The Sixth Man
Encyclopedia
The 6th Man is a supernatural
sports comedy
starring Marlon Wayans
and Kadeem Hardison
. The film was directed by Randall Miller
. The film features real NCAA schools, although the rosters are fictitious. Some schools shown in the film include the University of Washington
, University of Massachusetts Amherst
, Fresno State University, Georgetown University
, the University of Kentucky
, the University of Arkansas
, and others. The film features cameos from college basketball
personalities such as Jerry Tarkanian
and Dick Vitale
.
and Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. It had an estimated budget of $11,000,000.
, since it did make a profit, the $14 million made during its run, does fall under the category of a bomb in most cases.
. Their father is coaching the team and directs Kenny to get the last shot for the win since the team is down by one point. Kenny sets up for the game winning shot, but scared to take it, he passes it off to his brother, who goes in for a layup and misses it. The film then goes to the boys talking about the game and practicing with their father at home.
The film then fast forwards to present-day and both Antoine and Kenny are attending the University of Washington
and make up a duo on the basketball team. The duo is known as "A&K" and the slogan for them is "A&K All the Way", given by their mother who is shown in the little league in the opening scene holding the sign, and the Tyler brothers look at the sign embarrassed by it. The team goes out to a night club to celebrate their most recent win. During this outing, Kenny meets his future love interest, R.C. St. John (played by Michael Michele
) , a reporter for UW. The two meet when Kenny spills beer in RC's purse. It then fast forwards to Washington playing a road game. The games shows them as being a dominate 1-2 punch. Later in the game, on a fast-break, Antoine dunks the ball, but suffers an unexpected heart attack while hanging on the rim, causing him to fall to the floor. He is carried off the court on a stretcher and rushed to the hospital. The assistant coach, Coach Nicholls, rides in the ambulance with Antoine. While in the ambulance, he flatlines, EMT's attempt to resuscitate him but are unsuccessful and he is pronounced dead. The team finishes the game without Antoine and Kenny rushes to be with him, but he is met by Coach Pederson, the head coach. Pederson precedes to tell him "We lost him", point guard Danny O'Grady replies "What coach for the season?" Kenny says "I told that boy to stop dunking like he's Jordan. What'd he do, separate his shoulder." To which the coach replies while choking up "Antoine died on the way to the university hos-hospital." Kenny, crushed by the news cries into his coaches shoulder. The film then shows the team's reaction to the news in the locker room. It cuts to the team retiring Antoine's number. The rest of the season, they wore a black patch with Antoine's number on it.
The team begins falling apart after Antoine's death. Antoine's spirit returns after Kenny asking for his help. Kenny first freaks out and begins running around the locker room scared. After finally realizing its Antoine, the two share an embrace. Kenny gets excited but Antoine tells him that he is the only that can see him. The team, who begins to think he's crazy, confronts him. After telling his teammates, why he has been acting wierd, the team is reluctant to believe Kenny. Antoine helps Danny O'Grady dunk from the 3 point line. After sinking the dunk, the team still refuses to believe it. Antoine, obviously angry they still don't believe him, begins doing super natural work suck as possessing the big screen in the arena. They finally believe him. So Antoine begins to help out the team out in games by possessing various objects such as a basketball in one scene, and one other scene where he sits on the rim knocking out the ball each time the opposing team attempts to shoot a basket.
The team seems begins to rally around their 6th man, and begins to storm through the competition with the help of Antoine and eventually make it to the NCAA tournament
, for the first time in "years" as characters in the film say (in reality at the time the movie had been filmed it had been 10 years). The team rallies through the NCAA Tournament and makes it to the national championship. The week before the championship game, they realize using Antoine to win isn't right, While they confront Kenny on the matter, as one member states "He's ballhog man. He was when he was alive and no disrespect he's even worse as a dead man." After hearing this Antoine becomes angry and in a fit of supernatural power almost wrecks the room. After calming down, Antoine relents to Kenny that he never wanted to die, that he had things he wanted to do and he had plans, Kenny sadly tells Antoine he understands, However when Antoine asks if Kenny really wants him to go he will, Kenny tells the team he wants Antoine to stay however it's obvious this is because he doesn't want to lose his brother again. . During the championship game, Antoine is shown disappointed, having trouble with the fact the team doesn't want his help anymore. The team plays poorly in the first half of the championship game. At halftime, Kenny gives a speech to fire the team up. The team comes out on fire and pulls within 2. Kenny gets the ball as the final seconds begin to tick off, Kenny throws a potential game winning 3 pointer, after releasing the shot, Antoine appears to assure the shot goes in, but Kenny shouts at him "ANT NO!!! Let it go." The shot goes in on its own. The movie ends with Antoine and Kenny speaking to each other and Antoine disappearing into a beam a light, which is perceived to be heaven. Coach Pederson, who saw the light, asks Kenny "That's our 6th man , isn't it?" To which, Kenny replies, "Yeah, coach. A and K, all the way baby."
said of the movie "The Sixth Man is another paint-by-the-numbers sports movie, this one about a college basketball team that makes it to the NCAA finals with the help of the ghost of one of its dead stars. Let's not talk about how predictable it is. Let's talk about how dumb it is....... Movies like The Sixth Man are an example of Level One thinking, in which the filmmakers get the easy, obvious idea and are content with it."
