The Sixth Man (1997)

To me, this movie is perfection.

This is a tender, generous movie that likes its characters and presents them as real people, full of flaws and strengths.

After playing with our expectations, this turns out to be a very different sort of film.

The film's masterful storytelling did its job. The message was clear. No need to overdo.

University of Washington basketball player Kadeem Hardison dies suddenly of a heart attack, but comes back as a ghost that only brother/teammate Marlon Wayans can see to assist his team in going all the way to the NCAA National Championship. Another one of those fair films that is never really sure where it wants to go. An odd mixture of comedy and drama keep the production grounded throughout. The concept is tiring and unoriginal in the first place and the players found within are not given enough strong material to raise the mediocre parts to a strong whole. David Paymer and Michael Michele are part of the likable cast. "The Sixth Man" is not a bad bench warmer, but it has no business being in the starting lineup. 2.5 out of 5 stars.

After watching a very good game of cricket between Australia and England, it was 2 in the morning, and I wasn't interested in sleeping. After watching Tony Squires, Shane Lee and Kerry O'Keefe farewell the cricket for the night, I saw a movie starting titled "The Sixth Man". Being a fan of Marlon Wayans and his wacky comedy, I tuned in to watch, also being a fan of basketball and the NCAA.Kenny and Antoine Tyler (played by Marlon Wayans and Kadeem Hardison respectively) are two big-time players for the Washington University Huskies. Although Antoine is the captain and major star, his younger brother Kenny, is the play-maker at the point, and the two Tylers have their trademark alley-oop, which leaves opponents and the crowd in awe.After a huge alley-oop, in which Antoine suffers a heart-attack and dies on the way to the hospital, the team lose their spirit and give up the next four games by more than 20 points each. Kenny calls for his brother in the gym after a bad training session, begging for his help. After haunting him for a few minutes, Antoine appears in front of Kenny, and the two brothers are reunited. Kenny can't wait to tell his family and the team, but Antoine tells him that only he can see him.After Antoine helps the team to a few freak wins, and eventually, to the finals series, and after Kenny and Antoine let the team know of his presence, and they all learn that Antoine is no longer needed to help the team to victory.This movie is a story of heart and courage, and the story of a team who learn to use their hearts to achieve their goal.Marlon Wayans does a superb job at not only acting, but acting like a complete fool, which includes wrestling with himself, and giving himself really goofy faces. He's the black Jim Carrey, and he has a long future ahead of him.

This is a truly great film. It has been under rated. It showed Marlon's potential as an academy award winning actor. This film is a tear jerker and pulls on the heart strings at the right moments. A perfect mixture of comedy and drama. Dramady. I would recommend this film for any family. I am surprised that Marlon hasn't used this film as a step ladder to further his dramatic feature film career. I'll keep hope alive. Kadeem was great to. I just found out I must complete at least ten lines in this review. Well, the supporting cast was cool. They were not the best actors in the world (team) but they served the purpose. The screenwriters should be proud of this film no matter what Hollywood says.

While not as good as I hoped it would be, THE SIXTH MAN does deliver a few laughs. It wasn't the best movie I've ever seen, but it wasn't the worst. It could have been a little better if it didn't go for such cheap laughs and didn't depend so much on slapstick humor.