Rating summary

Movie		2.0
Video		3.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		0.5
Overall		2.5

The 6th Man Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Brian Orndorf April 4, 2018

There was a moment in the mid-1990s where basketball pictures were all the rage (likely ignited by the sleeper success of 1992’s “White Men Can’t Jump”), with Disney especially determined to create their own comedy blockbuster with help from college and professional basketball. There was “Eddie” and “Celtic Pride,” but the worst of the bunch was 1997’s “The 6th Man,” a film that has the bright idea to merge comedy and death, trying to create laughs in the shadow of some rather mean-spirited behavior and brutal reminders of mortality. “The 6th Man” is clueless, but it does have confidence, with director Randall Miller (who recently served time in prison due to his participation in the death of camera assistant Sarah Jones) committing to everything the screenplay by Christopher Reed and Cynthia Carle dreams up, failing to recognize that the material is largely devoid of appeal, sensitivity, and laughs. But there’s plenty of basketball and NCAA atmosphere, with the production trying to work itself into a sports movie lather as it deals with DOA material.

Siblings Kenny (Marlon Wayans) and Antoine (Kadeem Hardison) have been raised with a love for basketball, taking their passions to the college level, trying to turn the Huskies from the University of Washington into a Final Four contender. The Huskies aren’t a strong team, but they have Antoine, whose abilities and ferocious competitive streak win games for the school, giving Coach Pederson (David Paymer) a shot at NCAA glory. During a slam dunk, Antoine suffers a heart attack on the court and dies on his way to the hospital, destroying Kenny and his sense of place on the team. Innocently looking to the heavens for guidance, Kenny manages to call Antoine down from the afterlife to help with the Huskies, with the ghost only seen by his brother. Manipulating shots and messing with opponents, Antoine helps the team as they make their way to the Final Four, but Kenny, embracing success, has issues with Antoine’s ghostly presence, which complicates his courtship of R.C. (Michael Michele), a college newspaper reporter who responds to the young man’s vulnerability but realizes she’s stumbled into the story of a lifetime.

It’s not impossible to create a deeply sensitive study of loss with comedic enhancements, but it’s never a good idea to hand such a creative puzzle to the director of “Class Act” and “Houseguest.” Miller is tasked with finding the soul of the material, working to fashion human characters before the slapstick sets in, securing the understanding that Antoine and Kenny are close, with their bond in basketball carrying them through the years, making their way to the college game, where futures are ignited by post-season success. The sibling dynamic is sitcom, finding Kenny submitting to Antoine’s court supremacy, trying to keep up with the faster, stronger man without disrupting their loving interplay. Kenny doesn’t know how to be his own man, and the loss of Antoine during an important game devastates him, playing up the formula of impossible resurrection as the dead brother emerges from the afterlife to grant Kenny’s wish for leadership.

There’s the loss of Antoine and teary good-byes in the opening act, keeping matters relatively mournful as everyone on the team comes to terms with the death of their star player. “The 6th Man” becomes something else once Antoine reappears from the other side, focusing on Kenny’s wild reactions to the reunion, along with his sole ability to see the ghost, creating a multitude of moments that rely entirely on Wayans and his physical comedy abilities, working hard to sell one-sided arguments and brotherly love in front of other people. R.C. gets a front row seat to the shenanigans, with Kenny flopping all over his object of desire, which, oddly, doesn’t immediately trigger automatic rejection. There’s journalism in play, but R.C. genuinely likes Kenny, offering the screenplay a chance to spend some time away from the basketball court.

Miller puts a lot of faith in Wayans’s ability to snag laughs with funny faces, but watching the actor work overtime to become Jerry Lewis is painful, with the actor leaning hard on two of his favorite comedy crutches: wagging his tongue and screaming. It’s an obnoxious performance, but it’s par for the course for Wayans, who overplays everything he sets out to do. Not much better is Hardison, who’s completely unbelievable as an NBA hopeful, requiring Miller to cook up some camera tricks and funky angles to sell the actor as a legend in the making. There’s also a question of Antoine’s purpose in the story, as Kenny has called for help, only to receive the same “ball hog” treatment as before, with the ghost getting the wins necessary to make it to the Final Four. Again, formula takes over, with Kenny and his teammates (who soon believe that a guiding force is present, even inhabiting their bodies) gradually bothered by the manipulation, triggering angry tantrums from Antoine, who, let’s face it, is a real jerk. And one who, weirdly, isn’t redeemed by the end of the movie.

The 6th Man Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

The AVC encoded image (1.85:1 aspect ratio) presentation generally falls in line with other Disney catalog releases, arriving on Blu-ray without the benefit of a fresh remaster. The viewing experience shows its age, with slightly fatigued colors and mild baked-in filtering, which tends to weaken fine detail, with only close-ups delivering a sense of texture on faces and costumes. It's certainly not the worst of the BD bunch, offering some signs of life with bolder hues, including brighter basketball jerseys and arena interiors, surveying team colors and colored lighting. Ghostly events also bring out a heartier blue to sell the otherworldly visuals. Skintones are acceptable. Delineation is passable. Source is in good shape, with no overt evidence of damage.

The 6th Man Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The 2.0 DTS-HD MA sound mix carries the mood of "The 6th Man" with reasonable emphasis on the dramatic essentials. Dialogue exchanges are appealing, with crisper emotional turns and louder comedic offerings, while basketball game time maintains the heavy breathing intensity of competition. Scoring is supportive, with adequate instrumentation, and soundtrack selections deliver more heaviness with hip-hop beats. Atmospherics with cheering crowds is noted, and sound effects are sharper, ranging from ghostly antics to squeaky game play.

The 6th Man Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• A Home Video Trailer (:59, SD) is included.

The 6th Man Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

"The 6th Man" ends up a confusing muddle of cheap emotions, bad slapstick, crude CGI, and plenty of NCAA atmosphere. It's also afraid to confront its own reality, creating a Big Game finale where the Huskies want to play on their own terms despite having cheated their way into potential sporting glory. Instead of inspecting the inherent complication of ghostly aid as it interferes with the trials of natural ability, the production would rather go the feel-good route, which isn't surprising considering Miller's directorial limitations, but it remains deflating. "The 6th Man" endeavors to be a thoughtful offering of bug-eyed nonsense, but the artificiality suffocates the picture, treating viewers to a series of dismal ideas (a running gag features the mascot of the Huskies trying to land trick shots with painful results), manic performances, and a questionable moral core to go with the basketball action, which isn't very invigorating to begin with.