. It peaked at #33 on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums
.
Supernatural
The supernatural or is that which is not subject to the laws of nature, or more figuratively, that which is said to exist above and beyond nature...
sports comedy
Comedy
Comedy , as a popular meaning, is any humorous discourse or work generally intended to amuse by creating laughter, especially in television, film, and stand-up comedy. This must be carefully distinguished from its academic definition, namely the comic theatre, whose Western origins are found in...
starring Marlon Wayans
Marlon Wayans
Marlon L. Wayans is an American actor, model producer, comedian, writer, and director of movies, beginning with his role as a pedestrian in I'm Gonna Git You Sucka in 1988...
and Kadeem Hardison
Kadeem Hardison
Kadeem Hardison is an American actor. He is best known for his role as Dwayne Wayne on A Different World, a spin-off of the long-running NBC sitcom The Cosby Show.-Childhood:...
. The film was directed by Randall Miller
Randall Miller
Randall Miller is an American film director. He has directed numerous films from 1992 to 2008. His 2008 film Bottle Shock was self-distributed...
. The film features real NCAA schools, although the rosters are fictitious. Some schools shown in the film include the University of Washington
University of Washington
University of Washington is a public research university, founded in 1861 in Seattle, Washington, United States. The UW is the largest university in the Northwest and the oldest public university on the West Coast. The university has three campuses, with its largest campus in the University...
, University of Massachusetts Amherst
University of Massachusetts Amherst
The University of Massachusetts Amherst is a public research and land-grant university in Amherst, Massachusetts, United States and the flagship of the University of Massachusetts system...
, Fresno State University, Georgetown University
Georgetown University
Georgetown University is a private, Jesuit, research university whose main campus is in the Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, D.C. Founded in 1789, it is the oldest Catholic university in the United States...
, the University of Kentucky
University of Kentucky
The University of Kentucky, also known as UK, is a public co-educational university and is one of the state's two land-grant universities, located in Lexington, Kentucky...
, the University of Arkansas
University of Arkansas
The University of Arkansas is a public, co-educational, land-grant, space-grant, research university. It is classified by the Carnegie Foundation as a research university with very high research activity. It is the flagship campus of the University of Arkansas System and is located in...
, and others. The film features cameos from college basketball
College basketball
College basketball most often refers to the USA basketball competitive governance structure established by the National Collegiate Athletic Association . Basketball in the NCAA is divided into three divisions: Division I, Division II and Division III....
personalities such as Jerry Tarkanian
Jerry Tarkanian
Jerry Tarkanian , also known as "Tark the Shark", is a retired college basketball coach known as one of the winningest coaches in college basketball history...
and Dick Vitale
Dick Vitale
Richard J. "Dick" Vitale , also known as "Dickie V", is an American basketball sportscaster. A former head coach in the college and professional ranks, he is well-known as a college basketball broadcaster and for the enthusiastic and colorful remarks he makes during games. He is known for his...
.
Production
The 6th Man was shot on location in Seattle, WashingtonSeattle, Washington
Seattle is the county seat of King County, Washington. With 608,660 residents as of the 2010 Census, Seattle is the largest city in the Northwestern United States. The Seattle metropolitan area of about 3.4 million inhabitants is the 15th largest metropolitan area in the country...
and Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. It had an estimated budget of $11,000,000.
Release
The film was released on March 28, 1997 and made $4,128,178 in its opening weekend at the Box Office, and went on to gross only $14,708,874 throughout its run, though not technically a Box Office BombBox Office Bomb
Box Office Bomb is the second album released by alternative rock band, Dramarama.-Track listing:# "Steve & Edie" - 5:05# "New Dream" - 3:30# "Whenever I'm With Her" - 3:09# "Spare Change" - 3:15# "400 Blows" - 3:52# "Pumping " - 3:16...
, since it did make a profit, the $14 million made during its run, does fall under the category of a bomb in most cases.
Plot
The film begins showing Antoine (Hardison) and Kenny (Wayans) Tyler as children playing in a game of basketballBasketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...
. Their father is coaching the team and directs Kenny to get the last shot for the win since the team is down by one point. Kenny sets up for the game winning shot, but scared to take it, he passes it off to his brother, who goes in for a layup and misses it. The film then goes to the boys talking about the game and practicing with their father at home.
