Where to watch The Sixth Man
1 1/2 Stars
Antoine and Kenny Tyler are NCAA college basketball players, and Antoine is the star of the team. Suddenly Antoine dies of a heart attack and Kenny has to fill his shoes as leader of the team. Some time later, Antoine returns as a ghost and helps Kenny in game and in life, but Kenny changes in the process and doesn’t quite like it.
The Sixth Man is another basketball movie from a decade overstuffed with them; this one has a supernatural angle to the material and is supposedly a comedy. Marlon Wayans has an underappreciated talent for physical comedy. He and Kadeem Harrison make for a convincing pair of athletes and brothers. Yet, the task of manifesting laughter from a humorless script is left solely to Wayans. The chuckles are few; the first occurs nearly 35 minutes into the film, and the story and moviemaking are so flimsy that it’s difficult to care about anything happening onscreen.
Basketball exploded in popularity during the 1990s, and over a dozen movies followed that featured the game in some aspect. The Sixth Man belongs on the lower part of that list. It’s not quite as enjoyable as Celtic Pride, but it’s not as unbearable as Air Bud, either. The likable and lightweight production has heart but not much humor.
Directed by: Randall Miller
Written by: Christopher Reed, Cynthia Carle
Starring: Marlon Wayans, Kadeem Hardison, David Paymer