good sports film from it.
Kaplan's sport is basketball and he's written hundreds of letters to colleges announcng his availability as a coach. He gets one reply from a ramshackle broken down college un Nevada, They'll pay him and he works cheap and comes with his own players.
Quite a collection too that include Harold Sylvester, Michael Warren and a secret weapon Mavis Washington who oes incognito to all in male drag. Her character provides some gender bending humor along the lines of Victor/Victoria.
The big day is when hs Cadwllader College team beats Nevada State coahced by state celelbrity Bert Remsen. Quite a game too.
Wome in the cast include Randee Heller and Connie Sawyer as Kapllan's wife and mother. Both are well cast in their parts.
As for Kaplan he incorporates a lot of his character and humor from his character in Welcome Back Kotter. I'm sure Kaplan regrets the decision he made to leave Welcome Back Kotter. It killed the series and he didn't obtain movie stardom. But we did get a good sports film from it.
It works!
Wizard-817 March 1999
It uses the old plot about a down and out coach whipping into shape a sports team filled with losers. And of course, there's the big game at the end, with a nail biting climax. Yet it works.
Why does this movie work? Because of many reasons. It's obvious the filmmakers took care to try to remove as many cliches as possible, and make it less predictable. More focus is on the characters instead of the old plot. The characters are more believable, and evolve through the course of the movie - they're likable. The "big game" is exciting, even though we know what will happen. Plus, there are a lot of big laughs in this movie.
Why does this movie work? Because of many reasons. It's obvious the filmmakers took care to try to remove as many cliches as possible, and make it less predictable. More focus is on the characters instead of the old plot. The characters are more believable, and evolve through the course of the movie - they're likable. The "big game" is exciting, even though we know what will happen. Plus, there are a lot of big laughs in this movie.
It's okay to be attracted to guys when he's really a girl.
mark.waltz13 January 2021
Warning: Spoilers
It's one thing to expose the racism of rival college coach Bert Remsen, but to then make a big macho basketball player question their sexuality then find out who they are attracted to is of the opposite sex is rather hypocritical. That's a major disappointing element of this follow-up comedy for Gabe Kaplan, putting Mr. Kotter behind him yet still playing him even with the last name as Greene. There's even the token "Sorry I'm late" followed by a not so funny story here with wife Randee Heller that he had with Marcia Strassman.
It's one thing to hear bigots use the "n" word and homophobes use the "f" word (it's an unfortunate part of life), but the gender bending confusion is a huge slap in the face from the writers. Kaplan goes from NYC basketball fan (working in a deli) to coaching at a small Nevada team, and one decent element has teacher K. Callan showing sympathy to the underachieving black recruits. But the previously funny Kaplan isn't as humorous here and when he starts to seem understanding about player Reb Brown's sexual orientation issues and twists it with an agenda of homophobia, it turns out to be a major eye rolling moment.
It's one thing to hear bigots use the "n" word and homophobes use the "f" word (it's an unfortunate part of life), but the gender bending confusion is a huge slap in the face from the writers. Kaplan goes from NYC basketball fan (working in a deli) to coaching at a small Nevada team, and one decent element has teacher K. Callan showing sympathy to the underachieving black recruits. But the previously funny Kaplan isn't as humorous here and when he starts to seem understanding about player Reb Brown's sexual orientation issues and twists it with an agenda of homophobia, it turns out to be a major eye rolling moment.
My all-time favorite movie
meebly10 November 1998
I've seen nearly 1,200 movies, and this is my favorite. Not the BEST I've ever seen, but my favorite. Former Brooklyn junior high basketball coach-turned-delicatessen manager desperately wants to coach again. A small liberal-arts college in the Nevada desert wants him to build their team from nothing, for a salary of $60 for every game won. With the help of his playground-pickup-game teammate (New York Knick star Bernard King), he scours the streets for five great but undiscovered players. Then they go to Nevada, pick up a freshman quarterback in a school without football, and become an unbeaten sensation. Now the trick is to get nationally-ranked Nevada State (fictitious school filling in for UNLV) to play them in an exhibition game.
