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Sabrina Bryant
This is an I Heart podcast.
Chiquis
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Will Friedle
Well, this week was certainly a departure from the normal films that we watch.
Sabrina Bryant
You're telling me, you are telling me this was another week of like, I guess, unexpected things to be on the channel?
Will Friedle
Yeah, 100%.
Sabrina Bryant
I'm honestly digging it. Like, I'm like loving the changes that we're seeing. A part of Disney that I had no idea until we started doing this. Like, no.
Will Friedle
Yeah, there's these little kind of offshoots where it's like, wait, what is this one? What is this one? What is the. Wait, she's a gas bubble. Like, it's all these kind of. You never know what's going to happen.
Sabrina Bryant
That one I probably could have done without. But that's all right.
Will Friedle
I agree. Well, let's find out if this week we could do with or without our movie. So first of all, welcome back to Magical Rewind, the show that makes you want to grab your friends, your PJs and your popcorn and go back to a time when all the houses were smart, the wave, tsunamis, and the high school's musical. I'm Will Friedle.
Sabrina Bryant
And I'm Sabrina Bryant.
Will Friedle
Shalom, everyone. It's time to throw an alley oop to God as we recap a wild Hanukkah sports movie. Yes, you heard that right. A wild Hanukkah sports movie. It is the 2003 DCOM 4 Full Court Miracle. It debuted on November 21, 2003, just in time for a Hanukkah season. And yes, again, this is a Jewish sports movie. Not the largest of subsets of films in this genre. One that does immediately come to mind is School Ties. But let's be honest, there aren't a lot of Hanukkah movies either. Adam Sandler's eight Crazy Nights is probably the most popular of the few, but let's put Full Court Miracle very high on that list now because it is a very short movie. It was filmed in Toronto, our dcom destination to the north. No surprise there. Sabrina, are you a basketball fan?
Sabrina Bryant
I am. I think football comes first. But I do like basketball. I do like basketball movies. I. I'm finding out I do like.
Will Friedle
What's your favorite basketball movie of all time?
Sabrina Bryant
Obviously Double Team. No, actually my favorite. No, I'm thinking. I don't think I have a good. Oh, a love in basketball. Oh, yeah.
Will Friedle
Evan, now, have you ever seen Hoosiers?
Sabrina Bryant
No.
Will Friedle
Oh, is he good? Gene Hackman. Oh, yeah. Phenomenal. Like the quintessential basketball movie, Small Town. Yeah, it's. I mean, I think it won several Academy Awards. Like, it's phenomenal. Yeah, it's. Check out Hoosiers.
Sabrina Bryant
I gotta check it out.
Will Friedle
Now, this movie might not be Hoosiers, but let's see what we got. Gene Hackman, by the way, spoiler alert. Not in Full Court Miracle. Just. I'm sure they tried to get him, but busy this week.
Sabrina Bryant
Busy, busy, man.
Will Friedle
Busy this week. Now, we commonly point out when a film is a critical success, but sometimes we have to point out when it's exactly the opposite, which, of course is the case with Full Court Miracle. Laura Fries may have a delicious name, but her feelings on this movie were not as golden. Thank you very much. She wrote in Variety. The director missed a prime opportunity to present a poignant and entertaining multicultural alternative to to the usual holiday viewing and was inconsistent between comedy and meaningful drama. And not even Jewish publications like this movie. Joe Eskenazi of Jay Weekly found the adult characters to be one dimensional. And though he praised the young actors, he called this film cheesy boy.
Sabrina Bryant
Yeah.
Will Friedle
On the bright side, however, this film is inspired by the true story of University of Virginia basketball player Lamont Carr and his post season experience with coaching here at Magical Rewind. Of course we love a true story, so. So it can't be that bad, can it? Well, let's find out. It was also nominated for two very impressive awards. First up, of course, was the humanities prize, a distinction we all know about because of the color of friendship, a decom that did actually win the award. It was also nominated for best Children's script at that year's Writers Guild of America Awards. So come on, critics, let's calm down the haters here, people. And in case you were wondering, you can catch Full Court Miracle right now on Disney, but it's up to you when you press play. You can watch right now before we get our own analysis or listen after we wax poetic. Similarly, you can eat ice cream for breakfast. You have free will. It's time to exercise it. Become your own person. We, well, me, I believe in you. Sabrina does not. Sabrina, I feel like we can predict this answer before we even ask each other, but did you know about Full Court Miracle before the podcast sent us this message?
Sabrina Bryant
Zero knowledge. And I would like to say that feels. And I. Again, to me, it's right in that timeline. It certainly looked. I felt like the beginning looks so much like Cheetah girls in New York.
Will Friedle
2003 is when cheetah Girls came out, isn't it?
Sabrina Bryant
Right. So it is strange that I didn't know, but I guess also not strange because especially at that time, like basketball, I don't know if that would have been really, like, something that I would have tuned into if I did see, like, a promo for it.
Will Friedle
Sure.
Sabrina Bryant
So.
Will Friedle
But this is Disney again. The Disney we know and love, especially at that time, kind of doing more niche movies like Color of Friendship kind of niche. And yes, this movie kind of niche, taking a small kind of subsect and let's do a film about it, which is what they're great at.
Sabrina Bryant
Yes. And I think it also kind of represents them really searching for where their D comms, like the how to. Where to hit that perfect spot, you know, but at the same time, very, very different idea and opening a new world to the viewers as well. Possibly, you know, more. More. More detail of a world they might not know about.
Will Friedle
Yeah. Sharing culture with kids all around the world, which is what Disney really does, which is great.
Sabrina Bryant
Yes.
Will Friedle
You gonna ask me?
Sabrina Bryant
I. You know, I guess I'll ask you, but, I mean, we all know.
Will Friedle
Might be surprised.
Sabrina Bryant
No, I'm not gonna be surprised.
Will Friedle
You might be surprised.
Sabrina Bryant
Did you know anything?
Will Friedle
I did not know anything about this movie. So. No, you were. You. You're right to not be surprised. And I wouldn't. Trust me from this moment on, frankly.
Sabrina Bryant
But it is already there.
Will Friedle
It is. What is, by the way? Just a fun little side note. I was at a convention this weekend, and so many people now are talking about Magical Rewind. And a woman. A woman came up to me and said, hey, I've got an idea for you guys. And I said what? She said, in the future, when you're rating the movies, one should be the lowest and 10 should be the highest. And I was like, great idea, mind. Exactly.
Sabrina Bryant
They really know what they're talking about.
Will Friedle
Out there because that was a good idea and we're going to use it, but not right now, because right now we're going to strike up the generator. We're keeping the lights on for the synopsis. Alex, a young Jewish basketball star convinces a down on his luck former college star to coach his struggling team. Their journey mirrors the Hanukkah story as they discover perseverance, faith and unexpected miracles both on and off. This movie is directed by Canadian local Stuart Gillard, best known for his work on teenage mutant ninja turtles, three can't believe I haven't seen that and two dcoms, twitches and 2012's girl versus monster. Don't know what that is, but let's get that on the list. He also directed TV shows like Charmed, One Tree Hill and 90210. And the movie stars Alex D. Lintz as Alex Schlotsky, a name based on Carr's real life player Alex Barbag. I'm not going to touch that name because it sounds a little like Barf Bag, but we're not going to get into that. Lynce is best because the poor kid growing up must have gotten that all the time.
Sabrina Bryant
I know. Poor Alex. Yeah, dang. Exactly.
Will Friedle
Hey, when I say my name fast and I say I'm Wilfred L, everyone thinks my name is Wilfred L. So I was Wilfred for a lot of my life.
Sabrina Bryant
Oh, wow.
Will Friedle
Lince is best known as Max Keeble in the movie Max Keeble's Coming Home. No, sorry, that's not it. Max Keeble in the movie Max Keeble's Big Move and as Macaulay Culkin's replacement in Home Alone 3. People just keep leaving these kids by themselves. You may also recognize him from the George Clooney movie One Fine Day or as the voice of young Tarzan in the popular Tarzan animated film from Disney. His last acting credit appears to have been in 2007. Also with a middle initial. We have Richard T. Jones as Coach Lamont. He's best known as Wayne Gray in the long running show the Rookie. He's a very recognizable character actor who's also been seen on Narcos, Santa Clarita Diet and Judging Amy. And somehow we have actors with more initials. We've got a Veteran Canadian actor, R.H. thompson plays Rabbi Lewis. Thompson is still working today and is best known for her movies Chloe and if youf Could See what? Which is kind of a confusing title.
Sabrina Bryant
Yeah.
Will Friedle
Then you got Sheila McCarthy who plays the cold Mrs. Cline. She was in the Lindsay Lohan movie Confessions of a Teenage drama queen, and two other DCOMs, cowbells and zombies 3 as the hologram alien scout. We haven't seen zombies 3 yet. Oh, wait, zombies 3. Yes, zombies 3. See, now I'm getting all confused. I thought it was Descendants three.
Sabrina Bryant
No.
Will Friedle
So she's the alien scout. Got it. She's also. And this is what I know her from. In Die Hard 2 playing Big Ben. One of Alex's teammates is Sean Marquette, known to our listeners as Johnny Atkins on the Goldbergs and it's spinoff Schooled. He's also the voice of Mac on Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends and a comedy star in her own right. Linda Cash is Cynthia, Alex's mom. She's been in Christopher Guess's illustrious group of Actors in Waiting for Guffman and Best in Show. And she's in the Christy Carlson Romano DCOM Cadet Kelly. And we also mention this all the time on Pod Meets World. Anytime an actor does this. She was also on Seinfeld. But no matter who appears in the film, we all know the most important part of any movie reviewed on Magical Rewind. The runtime. Yes. And full court miracle comes in at. I just. I feel I need someone to hold me. I know as I say this amazing 90 minutes. 90 minutes.
Sabrina Bryant
Hitting it on the mark. Ding, ding, ding, ding, ding.
Will Friedle
Don, ring the alarm. Set off the fireworks. Scream for the mountaintops. We hit the target. Everybody close up shop. We can go home. Thank you so much for listening to Magical Rewind. We will not be back next week or any week after because we've hit timing perfection.
Sabrina Bryant
Kidding, kidding, kidding.
Will Friedle
But congrats to all involved. We will, of course, be back next week because there'll be some other movie that'll be 93 minutes that we have to about. This movie was written by a team. We have Joel Silverman, writer of movies like Nailed, Death to Supermodels and Surf School. I don't know several of those titles, but by God, I want to see them all. And then we have Joel Kaufman and Donald Yost, a legendary writing team here on the podcast because they wrote a possible best DCOM winner, Miracle in Lane 2. So obviously anything they write has to have the word miracle in the.
Sabrina Bryant
Oh, that's a good point.
Will Friedle
It's true. Wait till you see their third installment, which is just called Miracle of Miracles. The miracle story of miracles.
Chiquis
This is Chiquis from Chiquis and Chill. You know what they say. La familia estodo family is your anchor, your joy, your chaos, and your heart, the ones who make you laugh till you cry and then cry all over again. When life pulls you in a million directions, it's through those little check ins on the family group chat that keep you grounded. Hola. It's Chiquis from Chiquis and Chill. And let me tell you, life would be boring without random memes from my nieces and nephews, chisme updates from my siblings, or surprise te quiero video chats from my hubby. That's the stuff that keeps me sane and connected to who I am. By being a T Mobile member, I never have to miss a moment. Their experience plans give me unlimited calls, texts and data between the US and Mexico, plus unlimited texting and data in 21 Latin American countries when traveling. So no matter where I go, I'm never far from home. Nolo pience en mass. Keep your familia close and join T Mobile. Visit T mobile.com connectate call 1-800-T-Mobile or stop by a store to learn more. Exclusions like taxes and fees apply. Guarantee applies to monthly price of on network, talk till text and 5G data for accounts activating on an experience plan, not for extended international use. You must reside in the US and primary usage must occur on our network.
