Jewish, Hanukkah-themed, AND set in Philadelphia. What?! Courtesy of Disney+.I have been looking forward to writing about FULL-COURT MIRACLE for so long. TOO long. First of all, this blog post may only appeal to millennials and Gen Z people, so I’ll try my best to explain some things first. For those who don’t know, a “DCOM” is a Disney Channel Original Movie. If you grew up in the 90s and were a Disney Channel zealot like me, you knew that once a month, there was a DCOM premiere. You felt the excitement. You felt the adrenaline. I would see promos for the new DCOM in the weeks leading up, and come Saturday night, I would sprint to the TV, hop on that couch, and glue my eyes to this movie premiere like it was Oscars night. I had been waiting and waiting forever for all the classic DCOMs to make their return. They briefly aired in the summer of 2016, I believe, for one weekend on the Disney Channel, but then a “small” streaming platform called Disney+ came around a few years later. Now, ladies and gentlemen, ALL the DCOMs are available in their original format.
OK, so there’s a little context before I talk about FULL-COURT MIRACLE, just one of many classic DCOMs you can stream any time. Unfortunately, it premiered in 2003, and by that time, I was 12 years old, done with Disney, and began sneaking off to watch R-rated movies when my parents were in the other room. I do, however, have vague memories of seeing promos of the film, particularly its trailer song, “Spin ‘Ya Like A Dreidel,” by SoL Survivor. (Sadly, I can’t find the song anywhere.) The movie came and went, losing itself in the dozens and dozens of other DCOMs. Years later, FULL-COURT MIRACLE is now considered to be one of the most popular – and probably only – Hanukkah movies of all time. And did I mention it’s set in Philadelphia?! Oh yeah! A Jewish, Philadelphia-set, Hanukkah kids Disney movie. Where else will you find a movie like that?
So I, a 31-year old, finally watched this cult classic 19 years later. My immediate reaction is that FULL-COURT MIRACLE was way ahead of its time. Let’s think about this for a second. When you were growing up, how many kids shows and movies featured entirely Jewish characters? In my day, there was sometimes one Jewish character, followed by an episode dedicated to some aspect of their religion, like a bar mitzvah. (It’s Nickelodeon, but we all know the Rugrats Passover episode.) However, a kids movie with only Jewish characters and endless Jewish moments and motifs like Shabbat, Jewish jokes, Yiddish terms, and kippot galore? I don’t think so! Jewish representation in television has hugely grown since 2003. FULL-COURT MIRACLE was – and I hate to sound cheesy – a “miracle” of a movie, a fearless film audacious enough to celebrate Jewish culture during a decade when it was probably too “taboo” to do so, especially on a network as prolific as the Disney Channel.
Sadly, although the opening shot of FULL-COURT MIRACLE features a stunning helicopter shot of Billy Penn on City Hall, the movie was actually filmed in Toronto. We then see a teenage boy wearing a kippah and bouncing a basketball in what I’m assuming is the Italian Market neighborhood. His name is Alex Schlotsky (Alex D. Linz), “Schlots” for short. I remember Linz as a kid. He no longer acts, but he got his big break starring alongside Michelle Pfeiffer and George Clooney in One Fine Day (1996). (He was also in Home Alone 3 (1997), and don’t kill me, but I used to love that movie…) Linz starred in another DCOM about a chimp who learns sign language, but that one wasn’t Jewish.
Schlots is a freshman basketball player at the fictional Philadelphia Hebrew Academy. He comes from a wealthy family whose driveway is so big in the city that it looks like you could park 10+ cars in there. His team, the Lions, totally stinks. Meanwhile, his teacher, Rabbi Lewis (R.H. Thomson), is educating the class about the story of Hanukkah and Judah Macabee’s indefatigable victory against the Seleucid Empire. Schlots is very intrigued and wishes for the Lions’ own Judah to come out of the clouds and help them. We even get a dream sequence where he pictures his team, dressed in ancient Israelite clothing, on the court about to “battle” their team, dressed as Greeks…. OK, you can laugh. I certainly did. It’s a kids movie!
One day after school, Schlots and his buddies see a super athletic guy shooting hoops on the court. His name is Lamont Carr (Richard T. Jones), an African American man, currently living in his van, with dreams of getting signed by the 76ers. He loves basketball so much that he even left his wife and child at home in Virginia to pursue his dream.
“You chase big dreams, you gotta make big sacrifices,” he tells Schlots.
Schlots investigates Lamont by researching his license plate number. (Don’t ask me how that works.) He finds out that Lamont was a college basketball star whose nickname was The Hammer… the same as Judah Maccabee. This can’t just be a coincidence! Schlots and his team are floored. Lamont MUST be their Judah and coach them to victory.
Lamont, who isn’t Jewish, is a little reluctant to coach a group of kids, but he gives in when they offer to pay him with their own money. Rabbi Lewis hears of this and is more ecstatic, delighted to bring in a non-Jewish teacher to the school to help to the team, much to the disapproval of the strict Principal Klein (Sheila McCarthy). Lamont doesn’t smile much, but he means well. Conflict sets in when Schlots becomes more aware that his coach is doing more of a favor than a life-changing job for the team. There is also a dilemma between Schlots and his mother, the latter of whom wishes he would focus more on studies than basketball. Her dream is for her son to become a doctor. Is she a stereotypical caricature of a Jewish mother? Well, you can decide that.
Lamont continues coaching and even gets invited to the Schlotsky’s Shabbat dinner where he is bewildered by the gefilte fish and mistakenly asks for a glass of milk. This is a sports movie, so I guess it’s not a spoiler for me to say that it culminates in a big game. This time, however, the game becomes a complete allegory for the story of Hanukkah, down to the oil. Literally, the oil! I won’t say what happens, but I was pleasantly amused, and now, being Jewish myself, I can see why FULL-COURT MIRACLE must have made such a huge impact on the thousands of Jewish kids who grew up with the Disney Channel like I did. Imagine, for once, seeing a holiday movie that had nothing to do with Christmas for once.
It’s so rare and exciting to see Jewish representation on the Disney Channel. I don’t watch the network now, but I’m dubious to think that there are more Jewish characters or DCOMs. To this day, there’s been nothing like FULL-COURT MIRACLE on Disney. The movie even defies stereotypes. OK, so there’s the Jewish mother wanting her son to be a doctor, but director Stuart Gillard switches gender norms and makes her the bad cook and the father the good one. (The first time we see him, he’s wearing a “Kiss Me, I’m Kosher” apron.) The modern-day Maccabee of the story isn’t white but a non-Jewish African American man. The movie never exploits him or makes him look dumb for being the only non-Jew in the room. He is treated with respect and open arms by everyone. Judaism, after all, is all about community and opening a door for someone else, regardless of their religion or the color of their skin. Lamont isn’t a bimbo who is alienated at the Shabbat table. He’s a good guy. His decision to leave his family is questionable, but like Schlots, he just wants to pursue his dream.
FULL-COURT MIRACLE is Jewish, Philly-based, Hanukkah-centered, and one of a kind in its depiction of interfaith relations on the Disney Channel. How else could you not cheer for this movie? And did I mention that there really was a Lamont Carr?
Hanukkah is just around the corner. Let’s end this post with a nice, inspirational quote:
“Our team needs a Judah Maccabee,” Schlots tells Rabbi Lewis at school.
“When or where [this will happen] is not the question,” he replies. “The question is will you recognize this Judah when you see him?”
HAPPY HANUKKAH!
FULL-COURT MIRACLE is now available to stream on Disney+.