Sharkflei
Your blood may run cold, but you now find yourself pinioned to the story.
Janae Milner
Easily the biggest piece of Right wing non sense propaganda I ever saw.
Hattie
I didn’t really have many expectations going into the movie (good or bad), but I actually really enjoyed it. I really liked the characters and the banter between them.
Dana
An old-fashioned movie made with new-fashioned finesse.
TxMike
I was able to see this movie on Netflix streaming movies. It is based on a real person, and a real university in Nashville. But as the end credits state many situations in this movie are fictionalized and many characters are composites of more than one person.For example, in the movie when she starts a golf team in the 1980s she cannot find but one local golfer, so she goes to the phones and recruited internationally, getting players from all over the world. But here is what she says about her first season, " My first golf team consisted of two injured football players, two other guys and one girl who was permitted to play with us. I started out with that and they were all African-Americans. It continued on and then I started getting other interested players from other ethnic groups. Eventually, it evolved into having some international students."So in the movie they lump all that into one season, including the eventual national tournament win in 2005, her last year of coaching.None of that is to knock the movie, just to point out that it isn't really a documentary, rather it is a dramatization of her impact as a trailblazing coach, a female coach of a men's golf team.The lead is played by one my personal favorites, Taraji P. Henson (of 'Person of Interest') as Dr Catana Starks, and golf coach. Now deceased Michael Clarke Duncan has a good role as a janitor that helps Sparks get the attention the program needed. And Henry Simmons is Kendrick Paulsen Jr., the wealthy former athlete who is now athletic director and gives Starks a hard time, threatening to fire her.The golf is all amateurish, but it is there to tell a story. It was mostly filmed in and around the New Orleans area, including Dillard University and several golf courses. Good movie.
Tony Heck
"We are all, all of us, including me somebody else's table scraps." Tennessee State University is having a problem with their sports programs. In order to save money they decide to drop the baseball team and add two smaller programs. One of the new programs they add is a men's golf team. The biggest problem they have is that no one wants to coach. The AD recruits swim team coach Catana Starks (Henson) since she has experience playing. She is very excited at the opportunity but when she is told she will receive no scholarships, funding or any help at all she decides to make her own rules. I love sports movies and especially the true ones like this. Like many sports movies this one focuses on the personal stories rather then the sport itself. That's what makes them so great. Unlike other sports movies though this one has a huge focus on the coach's life rather then how she helps the team come together. There are a few cheesy parts in this but for the most part the movie is very inspiring. There really isn't a big motivational speech like many sports movies have but what it does have are little lines that have the same power and inspiration as the long speeches usually given. The characters are great and are really likable. I really did enjoy this and I recommend this but it is not at the same level as Remember The Titans or movies like that. Overall, a very good and inspiring true story that I recommend. Even though there are a few cheesy parts it never comes off as being overly cheesy and laughable. I give this a B+.
annienecakov
As a minority woman, this film spoke loudly to me. Don't give up despite the odds, keep doing your best, will be my take away after viewing this very inspirational film. An African-American woman swim coach at TSU becomes the first woman coach for a men's college golf team. Everything was an obstacle at this mostly African-American university, in particular, golf is just not a very popular sport for African-Americans. So Catana Sparks had to be creative and round up as best a team as she can, mostly recruiting internationally and ending up with a not so African-American team! We need more films like this, especially in America where people can see that with hard work, nothing is impossible!
rick-985-88677
From the Rough is an inspiring movie the entire family will enjoy. It tells the story of the creation of a men's golf team at a small African American college: Tennessee State. The coach is an African American woman who prods and inspires her eclectic group of golfers to achieve at a very high level. The AD at first offers her little help and no funds for scholarships, as he really doesn't think a golf team is what the college needs. Eventually, he approves the scholarships, but the coach has little luck attracting talent, since the school has never had a golf team before. She finally attracts a team by making calls to different parts of the world and each player's story is quite interesting. There are twists and turns throughout, as the new Athletic Director is a bit unsure of himself and doesn't make it easy of the new golf coach, who also coaches the woman's swim team. Very much a fun movie for the whole family!