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Will Friedle
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Will Friedle
That's oregonhomecarejobs.com all right, it's Lions versus Warriors at East Hebrew Academy, the most important game in the history of humanity. But first, let's get into full court Miracle. Now, we may have shot the movie in Toronto, but we get some busy streets of Philadelphia establishing shots to start the movie. As my illustrious host pointed out, it looks exactly like the start of Cheetah Girls. It really does. It's kind of that moving camera. The skyline's a little bit fuzzy. It is so early aughts, it's not even funny.
Sabrina Bryant
It's definitely a movie. Monroe did not watch this with me, but if she watches, she'd be, oh momm me, this movie is old.
Will Friedle
Exactly. It does. It looks like old home video.
Sabrina Bryant
It does.
Will Friedle
Shot in one of those giant camcorders. Yep. This is where we meet a young Alex Schlotzky, who's wearing a yarmulke and dribbling on the sidewalk. He's with his friend Julie, who reminds him his basketball team is so bad that even Allen Iverson couldn't help them win a game. We find out they've lost 19 in a row, but Alex thinks today is the day they could turn it around against the undefeated warriors and their star player, Tyler. Oh, Tyler. Julie says Austin Luego. And Alex says Shalom in the most 80 yard conversation we maybe have ever seen in the history of our dcoms. It's bad. They obviously just recorded everything in a booth because it was too loud. Eventually, Alex makes it to his school Hebrew Learning Academy to meet up with his teammates. We learn Alex is the only good player on the team and they'd at least win a game if they could just clone him for all five positions. We also meet our let's call her semi villain in Mrs. Klein, a stern teacher who busts Alex for dribbling in the hallways. In all fairness, you're not allowed to dribble a ball in the hallways in any school. Everyone knows that. Now we're in a religious studies class taught by Rabbi Lewis. Alex and his friends are learning about Judah and The Maccabees and their treacherous battle in Israel. A story that helps explain Hanukkah. Mid lecture, Alex starts to daydream, placing himself on a very dusty basketball court in what we can assume is Israel in 165 BC. Alex, now dressed perfectly for the time period, is dramatically backed up by the rest of his ragtag team. They're representing Antioch. They are representing Antioch's army. And he's the great leader sent to save Israel. Surrounded by cheering locals, Alex steps up to play against Tyler and the warriors, now all dressed like intimidating soldiers. I think they were trying to be Roman, I'm guessing.
Sabrina Bryant
It looked Roman to me. Yeah.
Will Friedle
And yes, this is as bad crazy a scene as it sounds like it is. It was like, wait. Huh?
Sabrina Bryant
I swear I was like, oh, no. Is this how this movie's gonna go? I'm here.
Will Friedle
I mean, seriously? I mean. But it's also for Disney to just lean into any religion. Doesn't matter what religion it. But to really, really lean into it like this. I was like, oh, wow. Oh, they're. They're going for it.
Sabrina Bryant
Yeah. Yeah.
Will Friedle
So, yeah. Alex chucks the ball into the air, and we're thrown back into the present. It's game day against the warriors, and the Hebrew Learning Academy Lions are down by more than 20 points. The players on the bench aren't even paying attention. They're doing homework. Even their coach, Mr. Simowitz, is grading papers. Julie and Alex's dad are in the stands watching the massacre where Alex is becoming a bit of a ball hog. Another Lions player, tj, Trips a player and is thrown out of the game. As they conquer the Lions, Tyler turns to Alex and warns him if he thinks this is bad, wait until they play against each other in the upcoming tournament. Oh. Setting up some tournament stuff. Then the next day at school, Alex and his pals are talking about upcoming Hanukkah gifts. But one of the boys, lovingly named Stick, says the focus of the holiday shouldn't be on gifts. It should be on the miracle of light and the victory of the Maccabees. But the guys don't fully believe in those miracles and call the whole thing a fairy tale. One day's worth of candle oil magically lasts for eight days. Come on. Okay. You live in Orange County? Yes, Orange County. Not necessarily known as having a huge Jewish community. Am I right?
Sabrina Bryant
Correct.
Will Friedle
Now, have you ever celebrated Hanukkah?
Sabrina Bryant
No.
Will Friedle
Never.
Sabrina Bryant
I. No.
Will Friedle
What about.
Sabrina Bryant
I don't even know. No, I don't even know much about. I mean, obviously I know the eight days and the. The lighting of the candles. But I don't even really know, like, the full Hanukkah story.
Will Friedle
Right.
Sabrina Bryant
So. And I. Because I didn't even, like, there. It's not that there aren't Jewish people in Orange county or that I didn't necessarily grow up around them. I just didn't happen to have anyone that was, like, to the point where they'd ever, like, invite me over, you know what I mean? To where I'd have an opportunity to really learn much about it.
Will Friedle
Gotcha. Yeah. Every year, so my dad's best friends growing up were Jewish. So every year we'd go to Passover dinner and they'd come to us for Christmas Eve.
Sabrina Bryant
Okay.
Will Friedle
So we'd learn all about the Jewish customs and they come help help us decorate our tree. So, yeah, I was reading the questions and searching for the matzah and doing all that kind of stuff. So, yes, I was. I was familiar with this. But not, I mean, not obviously the whole backstory of the Maccabees and all.
Sabrina Bryant
That kind of stuff.
Will Friedle
They really, again, for Disney, really leaned into it.
Sabrina Bryant
I feel like. I mean, as we got more. So at first, I feel like it kind of hits you right from the beginning, but then it really, for me, seemed like it kind of became a lot more about the culture of. Of the Jewish community as much more than, like, the religion. Religion aspect. It didn't feel. At first I went, oh, they're really doing a religious movie. But then it did feel like it was super religious as we ended up going on through the movie.
Will Friedle
Yeah, it wasn't. I didn't. They. They didn't continue to use the kind of flashback thing. I think they do it one more time towards the end, but it's not. It's not a go to in the film. I thought they were gonna keep cutting to that kind of thing, but, I mean, they do talk about religion quite a bit in this movie. I mean, it is. It's another character in this film which, again, big swing for Disney to.
Sabrina Bryant
Right.
Honey German
But kind of lean into any religion.
Sabrina Bryant
But they, as Disney does things like this very well. It had a nice softness to it too, that it wasn't like, jarring to where, like, if you weren't interested into that, like, that you'd get annoyed and just turn it off. It was like it became a little bit more of just like an inspirational situation.
Will Friedle
While learning about another culture.
Sabrina Bryant
Yeah. While. Yes. Versus it being very religious. Like, you know what I mean? It didn't hit too sharp to where if that were to be something that would trigger or, you know, kind of rub you the wrong way, you are. You were out of the movie. It didn't. To me, it wasn't that way.
Will Friedle
No, it was. But again, it was. It's. That's what Disney does. Well, is, hey, here's a culture you may not be familiar with. We're going to do a movie about it in a way you're, you know, kids are going to relate to, and it's going to be about. It's a basketball movie.
Sabrina Bryant
Yes.
Will Friedle
Set in the Jewish community. That's. I mean, so it's. Yeah. So very Disney.
Sabrina Bryant
I did have a question, though. Would. Is that to wear, like, they're yarmulkes, wearing them while playing?
Will Friedle
Yeah, I think they would. I think they always wear them indoors.
Sabrina Bryant
Okay. All right.
Will Friedle
I think. I think. I don't.
Sabrina Bryant
I wouldn't know. Speaking out of turn, but I guess it's. It's not. It's not adhering. I mean, you know, because some sports, you know, having, like, things that would maybe possibly be, I guess, unsafe. I don't know. But I'm like, what if. What if the yah fell on the ground?
Will Friedle
Yeah. I think they're pinned on. I think they're always. I think it's. I think that's part of it. Yeah. Again, I don't know nearly enough about the Jewish culture to. To speak on that, but I'm pretty sure they always wear it indoors.
Sabrina Bryant
Okay.
Will Friedle
The boys do give Alex some grief about not passing the ball, but he blames them for being too smart to be athletes. He wants to finally win this Liberty Tournament, especially because it will be in their home gym. His teammates laugh and he. His teammates laugh, and Alex angrily storms off. Back at home, Alex complains to his parents that his friends don't care about basketball. His mom, explaining how impossible it is to make it to the NBA, tries to shift his dreams to medicine or becoming a lawyer, which, honestly, it's pretty good advice, but at the same time, you still don't try to kill your kid's dream. We'll get into her later.
Sabrina Bryant
Yes.
Will Friedle
Then her pager goes off. She's been called to the hospital. God, I miss pagers. Sabrina, are you too young to have had a pager?
Sabrina Bryant
I had a pager. Oh, I had a pager. Oh, and I. You. I loved learning all the. Being able to write out, I miss you if you flipped it over or, you know, all those different things that you. One, four, three.
Will Friedle
Oh, God. The code you would do. I had a Pager. What I did not have was friends. So the page I got most was low battery. Low battery and mom. I got that quite. No, I don't think my mom even paged me. She's like, I'll call him. I'm not going to pay. My mom wouldn't have known how to page me. Come on. The next day at school, Rabbi Lewis is in his office when he crumples up some paperwork and slam dunks it into a nearby lampshade. And Alex walks in just in time for the post basket celebration. He asks the teacher more about Judah Maccabee and how he led his outmatched team to victory. He knows they need a Judah Maccabee, and the current coach just isn't cutting it. The rabbi suggests Alex talk to his mom, since she's the head of the board of directors. But Alex knows that won't go anywhere. So the rabbi says he will get a new coach, but only when Judah Maccabee allows it to happen. Which makes very little sense to the kid, or, let's be honest, the viewer. Thanks, dude.
Sabrina Bryant
Yeah.
Will Friedle
That afternoon, Alex and Julie are playing one on one while Stick studies. And they're all trying to figure out what Rabbi Lewis meant. They assume it means a new coach will come when the time is right, but Alex argues they need that time to be now. And that's when he spots another guy practicing nearby. It's a tall adult making every shot and eventually slam dunking. Alex runs off to rebound for him. The man continues to sink everything, but ignores Alex's question. So Alex challenges him to a shootout. If the mystery man wins, he'll leave him alone. But if Alex wins, he'll reveal his name. But instead, the guy just threatens to stuff Alex into the hoop, then grabs his ball and leaves in a very sketchy van. But as he leaves, Alex takes note of the license plate. And so, back in his room, Alex is now teaching Stick how to stalk somebody on the Internet and learns it was a special University of Virginia booster plate on the back of that van. And so that leads him to checking the school's basketball alumni, eventually finding him former star point guard Lamar the Hammer car. Stick thinks this man might just be their Judah Maccabee, especially since they share a nickname. And his license plate is JM165. Judah Maccabees, initials N165 for the year the Maccabees drove out the invaders. And even though Alex isn't buying the JM connection, he does think this could be their angel. After school, Alex has convinced his friends to come and see the ghost of Judah Maccabee, even drawing the passing attention of Mrs. Klein, who stands below a sign that reads sugar and video games hazardous to your brain. And now, back at the park, the boys watch Lamar practice and are blown away, but can't imagine the reincarnation of Judah Maccabee. Being a 6 foot 5 black guy. Alex points out, this man just showed up at their park exactly at the same time. They need a coach, so it must mean something. Alex approaches the possible coach candidate again and the results aren't much better the second time. But this time Lamar notices just how bad the Lions are watching them practice from air ball to air ball, but he's watching them from afar. And Alex cuts right to the chase and asks Lamar for help. The man laughs it off. He doesn't have the time, but Alex assures him he does. On the Internet, it says he played for the CBA for five years until he needed three knee surgeries. But Lamar promises his knee is better and has an upcoming tryout with the Philadelphia 76ers. Coaching kids is for has beens and wannabes. But when Alex offers him some money, Lamar agrees to an hour long practice tomorrow at 4 and drives off in that same sketchy van back at Alex's hat.
