Comedian Gabe Kaplan enjoyed such broad
popularity as the star of the 1975-1979 sitcom Welcome Back, Kotter that
he got a few shots at starring in movies, beginning with this mediocre
basketball comedy. Kaplan is the picture’s weakest link, however, for while he
does well delivering one-liners, his acting is pathetic—in some important
scenes, it literally seems as if he’s reading dialogue that he’s never
previously encountered from some off-camera cue card. In his defense, he’s much
livelier whenever he appears to be ad-libbing, coming across as likeable and
natural. But Kaplan was never meant to be a movie star, and a movie star is exactly
what Fast Break needed to surmount the challenges of its formulaic
script. Kaplan plays David Greene, a New York City deli manager who dreams of
becoming a college basketball coach. He applies for jobs at every school
imaginable, finally getting a bite from a tiny Nevada institution called Cadwallader
University. In a sorta-funny negotiation scene between Greene and Cadwallader’s
slippery president, Greene arranges a contract contingent upon beating top
school Nevada State at the end of his first season. Greene then recruits three
street-trained black players and travels to Nevada, where the players are admitted
to the school as students despite poor academic records. Each player has a
reason for participating. Hustler (Harold Sylvester) is dodging an arrest
warrant, Preacher (Michael Warren) is running from a shotgun wedding, and Swish
(Mavis Washington) is a woman who’s dying for a chance to play professional
ball—cue cross-dressing hilarity! (Or not.) The movie does an okay job of sketching
these broad characters, and there’s some mild fun to be had once the black
players start clashing with the lily-white Nevada community. Alas, it’s all
very predictable, and even though supporting players including Sylvester and
Warren have solid moments, the sum effect is middling.
Fast Break:
FUNKY
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