Oklahoma basketball film opens today

By Bill Donovan
Staff Writer

GALLUP — Can a movie about a high school girl's basketball team that beats the odds find an audience in Gallup?

That's something that will be decided this weekend when a small, independent film based on the true story of an Oklahoma girl's basketball team in the 1960s opens today at the Aztec Five.

"Believe in Me," is the story of Clay Driscoll who went a small high school in Oklahoma to coach the boys' basketball team before federal laws required that public schools provide equal athletic opportunities for male and female students.

When he gets to the school, he discovers that the coaching job has gone to someone more qualified, but as a consolation, he is given the job to coach the girls' basketball team, mostly because no one else wants the job. He turns the job down at first, but he finally agrees to stay on and coach the hapless Lady Cyclones.

As expected, it's not an easy task, as the girls are ridiculed by everyone, including the boys team, and have to wear hand-me-down uniforms. But ultimately, as these stories go, it's a story of triumph over adversity.

It stars Bruce Dern, a popular movie actor of the 80s, and Samantha Mathis, who many in this area will remember from her role in "Broken Arrow" a decade or so ago.

Sean Dugan, the movie's associate producer, said that while the movie was based on what happened in Oklahoma, it was filmed in Clovis and includes a number of New Mexico girl basketball players as extras. While there are no girls from Gallup in the film, Dugan said that Gallup residents who attend local games may recognize some of the girls featured in the film from the Four Corners area.

The movie, which was shot two years ago, cost more than a million dollars to make and was financed by private investors. It's played at a number of film festivals and is now being played in selected cities to see if there is enough of an interest to open it nationwide.

According to the movie site at Yahoo, it has grossed about $208,000 so far and has proved to be popular with audiences, who have given it an overall rating of B. It is rated PG for some mild thematic elements and language.

One person who reviewed it on the Yahoo site and gave it an A+ had this to say:

"My wife, daughter and I went to see this movie last night and it reminded me again of what movies used to be: magical," he wrote. "The story is entertaining, certainly, but the acting is superb, especially in the leading roles."

"This movie purports no political or social bias," he write. "It is simply a movie of triumph of good over evil. Take the whole family, because you can; there is no sex, violence or foul language. This is a must see for fathers and daughters."

At the film festival in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, the film last year was selected Best Picture. It also won an award for Best Score at that film festival.

"We've played at 20 cities across the United States so far, trying to get the word out about the movie," said Dugan.