"The Sixth Man" is a supernatural comedy that gets incredibly dumb very fast and becomes a by-the-book sports comedy about two brothers, Antonie (Kadeem Hardison) and Kenny (Marion Wayans,) who grow up playing basketball. Their father, James (Harold Sylvester,) dies from a heart attack before they become a popular college duo that makes it to the NCAA finals. How? Antoine dies from a heart attack while making a jump shot and comes back as a ghost that guides them there. The movie gets so stupid it's almost impossible to watch.
It opens with the childhood dreams of Antonie and Kenny, who are coached by their father, in 1986. Antoine is the star, and Kenny lives in his shadow. You know by the end of the movie, Kenny will be the star, and his brother just had to die to make that happen. Out of fright, Kenny throws the ball to Antoine, and they lose the game. They both become starters for a University team called "The Huskies."
During a game, Antoine dunks the ball and falls on the court. He dies on the way to the hospital of heart failure like his father, and Kenny is crushed. Up until this point, the film is tolerable and somewhat decent. When Antoine becomes a ghost, Kenny acts like an inconceivable moron throwing punches and giggling like a tool because he is the only one who can see Antoine, who inflates his thumb for slapstick humour when their coach is trying to talk, and Kenny laughs like a school girl.
The team embarks on a losing streak because their star player is gone until someone throws a ball in the air, and it never comes back down. In the locker room, Kenny discovers Antoine is back as a ghost because he called him back, and the hijinks are typical of a dumb comedy that relies on stupidity for attempted laughs. Stupid it gets, where everything and anything attempts to become funny.
Antoine becomes "The Sixth Man," and nobody can understand why players now fly in the air, basketballs fly from one end of the room to another, the ball gets deflected, and opponents are possessed. Soon, the team is on their way to the NCAA playoffs. Kenny acts erratic, hugs the air during practice, and the team looks at him as if he needs to go to the rubber room. He convinces them Antoine is back as a ghost, and nobody runs for the door. Instead, Antoine blows horrid special effects all over the court, slamming doors and projecting himself on a T. V. as they stare at the screen in awe.
R. C. (Michael Michele) is a sportswriter Kenny meets early in the film, and she becomes the love interest. Antoine attempts to ruin the relationship by making Kenny act foolish around her, and she doesn't think twice that maybe something is wrong. Antoine thinks she is only there to get a story, that's somewhat true, and she discovers a supernatural hand in a video recording, leading her to believe Antoine is back and is the sole reason the team is storming through game after game. Kenny tells her that Antoine is aiding the team, and she decides to throw out a report she was going to submit to the paper revealing the ghost.
The idea of the ghost is not the part of the movie that's stupid, the typical love cardboard love interest, or the basketball star that becomes the star at the end, it's the hijinks that get so stupid when nobody questions players flying in the air. There is a scene where the ball flies in the air, nobody holding it, and the ball dunks only to pop back out of the net. Commentators don't seem to realize that the laws of physics are becoming wonky on behalf of Antoine, and their coach points like he just saw something from another world.
One of the weirder scenes is in a hotel room where Antoine becomes irate and trashes the room when the team doesn't want him to play anymore. There always has to be that brotherly fight. Antoine tells Kenny he never wanted to pass away, and during the final game, his antics screw the team when someone is injured. R. C. Tells Kenny that Antoine is controlling his life in death and will never move on unless he lets his brother go, and leads to a predictable conclusion.
"The Sixth Man" is about letting go when tragedy strikes, and the writers can't even get that right, opting for a supernatural ghost causing hijinks on a basketball court. It's an example of a one-note idea when there are several possibilities that could've made this movie better. It's done in a stupid way to appeal to basketball fans, and the film goes beyond anything more than that.
3/10.
It opens with the childhood dreams of Antonie and Kenny, who are coached by their father, in 1986. Antoine is the star, and Kenny lives in his shadow. You know by the end of the movie, Kenny will be the star, and his brother just had to die to make that happen. Out of fright, Kenny throws the ball to Antoine, and they lose the game. They both become starters for a University team called "The Huskies."
During a game, Antoine dunks the ball and falls on the court. He dies on the way to the hospital of heart failure like his father, and Kenny is crushed. Up until this point, the film is tolerable and somewhat decent. When Antoine becomes a ghost, Kenny acts like an inconceivable moron throwing punches and giggling like a tool because he is the only one who can see Antoine, who inflates his thumb for slapstick humour when their coach is trying to talk, and Kenny laughs like a school girl.
The team embarks on a losing streak because their star player is gone until someone throws a ball in the air, and it never comes back down. In the locker room, Kenny discovers Antoine is back as a ghost because he called him back, and the hijinks are typical of a dumb comedy that relies on stupidity for attempted laughs. Stupid it gets, where everything and anything attempts to become funny.
Antoine becomes "The Sixth Man," and nobody can understand why players now fly in the air, basketballs fly from one end of the room to another, the ball gets deflected, and opponents are possessed. Soon, the team is on their way to the NCAA playoffs. Kenny acts erratic, hugs the air during practice, and the team looks at him as if he needs to go to the rubber room. He convinces them Antoine is back as a ghost, and nobody runs for the door. Instead, Antoine blows horrid special effects all over the court, slamming doors and projecting himself on a T. V. as they stare at the screen in awe.
R. C. (Michael Michele) is a sportswriter Kenny meets early in the film, and she becomes the love interest. Antoine attempts to ruin the relationship by making Kenny act foolish around her, and she doesn't think twice that maybe something is wrong. Antoine thinks she is only there to get a story, that's somewhat true, and she discovers a supernatural hand in a video recording, leading her to believe Antoine is back and is the sole reason the team is storming through game after game. Kenny tells her that Antoine is aiding the team, and she decides to throw out a report she was going to submit to the paper revealing the ghost.
The idea of the ghost is not the part of the movie that's stupid, the typical love cardboard love interest, or the basketball star that becomes the star at the end, it's the hijinks that get so stupid when nobody questions players flying in the air. There is a scene where the ball flies in the air, nobody holding it, and the ball dunks only to pop back out of the net. Commentators don't seem to realize that the laws of physics are becoming wonky on behalf of Antoine, and their coach points like he just saw something from another world.
One of the weirder scenes is in a hotel room where Antoine becomes irate and trashes the room when the team doesn't want him to play anymore. There always has to be that brotherly fight. Antoine tells Kenny he never wanted to pass away, and during the final game, his antics screw the team when someone is injured. R. C. Tells Kenny that Antoine is controlling his life in death and will never move on unless he lets his brother go, and leads to a predictable conclusion.
"The Sixth Man" is about letting go when tragedy strikes, and the writers can't even get that right, opting for a supernatural ghost causing hijinks on a basketball court. It's an example of a one-note idea when there are several possibilities that could've made this movie better. It's done in a stupid way to appeal to basketball fans, and the film goes beyond anything more than that.
3/10.