Sabrina Bryant
So sketchy, really, like a rundown. Just sketch like sketch like hey honey.
Will Friedle
Where'D you meet your coach? In a van by the playground. Never an answer you want for anything.
Sabrina Bryant
I would if that van was anywhere near the playground. I can't even tell you the like reroute of what I would do to walk as far away from that van as possible. I hate vans that look like that. I do. I. I go out of my way.
Will Friedle
You would have dialed 9.1and had your finger over the other one. Just.
Sabrina Bryant
If there's a van like that parked anywhere near my car and I'm at like a mall or like a big thing like that, I am on the phone. Jordan's on the phone with me. I have my fingers with my keys. I am ready for battle.
Will Friedle
You are prejudiced against vans.
Sabrina Bryant
Well, if you take any type of self defense or, you know, anything like that, that's what they like.
Will Friedle
Even Tai Bo tells you to stay away from a van.
Sabrina Bryant
Yeah, like that. Especially one with no window. Holy cow. If that's happening to me, I clean the hell out.
Will Friedle
Well, or, or they're teaching your children how to play basketball, so never. Don't pigeonhole people, Sabrina.
Sabrina Bryant
Well, you know, to be fair, this one was green. I'm really scared of the white ones.
Will Friedle
Okay, okay, okay. Good.
Sabrina Bryant
Color makes a difference.
Will Friedle
You've gotta. You've got a color racism, too. Against vans. It's white fans that you have a problem.
Sabrina Bryant
I can't even believe I just, like, honestly put that together, because I was like, well, at least it wasn't a white one. Those ones are the worst. You know that they are.
Will Friedle
There is possibilities they might be the worst to you, but they're great when you want to rob a bank.
Sabrina Bryant
Yes, exactly.
Will Friedle
Back at Alex's house, his mom, Cynthia, reveals a new program at her hospital where students shadow doctors to see if they like the profession. She wants Alex to participate. In other words, she wants him to give up the pipe dream of playing basketball. And the next day, though a little late, Lamar does arrive for practice, surprising the boys with a loud whistle and immediately putting them back to work with intense time sprints over and over and over again. By the end of practice, the boys are exhausted, and Lamar explains he's not there to be liked. He's there to turn a bad team into a better one. Alex pays him the rest of his money, and they set up another practice for the very next day. Back in his van, Sabrina's favorite thing in the world, Lamar sends a letter back home to his kid, including the money he just made from coaching. The next day, Lamar arrives for day two, and the boys immediately question their new coach about his family, trying to figure out if he could be actually Judah. They learn his dad was called Skip and he has three brothers, but it was four, just like Judah. But one was killed while on duty as a cop. Although the boys are affected by this revelation, they're immediately put back to work. And during the rigorous sprints, guess who bikes by? Tyler. Tyler and the Warriors. Alex is distracted by their trash talking, but Lamar gets him refocused. But also realizes that these kids are being bullied. And once practice is over, the boys are concerned about spending all the money on Lamont. Their parents are starting to ask questions, but Alex says he can't directly ask his mom for money for basketball. So now he's tasked with finding all the cash he can on his own. So he decides to sell his prized Julia serving basketball card. Dr. J. Just as his mom reveals he's been accepted into the doctor's shadow program, and it starts on Monday. She didn't even ask him. She's like, you're going to this thing and you're giving up basketball. Like, the one thing this kid loves. To me, that was like, really? You're not going to Ask me to quit basketball. It's like you're just. You're done with basketball. Not okay. Not okay, Mom. And we're gonna get into. To the mom a little bit farther because she. Mom was pissing me off. I'm gonna be honest with you. Mom was pissing me off. And I get it's supposed to come from a good place, but the thing that was interesting to me, and I don't know if this is because again, we don't know how much of this is based on. It's based on a true story. But you wonder how much is actually based on a true story.
Sabrina Bryant
Right.
Will Friedle
Supposed to be based on Lamont Carr's life. But 99% of these movies, the bad Parent, quote unquote. The one where who has the revelation, who we're always learning, like, oh, should we put them in the hall of Fame? Is the dad.
Sabrina Bryant
Yes.
Will Friedle
Can you think of another one where it's the mom that we want to chuck into the hall of Fame of dcom. Bad Parent hall of Fame. Double teamed.
Sabrina Bryant
Quince, that mom.
Will Friedle
Oh, right.
Sabrina Bryant
You know, being.
Will Friedle
But she was distracted.
Sabrina Bryant
Distracted with the other kids, which, you know, understandably, especially. But she was. Because it was both of them. Like, the thing is, when with the movies, there's usually one parent that's trying to pull the other parent that's maybe not making the best decisions and handling the situation the best.
Will Friedle
Right.
Sabrina Bryant
There's usually the other parent that's kind of trying to like, come on, like, you know. But the two and Quince, they were just equally just like crap.
Will Friedle
Yeah. Yeah, that's true. I can't think of another just straight up mom, though, where it's the dad being the good guy and the mom is like, kind of the crappy parent.
Sabrina Bryant
Yeah. Yeah. This, I think, is a little bit of a first, I think.
Will Friedle
I think maybe because again, wanting your kid to be a doctor or a lawyer, most parents want something like that for their kids.
Sabrina Bryant
That's totally up your panel grades. I think that's an obvious. You can do extracurricular things, but signing.
Will Friedle
Up, signing them up for something. Yeah, but signing up for something where it's like she hadn't even gotten the grades yet, but she's like, it starts Monday. Hey, I'm literally in the middle of basketball season right now. She doesn't ask him, doesn't do anything, just like, that's it. You're done with this. And it's that. I didn't. Didn't like that.
Sabrina Bryant
No. No.
Will Friedle
So, yeah.
Sabrina Bryant
Well, it starts Monday to be Honest. I mean, not that, you know, she's saying like, oh, it's just so extreme of an idea that you would be an mba. But being a doctor is a also not easy, very giant goal. And not easy to attain either. Even getting into the right school that you want to get into to be that doctor. Especially since they set up incredibly difficult.
Will Friedle
They have clearly set up that Alex is like a B student.
Sabrina Bryant
Right.
Will Friedle
This is not a kid who's not this straight A student. No, he's a B student.
Sabrina Bryant
So this is going to be a difficult. I feel like that's almost equal. Yes.
Will Friedle
It's just you can't. You can't do something as hard as play basketball. You have to do something as easy as be a surgeon.
Sabrina Bryant
Yeah.
Will Friedle
Like. Wait, what?
Sabrina Bryant
Yeah.
Will Friedle
Yeah. Crazy.
Sabrina Bryant
I mean, again, even getting into the school of anything seems like it would be very difficult for our friend Alex, who's a B student.
Will Friedle
Unless you're going to Bob's upstairs medical college, then I'm guessing it's going to be tough.
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Will Friedle
At.
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Will Friedle
Running the vacuum.
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Will Friedle
You can make a difference in someone's life, including your own, with a job in home care. These jobs offer flexible schedules, health care, retirement options and free training. They also provide paid time off and opportunities for overtime. Visit oregonhomecarejobs.com to learn more and apply. That's oregonhomecarejobs.com but of course Alex says he can't go on Monday. He has basketball practice. But his mom doesn't care. She needs him to get ready for the rest of his life. Okay, we. We talked about this. Do we? I. I think especially after most of this movie. Again, she's never going to his games. She's never there to support him. She's trying to stop him from his dream. He I have to put her in the DCOM hall of Fame as bad parents. Wouldn't you? I get she learns. But they all do. But you still got to go into the DCOM hall of Fame.
Sabrina Bryant
Yes.
Will Friedle
Okay.
Sabrina Bryant
She's there.
Will Friedle
She's possible first woman entry. Love that.
Sabrina Bryant
It might be.
Will Friedle
I know.
Sabrina Bryant
Watch the first comment we get back on that.
Will Friedle
It's going to be like what about.
Sabrina Bryant
You guys are incorrect.
Will Friedle
Yeah.
Sabrina Bryant
There's three or four of them.
Will Friedle
I'm surprised producer Lisa or somebody hasn't popped up and been like are you kidding? What about blah, blah, blah?
Sabrina Bryant
Right, right. Okay.
Will Friedle
And we'd miss the six that were like, oh, that's right. Oh, that's right. Oh, that's right.
Sabrina Bryant
Yeah. But regardless, even if she's not the first, she's definitely one of them.
Will Friedle
She's in. Later, Alex is back with Julie, who can't believe he's selling his Dr. J card. It was a bar mitzvah present from his parents. But he knows to win the tournament, his team needs to practice. Julie says she might not understand what basketball means to him, but she does know the shadow program is awesome. So Alex has an idea. She can take his place and he'll handle his mom. Meanwhile, Lamar's very creepy van has overheated, probably from all the children he's been kidnapping in the back. It weighed it down. He's told he needs $500 to get it fixed just as Alex arrives with his Dr. J money. But Lamar says the deal is off. He needs to find some serious cash to fix his car. But Alex isn't hearing it. He offers double the money to make it worth his while, but Lamar says he can't do that in the kids. He can't do that to the kids. Alex insists they need the practice, and the tournament is just two weeks away. Lamar is thankful and accepts half the money up front. But Alex has one more problem. The other guys are starting to hate basketball. Lamar needs to ease up a bit and help them love the game. Good advice. And so practice time is back, and Lamar quickly shows that he's completely chilled out. Instead of running drills today, they're going to shoot. Oh, yes. I love shooting. And that's the best part of practice. And he does it with a smile. The Lions are loving it, and they're getting better. Lamar says they have potential and asks them to stop putting themselves in a box as just Jewish kids who can't play ball. He needs them to believe in themselves. That night, Alex is on the phone trying to figure out how they'll get Lamont's money. And for some reason, he's asking for coffee mugs. And when his mom gets home, he lies and pretends he was at the hospital today, the next morning, which, again, if she's a doctor at the hospital, wouldn't she know that he wasn't there?
Sabrina Bryant
I mean, yes. I mean, you wouldn't think her doctor.
Will Friedle
Colleague would be like, hey, your kid never showed up today.
Sabrina Bryant
Right? And you would assume she'd be checking in on him, so seen that he's 14, you know, and she's a helicopter parent. Yeah. And she's a. Yeah. So that seemed to be a little. A little stretched.
Will Friedle
Yeah. I also thought if you're making up scenes for the movie, like, the entire thing obviously has to be Disneyfied. But what would have been great to get him out of the program is he's following around the doctor for the first day, he knows he's got to get out. He goes to the first page and one little drop of blood and he pretends to faint. So it's like they know he's not going to be a doctor kind of thing, which could have been funny. But again, it's like, okay, we'll figure it out. The next morning, we, as the wonderful audience, learn what the mugs were for. The team is manning a little cart in front of their school, raising money by selling coffee to parents and the rabbis. But when Mrs. Klein spots them, she's suspicious of their real intentions. Back at home, Cynthia is bragging to Alex's dad about her son following in her footsteps, and he's nervous about selling a condo. So we have a doctor and real estate agent. And just as they can't find their espresso machine, Mrs. Klein calls. He's been busted for selling beverages, and now he must answer to Rabbi Lewis, who's disappointed with all the lies. And Cynthia has banned all strangers from coaching the basketball team, which, again, it's five kids meeting at a park after school. How can you ban them from that?
