Winning Time: Reggie Miller vs. The New York Knicks

2010 sports documentary

Rating: 14/20

Plot: Details the mid-90's rivalry between the New York Knicks and their mascot Spike Lee and the Indiana Pacers and their flopping superstar Reggie Miller.

I don't watch a lot of professional basketball. Actually, I went over ten years without watching an NBA game until the playoffs last year when I accidentally watched some Pacers vs. Heat games. I just don't have any interest in the sport, one filled with far too much showboating and whining. With the current success of my hometown team, however, I started getting a little more interested and watched this documentary on an off-night. I did watch some NBA in the mid-90's, and I remember the famous Spike Lee game so well. I already liked Reggie Miller, the kind of player who you'd probably hate if he wasn't on your team, but this turned him into a legend. This documentary does a great job revisiting the two playoff series these beleaguered franchises played in consecutive years. It's completely objective, so you don't really side with Spike Lee or the Knicks players or Reggie Miller as they're Rashomonly describing the goings-on in these games. Of course, when Spike Lee claims the Ku Klux Klan started in Indiana, a "fact" that he just didn't get right, he does lose a little credibility. Miller comes across like a charming little devil though, the kind of guy who you know you can't really trust but like well enough anyway. It was also nice to hear a lot from Reggie's sister Cheryl Miller who I didn't realize was as good as she was at this game. This documentary is either well made or these games were just that thrilling because even though I remembered how they turned out, I was still on the edge of my seat while they were being described.

No comments: