Sunset Park (1996) is a movie that I recently watched for the first time in a long time on Tubi. The storyline follows a teacher whose boyfriend robs her and leaves town leading to the end of her dreams of retiring from teaching and opening her own restaurant. She sees an opening at her school for the men's basketball coaching position and decides to take it even though she knows nothing about basketball. She will need to learn the game and earn the respect of her players if she has any hope for success.

This movie is directed by Steve Gomer (All Saints) and stars Rhea Perlman (Cheers), Fredro Starr (Save the Last Dance), Terrence Howard (Hustle & Flow), Carol Kane (The Princess Bride), Anthony C. Hall (The Client), Guy Torry (American History X) and Hattie Winston (Beverly Hills Cop III).

I adored this movie when it came out when I was in high school and didn't realize how over the top the scenarios were and how wildly unrealistic this movie felt. I adored the soundtrack and the "Sunset Park what time is it" chant. The acting is very mediocre but it was fun seeing Terrence Howard in this. He delivered a solid performance. The settings are well shot and there is a gritty feel to this film. I did enjoy the cheesy ending and this had a "made to TV" feel to it.

Overall, this is far from a classic but is worth a watch. I would score this a 6/10 and recommend seeing it once.

The movie had a different title in the uk for it's vhs release. It was called 'coach' or 'the coach' never released in uk on dvd as far as i know. It's straight forward movie. I actually found rhea pearlmans acting to be quite stale, maybe she's not suited for this type of movie. The rest of the cast do just fine. Not much of a storyline to be had, even under the synopsis of high school ball movie with the occasional shooting, fight, lovers tiff, drugs, wins and everything else cliched. The soundtrack is solid and i'd still rather have it than not have it in my collection. Won't be watching again for another 20 years probably.

OK, so it is not the best basketball pic I have seen. That honor goes to Hoosiers. I can watch Gene Hackman over and over in that film and never get tired. But, having said that, it is not a bad film either.

Rhea Perlman, whom I haven't seen since what, Officer Honey in that Canadian Bacon flick, really didn't ad much to the film. She knows nothing about basketball and just took the job as a stepping stone to another losing career.

The real star of the film is Fredro Starr, who gets the team together. The team is talented so the coach Doesn't have to do much more that get them playing as a team. She is more social worker than coach and it all comes together as the team starts winning.

It also stars Terrance Howard, who went on to do some great work after this (Best Man, Hustle and Flow, Ray, Crach).

Not a great film, but not a complete waste of time.