Sabrina Bryant
You absolutely cannot.
Will Friedle
Right? It's like, I'm meeting up with my friends at a park and we're training with some guy. It's like saying, I'm banning you from running by yourself.
Sabrina Bryant
Exactly. And anyone's dad could be like, hey, if anyone, you know, or just see, like, my kid with me and my kid Robert are playing, and then all of a sudden, his friends are there, and the dad's like, somewhat, like, helping. Giving them tips. Like, there's no. That doesn't.
Will Friedle
You can't ban them for that. You can't ban them for that.
Sabrina Bryant
Yeah, but this. I mean, this lady just.
Will Friedle
Yes.
Sabrina Bryant
You know, Mrs. Klein is just.
Will Friedle
Her, too.
Sabrina Bryant
She is. I mean, what a. Just.
Will Friedle
Yeah.
Sabrina Bryant
Ruin. Ruiner of fun.
Will Friedle
Not. Not good. Yeah, she's a. She's a what they would call a traditional buzzkill.
Sabrina Bryant
Buzz kill. There you go.
Will Friedle
Alex quotes the Torah to defend the new coach, and Rabbi Lewis kind of agrees. And that's why he's inviting Alex, Alex's parents and Coach Lamont to his house for Shabbos this Friday night. Oh, this could get tricky. And so we jump to Shabbos. Everyone is partaking in the festivities while Lamont experiences some culture shock, like putting horseradish on your fish and lighting candles to pray. But he's being a trooper and loves the food. But when he asks for milk, he quickly learns about the kosher lifestyle. Everyone wants to know more about Lamott and how he's making the team better. Alec's mom certainly isn't sold on this at all. She has some concerns. One being they practice out on the street. That can't be safe. Again, this is the park you let your kid go to every single day. And so Rabbi Lewis has a solution. He offers up the school gym for their practices. What a great idea. Except when they cut to them later, they're practicing outside, still at the school, which made no sense to me. Lamont makes sure the rabbi knows he isn't Jewish. And the rabbi jokes, yeah, he suspected that. But it's all about acceptance and inviting all faiths to join them in their teachings. And a little known fact, the NBA was started by mostly Jewish teams, including the Knicks. But Lamar still turns down the job. He's focused on making the Sixers, but the rabbi suggests they make the job temporary, day to day. That way he can leave them when he has to join a roster. But back at home, Cynthia. Oh, Cynthia. The loving mom is of course, furious. She tells Alex's dad, Marshall, that she wants Alex to focus on something realistic for his life again. He's like 13. But his dad argues that this is his dream. And you can't stop a kid from trying to achieve his dream, even if it's unlikely. Thank you. Good advice.
Sabrina Bryant
Thank you, dad.
Will Friedle
Thank you, dad. And so the next day, Alex arrives with the new basketball coach, Lamont Carr, who sticks out like a sore thumb. We get a good line when he says he feels like, quote, a gefilte fish out of water, unquote. Then, unfortunately, the first person they run into is Mrs. Klein. Happy, happy Mrs. Klein. She's the. I'm not even gonna keep singing for Mrs. Klein. She's the worst. She's anything but welcoming and already mad about basketball being back in the hall. But the former basketball coach, Mr. Simowitz, is thrilled that they found him a replacement. He is off the hook. And him running up like, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you. So great.
Sabrina Bryant
And I was like, thank you. If I ever had a coach that was just sitting doing grading papers or anything. Oh, my gosh.
Will Friedle
Yep, the Lions are getting better, but Alex is still ball Hogging Rabbi Lewis catches some of the practice and is already impressed with their growth. But Coach Lam knows they have a lot of confidence to build if they want to beat the Warriors. Rabbi Lewis again mentions the ancient Maccabees and how they dealt with being outnumbered. And it gives Lamont an idea. He immediately uses the Maccabee strategy, also known as the full court press, to isolate and pressure the offense. After practice, Alex borrows TJ's bike. Borrows as a quote unquote, basically steals it to follow Coach Lamont in his van again. Little kid on a bike following a guy in a van. Not always good. Performing jumps and drifting to keep up. Eventually learning that his mentor is living out of his car under a bridge. That doesn't make the van any better. Alex decides to get a closer look and is caught by Lamont. It's then that he reveals his team thinks he's the ghost of Judah. Lamont laughs it off and invites the boy to stay for dinner. While eating food under a bridge, Alex hears all about the coach's CBA career. Alex is jealous Lamont got a chance to follow his dreams. But he admits he misses his son terribly. He explains, to chase big dreams, you must make big sacrifices. He asks Alex not to tell anyone at school about his van. Good advice. And Alex agrees to keep quiet.
Sabrina Bryant
I love Lamont. I think he's such a great character actor's amazing in it, but I'm just going, this is getting worse.
Will Friedle
Yeah, I know, I know, I know.
Sabrina Bryant
If this isn't like a movie that would be on, like, what? Like Hallmark, right before the little kid gets stolen?
Will Friedle
Exactly.
Sabrina Bryant
I don't even know this.
Will Friedle
You can you change a couple things in this movie? And then the title is Where's Alex? And it becomes a whole different thing. Yeah, exactly.
Sabrina Bryant
It goes a very different direction. I mean, I'm just kind of like. I mean. But I'm in it. I'm there. I think I love Lamont's character. I love that we're giving him, I.
Will Friedle
Guess the title Full Court Miracle. The miracle could be them finding Alex alive at the end of the movie in the van, on a basketball court in the van.
Sabrina Bryant
Miles and miles away.
Will Friedle
That's what it is. Yes, exactly.
Sabrina Bryant
I do love Lamont. I do love the depth they're giving his character, that he's also the by.
Will Friedle
Far the best actor in the movie. And there's some good ones in there, but his. He's killing it in this movie.
Sabrina Bryant
He is killing it. Absolutely. And I. But I do love, like, it's not. He's not just like a selfish guy that's.
Will Friedle
Yeah.
Sabrina Bryant
You know, irritated, still trying to, you know, figure out a way back to his dream that he had. He's not just selfish. This is more. This is about, you know, his family too, you know, and providing. So.
Will Friedle
And at first I was like, oh, he's going to keep taking money from the kids. I don't know how I feel about that. But then when he's like, because obviously he needs the money, he's living in a broken down van. But at the same time it was like, I don't know how I feel about this. And then he start. He's like, I can't keep taking this. I can't. And I was like, okay, all right, good. They're addressing that. Which is a good thing.
Sabrina Bryant
Right?
Will Friedle
Because that was good. It's like he just keeps pocking the children's money to live in his van.
Sabrina Bryant
Right.
Will Friedle
The next day at school, Mrs. Klein visits Lamont and asks why he's left the address section of his onboarding paperwork blank. He blames a recent move, but she's not buying it. He quickly makes up a number and street name by looking at presidential portraits around the office. So, yes, he lives on Jefferson. That night, Alex's family lights a candle for the first night of Hanukkah. Lamont is comfortable in his van, staring at his young son's art. Their situation could not be more different. Alex's Night One gift is an encyclopedia CD rom. This pairs well with the pager. Alex pretends he's excited about it. That is handed a replacement gift. It's the Dr. J card. Julie told them he sold it and so they made sure he got it back. This is the. The thing I don't know about Hanukkah. I know each night there's different gifts that are specific to the night. And I don't know what those are. It's like, I know because I had Jewish friends growing up there. Like, oh, it's night whatever, three. I'm making this up. So I know I'm wrong, but it's night three. This is like the big night. This is where we get our big gift.
Sabrina Bryant
Oh.
Will Friedle
So that, you know, each night had something like a dreidel was one night. And I think they got money one night. It was all something different.
Sabrina Bryant
And I'm sure if you like really got into it, there's probably like a signifying reason.
Will Friedle
Yeah, yeah, yeah, I'm sure.
Sabrina Bryant
Significance of it must be the kind of gift that you're getting 100 or like success or, you know, it's got to mean something.
Will Friedle
And it shows how it made me.
Sabrina Bryant
Really like go, you know, it's crazy. Like I know about quite a few religions and I've never really looked into things like this and getting specifics, it made me kind of go again. Here I am with Disney, like, oh, I want to travel to this place.
Will Friedle
Exactly. Yeah.
Sabrina Bryant
I can learn more about jump roping.
Will Friedle
The history. The history of religions is super interesting when you get into it.
Sabrina Bryant
Absolutely. So it's like, gosh, I, I really feel like I want to dive into learning more about it, you know, especially the traditions that they're still doing things.
Will Friedle
That I really things that have last for thousands of years.
Sabrina Bryant
Very cool. Growing up, family traditions meant everything. Favorite Mexican meals, holiday parties, even choreographed dances in the living room. Those little moments shape who you are. Hi, I'm Sabrina Bryan, co host of the Magical Rewind podcast, where reliving favorite moments is what it's all about. Today, my family may be in different cities, sometimes different countries, but staying connected to the people I love is still my top priority. And with T Mobile, that connection is easy. Being a T Mobile member and being on T Mobile's experience plans gives you unlimited calls, text and data between the U.S. u.S. And Mexico. So distance doesn't have to mean disconnected. And the best part? T Mobile guarantees your rate for five years. That means no sudden price hikes. Just one less thing to worry about. Join T Mobile and stay close to what matters most. Visit t mobile.com benefits call 1-800-T-MOBILE or stop by a store to learn more. Exclusions like taxes and fees apply. Guarantee applies to monthly price of an on network text and 5G data for accounts activating on an experience plan, not for extended international use. You must reside in the US and primary usage must occur on our network. And check out new episodes of your favorite Michael Tura show wherever you listen to podcasts.
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Will Friedle
The next day, Rabbi Lewis notices Lamont's van in the school parking lot and realizes he's probably sleeping in it. The revelation comes to him just as Mrs. Klein realizes the coach lied about his address. Rabbi Lewis covers for Lamont because Mrs. Klein seems determined to get the coach fired and she's also a and as if things aren't stressful enough, Alex got a C minus. God, I'd be jumping for joy on his most recent history test in Rabbi Lewis class. But more importantly, Rabbi Lewis warns Alex that Mrs. Klein is going to follow Coach Lamont home from practice tonight. So if he does something like, for instance, live in his van, he winks. She can get him fired with the news, Alex rushes off to by the way, loved Rabbi Lewis.
Sabrina Bryant
Rabbi Lewis. I loved him. He was.
Will Friedle
He was great.
Sabrina Bryant
Yeah, he was the most like you just. You just wanted to give him a high five.
Will Friedle
He was awesome.
Sabrina Bryant
Thank you for looking. Thank you for supporting and looking out for these kids.
Will Friedle
Thanks for looking out, Rabbit.
Sabrina Bryant
Only freaking one thinking about what these kids want and what's best for them.
Will Friedle
It's true. With this news, Alex rushes off to ask his dad about those condos he's been trying to sell. And then Alex leaves a note for Lamont. It includes an address and a warning to be careful because Mrs. Klein will be following behind him soon. And as warned, a sneaky Klein Tails the van, eventually landing at the for sale condo. Alex secretly meets him at the door and hands him a key. He set up a full plan to make it look like he lives there. Also, Mrs. Klein will get off his back. And it works. Even ending with Mrs. Klein soaked in her convertible by a passing car splashing a puddle. No need to go into more detail about that.
Sabrina Bryant
I have had such a similar situation. I've had two. I've had two convertible cars.
Will Friedle
And you've been splashed while you were tailing a basketball coach who lived in a van while trying to figure out if he actually lived in a place specific.
