Sunset Park

Bomb Rating: 

"Oh dear, I've got this absolutely wonderful idea about a small white woman who teaches inner-city Negroes how to play that game -- oh, posh, what's it called -- basketball!"

I have a hunch that this film was written by a couple of white people who were lounging by their Beverly Hills pool, sipping wine and trying to decide whether to drive the Mercedes or the Ferrari to the croquet club. "Oh dear, I've got this absolutely wonderful idea about a small white woman who teaches inner-city Negroes how to play that game -- oh, posh, what's it called -- basketball!"

Typically in a film like this (take "Hoosiers" as the example) the group of kids has to overcome some kind of adversity -- such as they suck at sports. Naturally, the kids overcome the adversity and end up playing in the championship. However, the filmmakers responsible for "Sunset Park" are too stupid to even get that part right. These kids lose a scrimmage game and then it's on to an undefeated season. Lending further credibility to the story is the fact that the kids' "trash-talking" dialogue sounds like it was written by nuns.

Watching Rhea Perlman play her role as coach Phyllis Saroka is like eating poisoned beef: You feel sick to your stomach and eventually you vomit. Her character's solution to every problem is to whine like a baby. When she catches one of her players smoking grass or shooting somebody her response is always: "Oh, no, please don't do that." That'll be my response when I hear that Rhea's going to try acting again.