The film then fast forwards to present-day and both Antoine and Kenny are attending the University of Washington
University of Washington
University of Washington is a public research university, founded in 1861 in Seattle, Washington, United States. The UW is the largest university in the Northwest and the oldest public university on the West Coast. The university has three campuses, with its largest campus in the University...
and make up a duo on the basketball team. The duo is known as "A&K" and the slogan for them is "A&K All the Way", given by their mother who is shown in the little league in the opening scene holding the sign, and the Tyler brothers look at the sign embarrassed by it. The team goes out to a night club to celebrate their most recent win. During this outing, Kenny meets his future love interest, R.C. St. John (played by Michael Michele
Michael Michele
Michael Michele is an American film and television actress. She played Dr. Cleo Finch on the medical drama ER and Det. Rene Sheppard on the police procedural Homicide: Life on the Street...
) , a reporter for UW. The two meet when Kenny spills beer in RC's purse. It then fast forwards to Washington playing a road game. The games shows them as being a dominate 1-2 punch. Later in the game, on a fast-break, Antoine dunks the ball, but suffers an unexpected heart attack while hanging on the rim, causing him to fall to the floor. He is carried off the court on a stretcher and rushed to the hospital. The assistant coach, Coach Nicholls, rides in the ambulance with Antoine. While in the ambulance, he flatlines, EMT's attempt to resuscitate him but are unsuccessful and he is pronounced dead. The team finishes the game without Antoine and Kenny rushes to be with him, but he is met by Coach Pederson, the head coach. Pederson precedes to tell him "We lost him", point guard Danny O'Grady replies "What coach for the season?" Kenny says "I told that boy to stop dunking like he's Jordan. What'd he do, separate his shoulder." To which the coach replies while choking up "Antoine died on the way to the university hos-hospital." Kenny, crushed by the news cries into his coaches shoulder. The film then shows the team's reaction to the news in the locker room. It cuts to the team retiring Antoine's number. The rest of the season, they wore a black patch with Antoine's number on it.
The team begins falling apart after Antoine's death. Antoine's spirit returns after Kenny asking for his help. Kenny first freaks out and begins running around the locker room scared. After finally realizing its Antoine, the two share an embrace. Kenny gets excited but Antoine tells him that he is the only that can see him. The team, who begins to think he's crazy, confronts him. After telling his teammates, why he has been acting wierd, the team is reluctant to believe Kenny. Antoine helps Danny O'Grady dunk from the 3 point line. After sinking the dunk, the team still refuses to believe it. Antoine, obviously angry they still don't believe him, begins doing super natural work suck as possessing the big screen in the arena. They finally believe him. So Antoine begins to help out the team out in games by possessing various objects such as a basketball in one scene, and one other scene where he sits on the rim knocking out the ball each time the opposing team attempts to shoot a basket.
The team seems begins to rally around their 6th man, and begins to storm through the competition with the help of Antoine and eventually make it to the NCAA tournament
NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship
The NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship is a single-elimination tournament held each spring in the United States, featuring 68 college basketball teams, to determine the national championship in the top tier of college basketball...
, for the first time in "years" as characters in the film say (in reality at the time the movie had been filmed it had been 10 years). The team rallies through the NCAA Tournament and makes it to the national championship. The week before the championship game, they realize using Antoine to win isn't right, While they confront Kenny on the matter, as one member states "He's ballhog man. He was when he was alive and no disrespect he's even worse as a dead man." After hearing this Antoine becomes angry and in a fit of supernatural power almost wrecks the room. After calming down, Antoine relents to Kenny that he never wanted to die, that he had things he wanted to do and he had plans, Kenny sadly tells Antoine he understands, However when Antoine asks if Kenny really wants him to go he will, Kenny tells the team he wants Antoine to stay however it's obvious this is because he doesn't want to lose his brother again. . During the championship game, Antoine is shown disappointed, having trouble with the fact the team doesn't want his help anymore. The team plays poorly in the first half of the championship game. At halftime, Kenny gives a speech to fire the team up. The team comes out on fire and pulls within 2. Kenny gets the ball as the final seconds begin to tick off, Kenny throws a potential game winning 3 pointer, after releasing the shot, Antoine appears to assure the shot goes in, but Kenny shouts at him "ANT NO!!! Let it go." The shot goes in on its own. The movie ends with Antoine and Kenny speaking to each other and Antoine disappearing into a beam a light, which is perceived to be heaven. Coach Pederson, who saw the light, asks Kenny "That's our 6th man , isn't it?" To which, Kenny replies, "Yeah, coach. A and K, all the way baby."
