Yet another based-on-fact, inspirational sports movie, Pride has only one mission: to hit, note for note, every formulaic moment in the genre. Based on the life of Jim Ellis, who in 1973 founded a black swim team in one of Philadelphia’s poorest neighborhoods, the movie tells us nothing about Ellis or the kids he worked with. They’re sports-movie automatons, required only to give generically inspiring speeches and cry on cue. Terrence Howard, as Ellis, has damp eyes throughout. Even Bernie Mac, as a grouchy maintenance man, squeezes out a tear or two. It’s as if the entire cast dunked their heads in the pool between takes.