Sabrina Bryant
But that like something has happened when I've been on the side of the street but taking my take, taking my top off of the car, you know, and like it's like. And waiting for it to go. And this big truck came over and there just happened to be a puddle. And of course my window. You have to have your windows down to do it. So I literally like it just. I mean, thank God I was looking like down a little bit, but it definitely just like swiped across my face and it was like, what the hell just happened?
Will Friedle
Oh, that's such a movie moment. It's such a movie moment.
Sabrina Bryant
I'm sitting there like waiting, waiting, waiting again. It's such a great day. I should drive with the top down. And then I was like, what the hell? I hate la.
Will Friedle
Alright, well you know what? We've got proof of concept now. We've got proof of concept. That could really happen. It's happened to Sabrina. I love that. Lamont says of course he cannot afford that big condo. But Alex says he can stay there until his dad sells it. It even helps sell it if it looks like someone lives there. Alex offers to sell his Dr. J card again if he needs money for utilities. Eventually the coach agrees to staying there. But instead of Alex selling his card, Lamont will finish the painting and fixing the place up for potential buyers. And just like that, deal struck that night. Alex's mom gets home from work and spots Alex's C minus. And it's like he killed thousands of people. Oh my God. First thing the next. I mean it's, it's a C minus.
Sabrina Bryant
She's not wrong.
Will Friedle
C minus. I get it.
Sabrina Bryant
She's not wrong.
Will Friedle
I get it.
Sabrina Bryant
That's below average. She's not wrong.
Will Friedle
I get it. But come on, it's a C minus. The kid didn't get an F. He got a C minus on one history quiz. But there's two weeks left until the tournament. Two weeks. This kid. It's not. Oh, my God. The tournament's three years from now, and this is the rest of my life. It's 14 days.
Sabrina Bryant
Okay, all right.
Will Friedle
I mean, come on. First thing the next morning, she's in with the Rabbi Lewis and Mrs. Klein. She thinks her son can't juggle schoolwork and basketball and is willing to involve the board of directors if something isn't done, which really feels like way too quick of an escalation. I mean, again, what she's saying is my son can't do both, so the coach needs to be fired so none of the kids can play basketball.
Sabrina Bryant
This is so relevant today now, where how parents react to things. It was unbelievable to watch because truly, it's like, this is the coach's fault. Instead of it being like, no, your kid's not making good decisions. Why, when he's home, he's not at practice all night? No, the coach isn't calling practice from the time they get out of school till 9, 10 o' clock at night. The practices are, let's be honest, probably an hour and a half, two and a half hours most.
Will Friedle
Yeah.
Sabrina Bryant
What's your kid doing? Your time. You are at home or your family or where whoever's watching him, she's not. What's he doing while he's at home? Like.
Will Friedle
No, I agree 100%.
Sabrina Bryant
Sounds like a you problem, lady, not like a coach's problem.
Will Friedle
I couldn't believe it. She's like, I want to cancel the whole thing because my kid got C minus.
Sabrina Bryant
And I want everyone to ace.
Will Friedle
I want A students on the. On the basketball team.
Sabrina Bryant
I want the whole team to suffer by having the coach because my kid got a C now. C. Although she wasn't wrong with the C. I do believe that, you know, causes for a very stern talk. Yeah, roping Alex back into what's important, no matter what. Schoolwork you got to be, you got to get there. But this is ridiculous.
Will Friedle
I agree. And that's why she's ridiculous. That's why she's in the hall of Fame.
Sabrina Bryant
Yeah, Rabbi, who wasn't before?
Will Friedle
Oh, yeah. Now she's firmly in.
Sabrina Bryant
Got a letterman jacket saying Exactly. And a letter and a trophy. Exactly.
Will Friedle
Congratulations, Doc. You suck. Rabbi Lewis promises if Alex's grades don't turn around soon, he'll intervene personally. And now it's game time. Coach Lamont in a beautiful white suit, by the way, is giving the team a pep talk in the locker room. He makes them bark like dogs to get ready. I guess you had to Be there.
Sabrina Bryant
That's an awkward. That's the night scene for me.
Will Friedle
90S early 2000s. Yeah. Come on.
Sabrina Bryant
Yeah, but play it up.
Will Friedle
Come on.
Sabrina Bryant
Those are not comfortable.
Will Friedle
They were like, yeah, they're getting there. They're getting there. They have to believe in themselves. But the big shocker here, Alex has to sit out because he's failing history class, which he isn't because he got a C minus, which doesn't make you fail. So I don't know what's happening here. Anyway, the point is, the Lions will be without their star player during the game. Alex is sitting in the stands with Julie, still weirdly in full uniform. He can't believe he isn't playing, but everyone is playing better without him hogging the ball. He gets into a little spat with Julie when she points that out, and she leaves as a result. Also, the team loses. Also, are Julie and Alex supposed to be crushing on each other? I feel like there was an entire storyline removed from the film, and this was pointless. Are they friends? Are they dating? Does she go to a different school? That. Is she also Jewish?
Sabrina Bryant
What I.
Will Friedle
Is happening with that?
Sabrina Bryant
She goes to a different school. I mean, they. They set it up from the, like, you know, hasta luego or whatever.
Will Friedle
She's. Different cultures. Right.
Sabrina Bryant
They set up the different cultures. I do like that. That being the dynamic of, like, a friendship or possibly like a little, you know, romance crush thing. But it never goes anywhere. Even this fight that we're seeing, they never talk about it after. So I. Either it was cut or this writing was just.
Will Friedle
They. I. You know what I think it was? You know what I frankly think it was, is they needed a girl his age.
Sabrina Bryant
Exactly.
Will Friedle
Because you remove her from the film entirely and make every part she was doing one of his friends, like in the beginning, walking through the city. That stick. Then you don't need her at all. I mean, she's completely superfluous to the entire movie.
Sabrina Bryant
I think it was like you said, Disney wanting to make sure there was some type of girl. But if she's doesn't have a meaning or a purpose other than to take over his.
Will Friedle
Right.
Sabrina Bryant
Workload at the hospital, that's it.
Will Friedle
Well, think about. If she's not in the movie, think about the only two other females in the movie. It's Mrs. Klein and his mom, who are both pretty awful.
Sabrina Bryant
Yeah.
Will Friedle
So unless you have some type of softer friend, like, female in the movie, then it really makes women look pretty terrible because it's all men. And the two women that are there are whiny. And authoritarian. And it's like, yeah, you need to do something. But they just didn't give her anything.
Sabrina Bryant
Just develop something for her. Something situation, something.
Will Friedle
Whatever it is. Well, later that week, Rabbi Lewis agrees to let Alex retake the history test. And so his teammates help him study, suggesting he dribble a ball while he memorizes facts, since he's so good at remembering and analyzing plays on the court. This also made no sense to me because if he was a bad student, they wouldn't be surprised that he got a C minus and his grades wouldn't be slipping because of basketball. So it means he's actually a good student and wouldn't need his friend's help to have them study for the test.
Sabrina Bryant
Well, I think it's more so about.
Will Friedle
I mean, again, if he got a C minus and his grades were slipping, that means he's a B. B plus student. So then why the hell are his friends need to help him study?
Sabrina Bryant
So, yes. So I think what it, what the main reason was, was to have the, the team rally again, like, rally for him and be there to help him get his grade back up. That's what it seemed like to me.
Will Friedle
I mean, that makes sense, but again, yeah, okay. I mean, I get what they're doing, but it's like he's now then at the, in the classroom pretending to bounce a basketball. Like, he's a terrible student. He's got to remember. But he's not a terrible student. He's a good student. His grades are slipping. So, yeah, I don't.
Sabrina Bryant
Okay, that. I, that was an eye roll for me.
Will Friedle
I know.
Sabrina Bryant
If he actually was sitting there bouncing, I think it would have been a little bit easier. But he was like, are you petting a dog or are you.
Will Friedle
Yeah, it would. And then the rabbis doing it behind him too. It was.
Sabrina Bryant
Yeah, that was a little. I, I don't know. I didn't like that.
Will Friedle
I don't disagree. I don't disagree. But while at practice, the team is still down from the loss. They don't even know why they'd play without Alex. But Lamont convinces him it's a team game, not just dependent on. And so TJ will work on his technical foul issue. Stick will work on his hook shot. Another teammate, Joker works on his trash talk. And when he instructs another player to be the butt of the team for rebounds, Mrs. Klein overhears this weird suggestion and runs off in disgust. Because of course, the word but awful. Lamont also teaches the squad a new quote unquote downtown version of the school song and it's not good. Soon after, Alex arrived in the coach's office with his now graded makeup test. He got a B plus. He passed. He's ready to play. Lamont cuts practice short to go play one on one against a friend who's wearing a Raptors jersey. This is probably a nod to their location in Toronto, but worth remembering they're supposed to be in Philly. At his next practice, Lamont breaks some bad news. They're going to have to play in the tournament without him. That guy in the Raptors jersey was his friend who plays in the NBA and now the Sixers. So why was that guy wearing a Raptors jersey? Called him for a 10 day contract.
Sabrina Bryant
Chaz. Just saying.
Will Friedle
Just saying. The kid, you know what I do? I play for the Sixers. So I'm going to wear an opposing teams jersey. The kids are devastated, but deep down they're happy for him. Mrs. Klein enters and sees their sadness. Alex tries to reason with Lamont in the hallway. But coach says he kept his word. He said he'd be there until the Sixers reached out. And now they did. The two friends call each other selfish. Alex wants him to focus on coaching and his family. Lamont wanting the NBA to offer a big contract money to help his family. Lamont says after the tournament he'd be back in the streets since this gig is seasonal and the Sixers tryout is a big break. Yes, it's a tryout for an NBA team. You need to go and do that.
Sabrina Bryant
I'm sorry.
Will Friedle
And you need to.
Sabrina Bryant
I love you. Yes, I would. I will come back and visit at times on my off season. I will come back, but I gotta go.
Will Friedle
Yeah, come on. Let's figure something out. I'm a professional basketball player.
Sabrina Bryant
It's not hard to see or think that a teenager at that age would not have a hard time seeing the bigger picture.
Will Friedle
Of course I get it.
Sabrina Bryant
But it's.
Will Friedle
Everybody else has got to be like.
Sabrina Bryant
Dude, I don't blame Lamont. You gotta go. I would be pissed if you didn't.
Will Friedle
Like you gotta go. Of course. Alex rushes off to ask his mom if the school can hire Lamont as a full time coach. But she says it's not something she can recommend. She blames money and priorities, but it's obviously about Alex and basketball. She says Lamont ditched his family to chase an unachievable goal and she thinks he's just a stranger. With Rabbi Lewis, recounting the lessons of Judah Maccabee in His office. Alex realizes he can't imagine victory without his own Judah to lead the way. But Rabbi Lewis suggests that perhaps Judah's strength isn't something to look for in others. It's something to uncover within yourself. Maybe Alex doesn't need to find Judah. Maybe he can be one. And that night, another candle is lit for Hanukkah, and Alex continues to practice in the school gym. Coach Lamont catches him on his way out, and you can see his decision still weighs heavy. And now it's time for the big Liberty tournament at the Hebrew Academy. There's lots of fans in the stands now, and Alex is now doubling as a coach for Game 1. The Lions take control early, and they chalk up wins in the first three games, finding themselves in the semifinals. We see this during a montage. Okay, stop everything right now. The whole point of this was that they had not won a game in 19 games.
Sabrina Bryant
Right.
Will Friedle
They don't even address their first win. No, you just won for the first time in forever. We. And it's just thrown into a montage. We don't get, oh, my God, we just won a game. They won. They just won a game. Nothing.
