The Bottom Line: Is ‘Glory’ Within Josh Lucas’ Reach?

First let’s take a look at Josh Lucas’ box office track record since first scoring a hit in 2002’s Sweet Home Alabama.

Now, the ball’s once again in Lucas’ hands.

But this time, the Sweet Home Alabama-ian may finally score a victory without any assists from Reese Witherspoon. And not just once, but twice thanks to the college basketball biography Glory Road and this summer’s remake of The Poseidon Adventure.

But it’s been a long losing streak since Alabama. As Glory Road producer Jerry Bruckheimertells The Bottom Line, he’s “done a lot of wonderful work. People just haven’t seen it.”

True, but we’re not talking about Hulk or Stealth. Lucas has been at his best playing wackos in little-seen independents. And the few who watched Wonderland or Undertow probably can’t believe that this is the same scary S.O.B. who swept Witherspoon off her feet.

So Glory Road comes a pleasant surprise. It’s Lucas’ first commercial effort that allows the Arkansas native to show off his wily Southern charms while letting loose his fiery temper. He gives a passionate performance as Texas Western basketball coach Don Haskins, whose 1966 team was the first to win a NCAA championship with an all-black starting lineup.

Lucas, who calls Haskins “a racial pioneer” and “a powerful force of intimidation,” tells The Bottom Line he recognized that there’s pressure in retelling sports history. “There are expectations, particularly when you’re doing a story people know and love,” Lucas says.

Luckily for Lucas, Glory Road should win over audiences. Yes, it’s another feel-good, fact-based sports drama dealing with overachieving underdogs. But like Bruckheimer’s Remember the Titans, Glory Road is as enjoyable and inspirational as it is slick and predictable.

Glory Road also hits the court one year after Coach Carter dominated the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday weekend with $29.1 million (ultimately grossing $67.2 million). Without a star of Samuel L. Jackson’s caliber, Glory Road won’t match Coach Carter success. But this family friendly lesson in 1960s race relations makes it essential viewing during the holiday weekend.

As for Poseidon, Lucas feels this expensive remake is a risk worth taking with Das Boot and The Perfect Storm director Wolfgang Petersen at the helm. “There is no similarity between Poseidon and The Poseidon Adventure other than it’s [about] a boat that gets flipped upstairs down,” he says.

If Poseidon proves to be a more harrowing experience for audiences than the 1972 original, then Lucas should find himself swimming in offers. But another Hulk-size disappointment could deny Lucas the clout he needs to make films close to his heart.

“The only thing interesting about celebrity is the ability to finance a film,” Lucas says. “That is the only thing about it that has any real worth, that you can take a director like David Gordon Green, who did Undertow, and help them get their movie made.”

Which makes it all the more imperative that Lucas emerges triumphant with such aggressively mainstream endeavors as Glory Road and Poseidon.

The Bottom Line
If all works out, Lucas is certainly on the road to greater glory. But one more blown opportunity and he could find himself bumped out of the starting lineup.