Inexplicably, the struggles of women throughout the last quarter of the 21st century are consistently minimized as minor history. We tend to forget that, a mere three and a half decades ago, gender equality was being put to a mandate by the attempt to get the ERA passed (don't know what we're talking about? Google it). So a story like that of basketball coach Cathy Rush and her early '70s attempts to bring a winner to the all girls Catholic Immaculata College should act as both a cautionary tale and a celebration. It should remind us of where we've been as well as how far we've come. Of course, with any sports movie, the cliches are ripe for the picking. In this case, however, though it's low budget leanings are painfully obvious, the film's big open heart is always in the right place.
Unable to just be a housewife to her NBA referee husband Ed (David Boreanaz), Rush (a decent Carla Gugino) agrees to help a struggling Philadelphia university. Bankrupt and about to sell its property to developers, the nuns, including Mother St. John (Ellen Burstyn) and Sister Sunday (Marley Shelton) want something to bring their students hope. The answer, of course, is the life lessons to be learned from athletic competition. At first, Rush can't get the varying female archetypes to come together as a team. But with tenacity and intimidation, she begins to get through to them. Suddenly, Immaculata College is a force to be reckoned with in women's basketball, riding a worst to first wave supplied by their coach and their faith-based belief in themselves and each other.
Pleasures don't get much guiltier than The Mighty Macs. You won't hate yourself for falling into its well worn and instantly recognizable charms, but you really should know better. The entire history of cinema is riddled with such ridiculous, manipulative underdog stories, the villains vanquished as the victors receive their last act rewards, proving everyone who doubted them 100% wrong. In this case, Rush wants to take on the paternalistic nature of her sport, recognizing that both prejudice and a lack of money has made Immaculata a laughing stock. By using the typical approaches - pep talks, analogy, real life experience, prosaic pipe dreaming - she takes the cardboard cutout characters the movie sticks her with and turns them into winners. Nothing more complicated or calculated than that.
Because of the inherent injustice of what we see (the NCAA would invoke Title 9 around the same time as Rush was making her stand) and the forehand knowledge that Immaculata was successful (they won three consecutive AIAW titles, from 1972 to 1974) there's little drama here. But what we do get is the feeling of misplaced male domination and the need for a necessary comeuppance. Writer/director Tim Chambers practically dares the viewer to find fault with his courageous group of gals. While playing directly into the various preconceptions of the genre, he does display a real gift for getting an audience to care. Even with the inevitability of the outcome, it's hard not to get caught up in the old fashioned fun of a hard fought athletic victory.
Still, the superficiality of it all and lack of legitimate tension will take its toll, turning even something this wholesome and entertaining into a challenge. We want more - more information on Rush, more behind the scenes with both her home life and at the school. We also need individuals to identify with, personalities that place us directly in the dramatic situations onscreen. The Mighty Macs may not have these givens, but what it does have keeps us captivated.
Pleasures don't get much guiltier than The Mighty Macs. You won't hate yourself for falling into its well worn and instantly recognizable charms, but you really should know better. The entire history of cinema is riddled with such ridiculous, manipulative underdog stories, the villains vanquished as the victors receive their last act rewards, proving everyone who doubted them 100% wrong. In this case, Rush wants to take on the paternalistic nature of her sport, recognizing that both prejudice and a lack of money has made Immaculata a laughing stock. By using the typical approaches - pep talks, analogy, real life experience, prosaic pipe dreaming - she takes the cardboard cutout characters the movie sticks her with and turns them into winners. Nothing more complicated or calculated than that.
Because of the inherent injustice of what we see (the NCAA would invoke Title 9 around the same time as Rush was making her stand) and the forehand knowledge that Immaculata was successful (they won three consecutive AIAW titles, from 1972 to 1974) there's little drama here. But what we do get is the feeling of misplaced male domination and the need for a necessary comeuppance. Writer/director Tim Chambers practically dares the viewer to find fault with his courageous group of gals. While playing directly into the various preconceptions of the genre, he does display a real gift for getting an audience to care. Even with the inevitability of the outcome, it's hard not to get caught up in the old fashioned fun of a hard fought athletic victory.
Still, the superficiality of it all and lack of legitimate tension will take its toll, turning even something this wholesome and entertaining into a challenge. We want more - more information on Rush, more behind the scenes with both her home life and at the school. We also need individuals to identify with, personalities that place us directly in the dramatic situations onscreen. The Mighty Macs may not have these givens, but what it does have keeps us captivated.
