Nine for IX: Pat XO (2013)
*** (out of 4)
The second entry in ESPN's "Nine for IX" series takes a look at Tennessee's legendary women's basketball coach Pat Summitt who in 2012 had to retire after coming down with a form of dementia. This documentary, partially told through the eyes of her son Tyler, documents her early childhood, how she got into coaching and what led her to her tremendously successful career. PAT XO is a good film, there's no question about that, but at the same time you kinda have to feel that someone like Summitt deserved something stronger. Clocking in at under an hour with commercials probably isn't enough time to fully get into her story and as a result there are way too many times where one feels that everything is just being rushed. This is especially true in regards to several aspects including the hyped up relationship between Tennessee and Conneticut. Another problem is that the film also seems to lose focus of what it's trying to do. Yes, this is a documentary on Summitt and we get interviews with her players, friends and even family members but at the start we're told this is going to be seen through the eyes of her son and while he has a few comments along the way, it seems like the focus was a bit off. With that said, those who don't know much about Summitt will certainly get some very good information here and it's at least worth watching for what it does have going for it.
*** (out of 4)
The second entry in ESPN's "Nine for IX" series takes a look at Tennessee's legendary women's basketball coach Pat Summitt who in 2012 had to retire after coming down with a form of dementia. This documentary, partially told through the eyes of her son Tyler, documents her early childhood, how she got into coaching and what led her to her tremendously successful career. PAT XO is a good film, there's no question about that, but at the same time you kinda have to feel that someone like Summitt deserved something stronger. Clocking in at under an hour with commercials probably isn't enough time to fully get into her story and as a result there are way too many times where one feels that everything is just being rushed. This is especially true in regards to several aspects including the hyped up relationship between Tennessee and Conneticut. Another problem is that the film also seems to lose focus of what it's trying to do. Yes, this is a documentary on Summitt and we get interviews with her players, friends and even family members but at the start we're told this is going to be seen through the eyes of her son and while he has a few comments along the way, it seems like the focus was a bit off. With that said, those who don't know much about Summitt will certainly get some very good information here and it's at least worth watching for what it does have going for it.