Sabrina Bryant
I'm telling you. I literally was like, I mean, I get it. They're keeping it pushing because this isn't the big game. Right. But there's acknowledging it to be a moment like we did it. Like this is. I mean, you know, they went through it so fast, however, I couldn't believe it. We get to that 90 minute mark. If they had gone. If they had just added one scene.
Will Friedle
I know, I know. But they. That's the. I mean, you cut the. I hate to say this, you cut the girl scenes out because she's not necessary.
Sabrina Bryant
Yes.
Will Friedle
And you. I get why she's there, but they've done nothing with her story wise, so she really doesn't need to be there. You cut that out.
Sabrina Bryant
Or they cut her stuff to make it 90.
Will Friedle
Yes. And then you jump. But then you have something. We just won. They're looking at each other like we won a game. This is amazing. That was. The whole point is they were a winless team that just won and they blew past that like it was just part of a montage. I couldn't believe it.
Sabrina Bryant
I wonder if it's because they were still wanting to kind of hold back that excitement for the final.
Will Friedle
But then they do another game where Alex is at the free throw line and he's got to sink the last two. And that's not the last game either. So what are they holding back.
Sabrina Bryant
That's true.
Will Friedle
It's like, what the hell is happening? Yeah. Anyway, even when Alex is put on the line, like I just said, to shoot two free throws for the win, with basically every character in the gym, from Rabbi Lewis to Tyler to Mrs. Klein, he scores effortlessly. And now they're going to the finals to face their arch rivals, the warriors. Which again, I get why they did it, but come on. The next day, Alex's mom walks into her office to find Alex staring out the window. He lets her know they made the finals because of course, she hasn't been at a single game. Nice. And wonders why she doesn't trust him. He admits it'll be almost impossible to make the NBA, but he still wants her support valid. She explains that when he became a man at his bar mitzvah, it was also a step for her in letting go. And it's been difficult. She wants him to explain what basketball means to him. And so he says, when the ball's in his hand, everything around him just disappears. His entire life is right there in that moment. It seems like maybe Cynthia is finally possibly starting to understand. But I still hate her. And then, back at the borrowed condo, Coach Lamont is icing his knees, still pining over his family. When he calls home, he admits he's been doing some hard thinking. And he has an idea. And now it's a very rainy day for the finals. It's once again a packed house with Rabbi Lewis handing out school hats. And this is, I thought was an opportunity that could they missed to have school yarmulkes, but whatever. And then the Lions take the court while performing an absolutely unhinged synchronized dance to a dreidel rap song. They made the dreidel, dreidel, dreidel song into a rap song. It's up there with the can't rock amphitheater move. So if anyone out there enjoys making memes. Well, there you go. That one's on us, Sabrina. I mean, legally, we have to ask because of our contract with iHeart. You're our resident dance expert, by the way. I'm kidding. Iheart has nothing to do with this. What?
Sabrina Bryant
I didn't know where you were. Like, that's not in the script.
Will Friedle
It's not at all. How were their dancers moves?
Sabrina Bryant
It was. This was the most ridiculous. I was belly laughing like the entire. The song was so bad and it comes from normal, like out of nowhere. Up to this point, I was. It was mainly just what, like a, you know, background noise. Up to this point, any kind of music that they played. Right. Nothing stuck out. Wasn't any. It wasn't a part of the dcom, which a lot of times we do feel like it's almost a big part of the dcom is the style of style, choice and all of that. This was out of nowhere, the most ridiculous song, the most ridiculous scene. I had no idea what I was watching, why it was happening to us. Why did this have to happen? I don't know.
Will Friedle
It was weird.
Sabrina Bryant
Why? And these poor kids doing it. Like, oh, no one looked comfortable. I can't imagine it was comfortable on set. Like, it just was. Like, why? Why, why?
Will Friedle
Yeah.
Sabrina Bryant
Why? It's a basketball movie. Then no way did we need this.
Will Friedle
No.
Sabrina Bryant
Nor want it.
Will Friedle
No.
Sabrina Bryant
Like, take it back, take it back, take it back.
Will Friedle
It was so weird. And again, when I started listening to the song, I was like, oh, it's dreidel, dreidel, dreidel. I made you out of clay as a rap song.
Sabrina Bryant
Yes.
Will Friedle
And then their dance moves, it was like, ooh, these are not.
Sabrina Bryant
Oh, my gosh. Oh, my gosh.
Will Friedle
Yeah. It was not. You could have cut that and that would have given you plenty of time to then enjoy your win. There you go.
Sabrina Bryant
There you go.
Will Friedle
Yeah. Mr. Simowitz gives the Lions some pre game praise, reminding us of their original terrible coach. And now here it is, warriors versus Lions. We get a bit of a flashback to the battle in Israel we saw at the beginning of the movie. And we know this is going to be a good one. And over at Alex's mom's office, because she's still not at the championship game. She's with Julie, who's apparently still in the shadow program. They're rushing out of the office to make the game. Okay, there we go. So at least they're going. But there's one thing that Cynthia has to do first. And speaking of the game, the Lions are unfortunately down 12 early. Tyler and the warriors are as good as average. Alex spots Julie in the stand. She's holding a sign that reads, miracles can happen. And I shouldn't even be in this movie. And then that's not what the sign says. It just says, miracles can happen. And then, almost like miracles can happen, thunder and lightning storms up and ramps up outside. We're transported to what is supposed to be the First Union center of Philadelphia, but it's definitely not because we're filming in Canada. It's after a Sixers game and a visiting player is signing an autograph for a young fan. Cynthia pulls up in her car and asks if she's seen Lamont, the player suggests looking inside. But she has one question for the random 6 foot 9 pro. What would he say to a 14 year old, 5 foot tall kid who wants to play in the NBA? He answers, Sign him up. He's a big dreamer. She smiles and gets an autograph for Alex.
Sabrina Bryant
And we're still wondering where the security guards are.
Will Friedle
For the security, who this guy actually was, was he an actual basketball player?
Sabrina Bryant
Was he the guy on the card? That's what I was thinking.
Will Friedle
No.
Sabrina Bryant
Was he?
Will Friedle
No, that's Dr. J. Dr. J is on the card.
Sabrina Bryant
Julius is a real NBA player.
Will Friedle
I'm sorry, I'm pausing because I'm letting you.
Sabrina Bryant
I'm letting you.
Will Friedle
Did you freeze again? Are you asking me If Julius Irving, Dr. J is a real basketball player?
Sabrina Bryant
Yes. Yes.
Will Friedle
Yeah. Yes.
Sabrina Bryant
Dr. J there.
Will Friedle
Julia serving.
Sabrina Bryant
Hello?
Will Friedle
You still there? Yes. He's arguably. Well, not arguably. He's one of the best players that's ever played the game and one of the most. Dr. J.
Sabrina Bryant
He's not been in any of the documentaries that I've watched in basketball. They've never brought this guy up.
Will Friedle
So you know Magic Johnson is.
Sabrina Bryant
Yes, I know who Magic Johnson is.
Will Friedle
He played with Dr. J. It was the two of them. They were like Kobe and Shaq.
Sabrina Bryant
Oh, wow.
Will Friedle
Yeah, he was the. He was the man. He was. Lisa just wrote I don't watch basketball much and I even know who he is. Thank you, producer Lisa. Dr. J. He's Dr. J.
Sabrina Bryant
Okay, so this guy wasn't him, clearly.
Will Friedle
No, no. Again, that's the. The 70s and the 80s is when Dr. J played.
Sabrina Bryant
Okay, yeah.
Will Friedle
Okay. And now back to reality. We are back in the gym. The Lions are now down 18 and the storm is getting much worse. And that's when the electricity goes out in the gymnasium. That's how I'm gonna say it. Meanwhile, back at the fake First Union center, which is what we're calling it, she finally tracks down Lamont, who's tending to his van now with a smoking engine. He says the car won't start and he's got to rush to the airport. He just had the engine fixed, so this doesn't make any sense, but Cynthia thinks it does. She asks him to try the engine again. And this time it does start. We're in the midst of what appears to be a divine intervention for a mid level high school basketball tournament in Philadelphia. God certainly works in mysterious way ways. Back at school, the staff is trying to get the power back on. If they can't resume the game. The warriors will be crowned champions. But then an alternative is suggested. They could start the emergency generator and play until the fuel runs out, which, upon further investigation, would be very quick. The school decides that no matter how much time is on the official clock, when the generator does run out, whoever is winning gets the trophy, which is an absolutely stupid decision, considering the Lions are getting blown out. This makes no sense. It makes no sense.
Sabrina Bryant
Hate it.
Will Friedle
It makes no sense.
Sabrina Bryant
The worst idea ever.
Will Friedle
Yep, but yet both teams agree. And the power is temporarily back on with no idea how Much is left. Mr. Simowitz is left in charge of the generator outside. And the game resumes. Which leads me to believe or not believe, but think. Okay, we've got a generator that's running out of fuel. Go get more fuel. You're in the middle of Philadelphia. You're probably three minutes from a gas station. Go get more fuel.
Sabrina Bryant
Right. What is this, like, specific to you? I mean, I know Z. If I know nothing about a doctor Basketball, I know zero about generators.
Will Friedle
Well, it's either. It's either a regular gas or a diesel generator, in which case you go to a gas station, you fill it up, fill up some stuff, and then you go. Yeah, and it's also. It's, you know, I get what they're doing. Of course, it's supposed to mirror Hanukkah and the Maccabees. Of course, I understand that, but address the fact that everything's closed or there's no power, so none of the gas stations are working. Something. Because it's like, you stay here. I'm gonna run and go get more fuel. That's it. Yes, that's it.
Sabrina Bryant
Phone a friend.
Will Friedle
Yes, exactly. So it's not a good. It's. Yeah, right. I'd like to lifeline, please. Because it wasn't. It's not a good idea to let them play when they're down by 18. And it's not a good idea to just not go get more fuel. But I get what they're doing.
Sabrina Bryant
Right?
Will Friedle
Anyway, like I said, Mr. Simowitz is left in charge. And the generator outside. And the game resumes. The Lions go on a run, quickly cutting the lead to 10 while the lights glitch sporadically fighting through the outage outside. Mr. Simwich watches the fuel disappear. And then he realizes something. He rushes inside the gym and calls a timeout, which, apparently, that's something anyone can do. So the next time you're at an NBA game, try it. I'd like to see how that works. Simowitz, Huddles. The team together and says thanks to algebra, he's figured out exactly how much time the generator has left. They have 2 minutes and 45. Well, now 43 seconds left, and they spend an awful lot of time doing this. As the time is running out, the Lions hustle back on court, knowing their time is short. And just when the play resumes, Tyler thinks on his toes and calls a timeout for the Warriors. Their game plan is to stall and run the Generator to death. Which, let's be honest, is the mindset of a champion, right? Really is. The Lions think this isn't fair, and it's not fair. It's a game. That's how it works. There are five minutes left on the game clock, but less than a minute left to fuel. And now, totally defeated, Alex takes the bench. So much for the mirror. And then a beam of light appears at the gym door. It's Coach Lamont. He wonders if the whole story about the Maccabees was made up. How did the light in the temple stay miraculously lit for eight days? The boys don't want to hear fairy tales with less than 15 seconds of fuel left. But Alex, almost possessed by the spirit of Judah, walks onto the court as the warriors count down the last 10 seconds of light. And right on cue, the generator stops and the lights go out. Once again, the warriors celebrate their win. But then, just as quickly as it's turned off, despite having no fuel left, the generator starts again. The gym now shines with no explanation, just like the lights that inspired Hanukkah. And no one questions it. The game starts back up. Goliad's continue the game with Lamont coaching again, getting them within six points. Mr. Simowitz is still outside, totally confused by the fuelless generator. From the stands, Mrs. Klein yells Shake some booty. For little to no reason at all. And now Alex makes it a one point game. 54, 53. But the generator is struggling once again. With 10 seconds left in the game clock, Cynthia enters the gym just as Alex gets the ball. You have to wonder what's. What the hell took her so long? Anyway, Alex is perfectly defended and can't find a shot. So instead of just forcing it like he used to, he decides to trust his teammates and passes to Stick, who attempts his hook shot while the ball travels to the hoop. The generator dies again and the lights go out. The scoreboard erupts and sparks, leaving only the light to see the ball go in the hoop. The Lions win at the buzzer. And in the celebration, we notice Julie has changed her sign. It now reads, miracles do happen and I still don't belong in this movie. Movie the Lions hold up their trophy as Coach Lamont explains he was able to speed to the game because Cynthia took care of what he needed to do at the airport, it's revealed that Lamont's family is now in town, and this is all thanks to Cynthia that they're there. And that's obviously why she was late to the game, so it's nice that she cared more about another family than her own. As Lamont reunites It's true. As Lamont reunites with his family, Cynthia says she plans on convincing Rabbi Lewis to hire Lamont as a full time coach. He admits he has a new dream. He has bad knees and a boy who needs his dad around, so East Hebrew is looking pretty good to him. The movie ends with Alex and his family shooting hoops with Lamont's family outside of Alex's house. We get some quick narration about Hanukkah and that's our movie l' Chaim Everyone.