Major characters
- Antoine Tyler (Kadeem Hardison) - The older brother of Kenny Tyler and the star small forwardSmall forwardThe small forward, or colloquially known as three, is one of the five positions in a regulation basketball game. Small forwards are typically somewhat shorter, quicker, and leaner than power forwards and centers, but on occasion are just as tall...
and leader of their basketball teams, youth and college, until his death. He comes back as a spirit and helps improve the team and individual players. He is cocky and arrogant, which ultimately plays a small role in his death.
- Kenny Tyler (Marlon Wayans) - The younger brother of Antonie Tyler. He is a shooting guardShooting guardThe shooting guard , also known as the two or off guard, is one of five traditional positions on a basketball team. Players of the position are often shorter, leaner, and quicker than forwards. A shooting guard's main objective is to score points for his team...
. He assumes star and leadership roles once his brother passes away.
- Coach Pederson (David Paymer) - The coach of the Washington Huskies, He is stern yet understanding of his players. He assists them when needed and tries to guide them in the right direction.
- R.C. St. John (Michael Michele) - The love interest of Kenny Tyler and a reporter for the university. When first meeting Kenny she is upset by him (they meet by Kenny spilling beer into her purse at a bar), then she tries to investigate the reason for the team's rapid success. She eventually grows to care about Kenny.
Cast
- Marlon WayansMarlon WayansMarlon L. Wayans is an American actor, model producer, comedian, writer, and director of movies, beginning with his role as a pedestrian in I'm Gonna Git You Sucka in 1988...
.... Kenny Tyler - Kadeem HardisonKadeem HardisonKadeem Hardison is an American actor. He is best known for his role as Dwayne Wayne on A Different World, a spin-off of the long-running NBC sitcom The Cosby Show.-Childhood:...
.... Antoine Tyler - David PaymerDavid PaymerDavid Paymer is an American actor and television director, seen in such films as Quiz Show, Searching for Bobby Fischer, City Slickers, Crazy People, State and Main, Payback, Get Shorty, Carpool, The American President, Ocean's Thirteen, and Drag Me to Hell...
.... Coach Pederson - Michael MicheleMichael MicheleMichael Michele is an American film and television actress. She played Dr. Cleo Finch on the medical drama ER and Det. Rene Sheppard on the police procedural Homicide: Life on the Street...
.... R.C. St. John - Kevin DunnKevin DunnKevin Dunn is an American actor who has appeared in supporting roles in a number of films since the 1980s. His roles include Colonel Hicks in the 1998 version of Godzilla, Sam Witwicky's father in Transformers, and Oscar Galvin, the primary antagonist in the 2010 action thriller...
.... Mikulski - Gary Jones .... Gertz
- Lorenzo Orr .... Malik Major
- Vladimir Cuk .... Zigi Hrbacek
- Travis FordTravis FordTravis Ford is an American college basketball coach. He is currently the men's head coach at Oklahoma State University. He was previously the head coach at Campbellsville University, Eastern Kentucky University, and the University of Massachusetts...
.... Danny O'Grady - Jack Karuletwa .... Luther Lasalle
- Chris SpencerChris Spencer (actor)Chris Spencer is an Jamaican American actor, comedian, writer, and producer. He was the first host of the syndicated late night talk show Vibe, based on the magazine of the same name. He has gone on to star in several film projects such as The Sixth Man, Significant Others, and Postal...
.... Jimmy Stubbs - Kirk Baily .... Coach Nicholls
- Saundra McClain .... Camille Tyler
Reception
The 6th Man currently has a 23% rotten rating on Rotten Tomatoes, and an average critic rating of 3.8/10 based on 13 reviews. On Imdb.com it currently has a 5.1 rating. Roger EbertRoger Ebert
Roger Joseph Ebert is an American film critic and screenwriter. He is the first film critic to win a Pulitzer Prize for Criticism.Ebert is known for his film review column and for the television programs Sneak Previews, At the Movies with Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert, and Siskel and Ebert and The...
said of the movie "The Sixth Man is another paint-by-the-numbers sports movie, this one about a college basketball team that makes it to the NCAA finals with the help of the ghost of one of its dead stars. Let's not talk about how predictable it is. Let's talk about how dumb it is....... Movies like The Sixth Man are an example of Level One thinking, in which the filmmakers get the easy, obvious idea and are content with it."
Soundtrack
A soundtrack containing hip hop music was released on March 25, 1997 by Hollywood RecordsHollywood Records
Hollywood Records is an American record label owned by Disney Music Group, a subsidiary of the Walt Disney Company.-History:Hollywood Records was founded in 1989 by then-Disney CEO Michael Eisner with the idea of expanding the music operations of the company and to develop and promote...
. It peaked at #33 on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums
Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums
Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums is a chart published by Billboard magazine that ranks R&B and hip hop albums based on sales compiled by Nielsen SoundScan. The name of the chart was changed from Top R&B Albums in 1999...
.