That's it; that's the plot. It sounds silly and contrived, like a T.V. sitcom meets an Horatio Alger story. So how come I loved it so much? How come in a list of favorites that includes The Godfather, All the President's Men, Sunset Boulevard and Rocky, this far lesser story of underdogs overcoming adversity is my greatest pleasure? Four things, I think: the characters are real, not cardboard cutouts, and they all have very real reasons for leaving New York for Nevada; Kaplan brings with him his "Welcome Back Kotter" sensibility for helping young people that everyone else has written off to achieve more than they ever thought possible; the film contains at least three hysterical AND original scenes, one of which would dubbed an all-time classic if 5 million more people had actually seen this film; and I'm not a sports fan, but the basketball games in this movie, especially the grand finale, are genuinely exciting. It's not ever going to make Halliwell's tome as a genre-defining classic. It may not even make your Saturday night video list. But it should.
Because it's real, it's fun, it's silly, and unlike more than half of what Hollywood feeds us today, it has a plot that keeps moving from the beginning to the end. And that's saying a lot.
That's it; that's the plot. It sounds silly and contrived, like a T.V. sitcom meets an Horatio Alger story. So how come I loved it so much? How come in a list of favorites that includes The Godfather, All the President's Men, Sunset Boulevard and Rocky, this far lesser story of underdogs overcoming adversity is my greatest pleasure? Four things, I think: the characters are real, not cardboard cutouts, and they all have very real reasons for leaving New York for Nevada; Kaplan brings with him his "Welcome Back Kotter" sensibility for helping young people that everyone else has written off to achieve more than they ever thought possible; the film contains at least three hysterical AND original scenes, one of which would dubbed an all-time classic if 5 million more people had actually seen this film; and I'm not a sports fan, but the basketball games in this movie, especially the grand finale, are genuinely exciting. It's not ever going to make Halliwell's tome as a genre-defining classic. It may not even make your Saturday night video list. But it should.
Because it's real, it's fun, it's silly, and unlike more than half of what Hollywood feeds us today, it has a plot that keeps moving from the beginning to the end. And that's saying a lot.
One Pound!
bartendammo4 February 2009
I saw this movie when I was ten years old or so and it still has one of the funniest scenes all-time in movie history. I still remember so much about this movie but you can't find it anywhere today. This needs to be released on DVD. There's a woman pretending to be a man so she can get a scholarship to play basketball. One of the guys on the team is attracted to her/him and starts to think he is gay. The funny scene has the team traveling in a station wagon across country when a cop gets on their tail. The coach discovers that one of the players is carrying a bag of pot and he suggests that they eat the pot to escape detection. " How much you got?" ONE POUND! SO funny you have to see it to believe it. Too bad its impossible to find.
Kaplan at his zenith in perfect video movie
rollo_tomaso8 June 2001
This is the perfect role for Gabe Kaplan and he makes the most of it as a wise-guy citified coach coming to an Oral-Roberts-like white-bread evangelical university to bring a winning basketball coach. Every body has a lot of fun all around and things move rather quickly. Bernard King has astonishingly good coming timing and acts well too.
I love this movie
RayBeckerman8 June 2020
Great sports film.. sadly, never made it to Dvd
canuckteach18 March 2022
Gabe Kaplan, of WELCOME BACK, KOTTER fame, stars as a NY restaurant manager who loves basketball. He plays street ball with the ghetto kids, studies sports journals and high school yearbooks, and dreams of coaching. When a remote Nevada university offers him a coaching position for Room & Board, he jumps at the chance, leaving his frustrated wife behind, but taking 4 talented black kids with him to outfit the team. (One of these is a real NBA player.. check it out).
Unless you have a magic vhs copy that has lasted for decades (if you do, get it transferred to DVD now!), you will be hard-pressed to find this great movie. However, GOOD NEWS! There are a couple of versions on YouTube for which I'd gladly pay $ 5.00 for a viewing, but, as of today, they are free of charge. Enjoy!
Unless you have a magic vhs copy that has lasted for decades (if you do, get it transferred to DVD now!), you will be hard-pressed to find this great movie. However, GOOD NEWS! There are a couple of versions on YouTube for which I'd gladly pay $ 5.00 for a viewing, but, as of today, they are free of charge. Enjoy!
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