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Will Friedle
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Will Friedle
You can make a difference in someone's life, including your own with a job in home care. These jobs offer flexible schedules, health care, retirement options and free training. They also provide paid time off and opportunities for overtime. Visit oregonhomecarejobs.com to learn more and apply. That's oregonhomecarejobs.com and now our real reviews. I've got the five star this week, Sabrina, which I'm very happy about. It's from Perfect Dark Zero fan and it says Hallelujah. I'm Christian and I love this movie. Hey, there we go. Right on. All right, who do you got this week?
Sabrina Bryant
I've got the one star by our friend I feel like we haven't had in a while. Unamid.
Will Friedle
Unamid's back.
Sabrina Bryant
Unnamed. One star here. I don't get Jewish stuff. All right then. Thank you Nomid.
Will Friedle
Right on the money. Unamid, thank you very much for, you know, not only saying that but also not even writing your name down. What a weird review.
Sabrina Bryant
Anyway, all the taste of your own.
Will Friedle
Time it is and our time as well now. Thank you Unamid. So now we are to Sabrina's favorite part and I Already see where this is going. This is gonna be a tough week.
Sabrina Bryant
I'm bummed Jensen's not here to just.
Will Friedle
I know we don't have producer Jensen here. Who's written up our feature. Who is gonna be helping us this week?
Sabrina Bryant
It's me.
Will Friedle
Okay. Yay. So here we go. Our feature this week is called Happy Hebrew. To celebrate the inclusion of Judaism and Hanukkah in this week's decom, we have been given a Hebrew word. And for multiple choice options, we have have to pick what it means. 3 out of 5 wins. I am going to preface everything I say now by apologizing profusely for pronunciation. I'm sure I'm going to be getting all of these wrong, and I am so sorry. So here we go. Better.
Sabrina Bryant
Better you than me, because I would absolutely butcher these. There's no way I could.
Will Friedle
Here we go.
Sabrina Bryant
You're going to have a much better success than I could have.
Will Friedle
The first one producer Jensen wrote for us is not even part of the game. It's just to get us rolling. And it's bihach lacha. I'm sure all of that is wrong, but that apparently means good luck in Hebrew, and I again cannot apologize enough for my pronunciation. So here we go. Number one. Aha. Va ahava. I don't know if I'm saying that right. Is it A, persistence, B, love, or C, you're welcome.
Sabrina Bryant
So I'm gonna go with C, Oh, I'm sorry.
Will Friedle
Or D, slam dunk. Which, again, we know it's not that Ahava. You're gonna say C, you're welcome. I'm gonna go. I'm gonna agree with you. I'm gonna say C, you're welcome.
Sabrina Bryant
The answer is B, love.
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Will Friedle
Okay. Number two. This is gonna be a rough week. Number two. Mayim ma yim. Is it a dream? B, fire. C, water. Or D, double dribble?
Sabrina Bryant
A dream.
Will Friedle
I'm gonna say it's sea water.
Sabrina Bryant
It is sea water. Damn.
Will Friedle
Got one. Okay. Number three. Bayit. Bayit. Is that a home? C, car. C, shoe. Or D, alleyoop.
Sabrina Bryant
Do you think that any of these would be basketball?
Will Friedle
I don't think so.
Sabrina Bryant
Do they have Jewish, like they must.
Will Friedle
I mean, I imagine there's got to be Yiddish words for Hebrew or Yiddish words for basketball, I would imagine.
Sabrina Bryant
Yeah.
Will Friedle
I'm gonna say it's. I'll go first this time. I'm gonna say it's a home.
Sabrina Bryant
I'm gonna go with a home, too. It is a home. Yes. At least got one. I need.
Will Friedle
I Need two. One of two more to win. Number four, Yom. Y O H, M. Yom. Again, I can just only apologize for how I'm sure I'm mispronouncing all of these. Is it A day, B night, C, brunch, or D, free throw? Yum. Oh, wait. Oh, wait.
Sabrina Bryant
Yeah, I.
Will Friedle
So I think that's sort of like Yom Kippur. Is that the same kind of thing? Would that mean night? I'm gonna say B night.
Sabrina Bryant
I don't think that brunches is it.
Will Friedle
It's totally.
Sabrina Bryant
I'm gonna go with B night, but.
Will Friedle
I'm gonna say B night.
Sabrina Bryant
It's A day.
Will Friedle
Day. Okay. Is that the same as Yom Kippur? I wonder if that's how you started it. And then number five is Ave Ra. Ave. Ave Ra. Which is kind. Is that A, clean, be kind, C, unhappy, or D, personal foul? You're saying be kind.
Sabrina Bryant
Kind on five.
Will Friedle
I'm gonna say. I'm gonna agree. I'm gonna say be kind.
Sabrina Bryant
So you asked if there were any basketball terms in here. I have. Personal foul.
Will Friedle
Oh, man. Way to go, Producer Jensen. The. What's the. The Hebrew word for lost? Because that's what we just did. Can we do some Sabrina sees? Sabrina se.
Sabrina Bryant
Oh, my gosh. Okay. Yes. One thing we didn't talk about at all, and I. I think it's worth just speaking on, this kid was tiny compared to everyone.
Will Friedle
Yep.
Sabrina Bryant
What? I guess this is sort of more of just like, you know, obviously, it's not hard to not see that, but what do you think the significance and the reason why? Do you really think it was just because that's the actor that they wanted? Do you feel like it was to help make Lamont look taller?
Will Friedle
I think it's probably a combination. It's supposed to be the actor, and it's supposed to be the ultimate underdog story. So obviously, the smaller he is because.
Sabrina Bryant
All of his friends. And then that. That brings me to the next. Do you honestly feel like these kids look like they were in high school?
Will Friedle
See, it's funny.
Sabrina Bryant
I thought freshman.
Will Friedle
Yeah, I think could be freshmen.
Sabrina Bryant
Yeah, he didn't look like a freshman, though. But at the same time, a seventh.
Will Friedle
Eighth grader, nobody in the school looked particularly older. You know what I mean? Like, it all worked. Like every. All the. The atmosphere, and everybody all kind of looked the same age range. But had they made this middle school, it seemed like it would have been. It would have made more sense. But, yeah, because they did. They all looked younger. I agree.
Sabrina Bryant
Because and you don't really get into it, because I felt like it was a junior high knowing that, like, not a lot of the decoms of this time were. Were set in a high school. They were mainly, you know, junior high.
Will Friedle
Right.
Sabrina Bryant
And then all of a sudden, they're starting talking about pre SATs. And I went, wait, what? And then it was like, oh, they're in high school. So that kind of just was a little like. Like, I really honestly don't know. Another thing that talking about bringing up our. Our mom again is when she cooks, like, the fastest cooking of a. Of an Eggo, it goes in there for five seconds and then goes on. First of all, you're supposed to toast Eggos.
Will Friedle
Well, that's the point is she can't cook at all. So she puts it in the microwave for, like, 10 seconds, and that's why he drops it like dink.
Sabrina Bryant
Okay.
Will Friedle
Yeah. It was supposed to be that she literally can't even cook an Eggo waffle.
Sabrina Bryant
But it was, like, so fast and just like, holy cow. Yeah. So. All right, so they made that one and then two more things. His bed that he had in this movie was hilarious. It was like. It looked like a cobble. I mean, it was.
Will Friedle
I can't picture it.
Sabrina Bryant
The cobblestone bed post that was, like, round, arched. It was like this castle looking.
Will Friedle
Like.
Sabrina Bryant
Trying to go for, like, a temple. Like, if we're going back into, like, what the. Like, you know, the flashbacks kind of were like. Of something like that, but it was, like, the most absurd.
Will Friedle
I didn't even notice. That's awesome.
Sabrina Bryant
The last thing. Well, there's two more. Sorry, again, the last thing is, did you notice? And I don't know if I was just. I rewatched it a couple times trying to figure out what was going on. When Lamont is having, like, he's. I seen his knee. He's. He's been playing or whatever. And then the phone. He's on the phone at one point, and the words are, hey, sweetie, how are you doing? But it's a man's voice, but it's supposed to be his wife. But it was like, literally, it sounded like. It was like. It was like the. So I wasn't sure if it was, like, him saying that, but the voiceover didn't connect.
Will Friedle
Oh, no, I didn't notice that either.
Sabrina Bryant
But it was definitely a man's voice. But then he's answering to it. So, like, I don't know. It was very confusing. I rewatched it a couple times to figure out what was going on, because it just popped out, like, so crazy. And then my last thing is. When you go on Disney, do you ever watch the trailer before?
Will Friedle
Occasionally. I did not watch this one, but occasionally I will do it.
Sabrina Bryant
The trailer for this movie gives you really not a lot of insight on what's gonna happen. It says, I forget what the little quick one sentence of. Of, you know, like, ex basketball star, right? Coaches, a Jewish, you know, rundown team type thing. That's what it was. And then the. The actual trailer is the scene of them helping him study.
Will Friedle
Oh, that's weird.
Sabrina Bryant
Okay, like, so I watched that first, which I normally don't. I don't always. I don't always, like, see the trailer. I don't know if it's always an option.
Will Friedle
I'll occasionally do it, but not.
Sabrina Bryant
You know what I mean? But I clicked on it and I was like, oh, God, this is. I'm not even, like, in it at all.
Will Friedle
Whatever.
Sabrina Bryant
But it's just so funny because the trailer really doesn't say or show you anything. And the couple of trailers, even when I watched the Cheetah Girls trailer, it was like, that is the weirdest trailer. Because it's not. And it's not even what was on the channel at the time to promote the movie either.
Will Friedle
Well, you know. You know, I don't know how Disney does it, but in a lot of different film companies, the actual director or people involved with the film don't cut the trailer, right? So occasionally they will if they're allowed to, but a lot of times they'll bring in a company or they'll do something else, and it's like, that's the trailer you cut together. So, yeah, you never know who's doing it.
Sabrina Bryant
But it's like, I feel like more often on the Disney. So I don't know if they're just. They're going back and doing it like Disney's. So it's just kind of like after the fact or whatever. But the trailers don't always make sense. So I'm going to be making sure there's a trailer. I'm watching it before the movie.
