(1978)
2
Craig Butler
It's unlikely that anyone who knows the premise of Coach -- high school mistakenly hires an attractive young woman to serve as coach of its basketball team -- would ever think it might be intended as a good movie, and that's fortunate. The surprise is that, while it's far from good, Coach is much better than one might expect. Sure, it's got a script that ranges from silly to inane, with a detour here at insulting and there at patronizing, with stops at morally questionable and just plain predictable. But somehow it's got a bit more spirit in it, as if the creators knew they were creating a disposable little movie that was intended to do little more than cause a little excitement in teen-age boys and weren't ashamed to be doing it. It also helps that the cast is better than one expects in this kind of film. Lead Cathy Lee Crosby may not be Meryl Streep, but she's competent and, more importantly, has genuine rapport with the team her character is coaching and chemistry with her eventual love interest. Keenan Wynn is always dependable as an amusing heavy, and Michael Biehn is better-than-expected as the star player who gets interested in the Coach off court. None of this makes Coachactually good, but it's much more watchable than many other films of its ilk.
Coach on AllMovie
Coach (1978)