Will Friedle
I love that.
Sabrina Bryant
So that we can also sort of rate the trailers, because this one made zero sense.
Will Friedle
This is a bad rate.
Sabrina Bryant
So it got a big old zero. Big O zero.
Will Friedle
Oh, man. Well, speaking of rating, it's our time to now rate our film. And I'm gonna go with what that fan that I met at the convention says I think we should do this week. One will be the least and 10 will be the most.
Sabrina Bryant
And I think it's only because they suggest.
Will Friedle
Well, yeah, they suggested it and makes sense. And we're gonna do that. It's our fan. Fan shout out of the week. I also think it's. You are rating first this time. I think I rated first last time.
Sabrina Bryant
Yes.
Will Friedle
And so now it's up to you. And let's figure out how we want to rate this. Do you want to do one out of ten actors with initials, one out of ten pagers, sugar and video games? One out of ten sketchy vans. Oh, horseradish fish butts of the team. One out of ten borrowed condos or one out of ten miracle generators. I'm also going to add one out of ten. Why don't you just go get some gases? How about you, Sabrina? Which one do you want to pick this week?
Sabrina Bryant
I think because it was such a triggering point for me, I got to go with sketchy vans.
Will Friedle
Good. I was hoping you would pick it. We are doing 1 out of 10 sketchy vans again for our fan. One's gonna be the least and 10's gonna be the most. What do you got for us this week, Sabrina?
Sabrina Bryant
This week? You know, again, after watching that trailer, I was like, ugh, this is gonna be a snooze fest. I actually. And again, I said it before the. The, like, religious aspect hits you right at the front now, not knowing a lot about it, I was like, oh, I'm gonna learn quite a bit. And I did. You got the. The dinner area. Talked about the foods. Yes. The. You know, the. The yarmulkes. There's certain things that we got. We got a little bit of that, like, inspirational story with the Maccabees, and it was a good amount. It was balanced to me, along with a basketball. Right. And I love kids in sports movies. They're just fun to me. I think they're great big dreams. I love it. And I actually. This movie, it wasn't one of my favorites, but it definitely wasn't at all even close to being a bad movie. Right. I actually ended up at the end going, hey, I actually really liked that movie. I did not have high hopes for it, and it actually was a good movie. I thought it was great. I thought the Lamont character was an awesome character.
Will Friedle
Me too.
Sabrina Bryant
This didn't reinvent the wheel. Ex superstar comes back and helps. It's not a reinvention of a storyline, but I liked it. I thought that the twist of having the Hebrew culture was very cool and for me, a great way to kind of Feel like I'm now interested and I'm actually probably gonna look into it and learn more. So I gave it this week a seven. Sketchy Vans.
Will Friedle
Okay, you know, I'm kind of right there with you. There was parts of this movie I did not like. It might have been 90 minutes on the dot, but it played longer. To me. It seemed like it was a little longer than 90 minutes. There were some serious sound issues with this movie. There was a lot of adr. A lot of things that, you know, again, sound wise weren't great. The. The only female character that was even semi likable didn't even have to be in the movie. So the. The whole point of her being there made no sense.
Sabrina Bryant
Poor girl. That's.
Will Friedle
Poor girl.
Sabrina Bryant
Yes. And again, just know too, if we had a chance to, like, interview her, she probably would say, I had, like a whole storyline that got cut.
Will Friedle
Or she'd be like, I was in that movie. I don't even remember shooting this. I was there for a day and a half. I don't remember. So, yeah, this. This movie, to me, I love Disney taking a swing. I love. I'm always a big fan of cultures that I don't know a whole lot about. Of course, then set wrapped up in that Disney kind of esque way. Agreed. I love the Lamont character, the acting. I thought all the acting was good. I did. So I'm kind of right there with you. I'm gonna give it a soft. I would give it a hard 6.5, but I'm gonna give it a soft 7 as well. Sketchy Vans. Because again, for, you know, some of it didn't make sense, but a lot of these movies, some of it doesn't make sense. So. But it's not, like I said, it's not a bad movie. We've seen way worse movies than this movie. Way worse movies than this movie. So there you go. We are both gonna be at seven. Sketchy Vans. Sketchy Vans. Thank you so much for joining us this week on Magical Rewind. Our next movie will be a sci fi comedy from 2000, all about clones. It's called the Other man, and it stars our current Magical Rewind frontrunner for best actor, the great and wonderful and honored to call him a friend, Andy Lawrence. It is available now. Okay, fun thing. I was about to say it's available to stream on Disney, so get your homework done early, folks. But we literally found out as we were recording this specific podcast episode, this is wild.
Sabrina Bryant
That it happened while we were recording.
Will Friedle
Too, that it was pulled off of Disney today or yesterday on September 1st. I'm throwing out the date there. It was literally pulled off of Disney. But we've got so much planned for this. I'm not going to let you in on too much, but we got a lot planned for it, so we're sticking with it. So it is now on YouTube or Prime, but unfortunately for I think the first time in the history of our podcast, you got to pay for it. So if it's 199 or whatever, send all of your bills to Sabrina Bryan. She will be happy to take care of them. I am going to be. I'm going to be making sure that she pays for my movie too. Andy Lawrence is worth a couple bucks, but man, if it's $17, I'm just going to fake my way through it. I'm kidding. Oh, wait, I'm sorry. Will be a sci fi comedy from 2000. All about clones. The Other Me. Me. It's not the Other Man. The Other Me. Yeah. So again, get your homework done early, folks, but it's going to cost you a little bit of money this time, and I apologize. We've never done that before. We will never happen again. And it literally happened as we were recording this specific episode. We found out it has been pulled. So, hey, if you don't want to spend money on that, though, you can spend most of your time then on our other feed checking out the Magical Rewind interviews. And trust me, there's a ton of them featuring some incredible dcom legends. You can look them up and subscribe to it. It's Magical Rewind wherever you get your pods or your podcasts. And don't forget, we've also got the wonderful Bart Johnson getting everybody's head in the game. Deep diving. The wonderful, amazing High School Musical because it's a beach party. No, wait, that's.
Sabrina Bryant
No, Damn, it's the wrong one. This is get your head in the game. You gotta get your get you get.
Will Friedle
Your head in the game, you gotta strut. I know, I remember. I know them all.
Sabrina Bryant
Corbin's like, moment to shine. I love this one in him.
Will Friedle
Okay, so. Yes, exactly. Go check out Bart Johnson's new show, get yout Head in the Game, as he rips apart deep dives. Tell you everything you never thought you wanted to know but absolutely needed to know about High School Musical. It is pretty great. And you can get that wherever you get your podcast. And for more info, of course, you can follow us @MagicalRewindepod on the Instagram machine. It's a little button on your phone. I found that out there that like last week. It's really cool. Thanks everybody. We'll see you next time.
Sabrina Bryant
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Sabrina Bryant
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Sabrina Bryant
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Will Friedle
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Sabrina Bryant
This is an iHeart podcast.
iHeartPodcasts | Original Air Date: September 9, 2025
In this lively episode of Magical Rewind (aired as part of the broader "Pod Meets World" rewatch), hosts Will Friedle and Sabrina Bryan revisit the 2003 Disney Channel Original Movie (DCOM) Full-Court Miracle. The film is a rare Hanukkah sports story inspired by the true-life journey of University of Virginia basketball player Lamont Carr, who coaches an underdog team at a Jewish day school. Will and Sabrina dissect the film's unique blend of Jewish cultural themes, sports underdog tropes, and early-2000s Disney quirks, offering critical insights, behind-the-scenes trivia, and their trademark humor.
“It's a Jewish sports movie. Not the largest of subsets of films in this genre." (04:27)
"This movie comes in at…I just…I feel I need someone to hold me…an amazing 90 minutes." (12:58, Will)
“For Disney to just lean into any religion...they really, really lean into it. I was like oh, wow.” (19:46, Will)
“It became a little bit more of just like an inspirational situation…while learning about another culture.” (23:13, Sabrina)
“Where’d you meet your coach? In a van by the playground. Never an answer you want for anything.” (28:32, Will)
“She is possible first woman entry [into] DCOM hall of fame as bad parents.” (38:44, Will)
“You just wanted to give him a high five…thank you for supporting and looking out for these kids.” (53:40, Sabrina)
“We’re in the midst of what appears to be a divine intervention for a mid-level high school basketball tournament in Philadelphia. God certainly works in mysterious ways.” (73:31, Will)
“I hate vans that look like that. I do. I go out of my way.” — Sabrina (28:38)
“You have a color racism, too. Against vans. It’s white vans that you have a problem [with].” — Will (29:46)
“This was the most ridiculous…I was belly laughing like the entire…Why did this have to happen? I don’t know.” — Sabrina, (70:13)
“Hallelujah. I’m Christian and I love this movie. Hey, there we go.” (81:57, Will)
| Timestamp | Topic/Segment | |-----------|---------------| | 03:28 | Episode intro, film context | | 04:25 | Will & Sabrina exchange about Hanukkah/sports movies | | 06:07 | Critics' reviews & movie reception | | 09:21 | Cast & Crew highlights | | 12:58 | Hosts geek out about the 90-minute runtime | | 17:13 | Movie plot kick-off - classic 2000s urban intro | | 19:46 | Disney’s approach to religion/culture in the movie | | 28:32 | Sketchy van jokes; stranger-danger humor | | 32:14 | Discussion: "bad mom" DCOM trope | | 42:11 | Alex gets in trouble for fundraising | | 53:00 | Rabbi Lewis and Mrs. Klein "catch" Lamont | | 70:03 | The “Dreidel” rap/dance scene | | 75:49 | Power outage, the generator “miracle,” championship win | | 83:20 | “Happy Hebrew” trivia game | | 92:56 | Episode wrap-up, final ratings |
Sabrina:
“This movie, it wasn’t one of my favorites, but it wasn’t even close to being a bad movie. I actually ended up at the end going, hey, I actually really liked that movie... I thought the Lamont character was an awesome character. ...A good amount of cultural content, inspirational story, fun sports movie. I gave it a 7 out of 10 sketchy vans.” (94:58)
Will:
“...It might have been 90 minutes on the dot, but it played longer. To me.... I love Disney taking a swing...I love the Lamont character, the acting....I’m gonna give it a soft 7 as well. Sketchy vans.” (95:25)
The hosts humorously struggle—and apologize—to pronounce and guess basic Hebrew words, like "ahava" (love) and “bayit” (home), comedically riffing on the DCOM’s Jewish themes.
Will and Sabrina continue their tradition of rating the “worst parent” trope across DCOMs, inducting Alex’s mom as a rare “bad mom” into their tongue-in-cheek Hall of Fame.
They reveal the next episode’s planned film: The Other Me (2000)—though, due to unanticipated streaming removals, they note listeners may have to rent it.
Will and Sabrina blend nostalgia, snark, cultural curiosity, and sincere appreciation. Running gags (the DCOM “bad parent” hall of fame; van jokes; ADR mishaps) pepper their recap with humor while they highlight Disney's early 2000s DCOM experimentalism and discuss evolving attitudes toward diverse cultural representation.
Whether you’ve never watched Full-Court Miracle or grew up with DCOMs, this episode provides an insightful, lighthearted deep dive. Highlights include thoughtful cultural discussion, memorable DCOM quirks, and the hosts' infectious energy. Listeners learn the plot, its real-life inspirations, the film’s place in DCOM history, and the hosts’ candid, often hilarious reactions.
Final Ratings:
✨ 7/10 Sketchy Vans (both hosts)