Starring Terrence Howard, Kimberly Elise, and Bernie Mac. Rated PG.

Set in 1974, Pride is a pleasantly funky sports-underdog movie that's as enjoyable as it is manipulative. Basing the film on the true story of Philadelphia swim coach Jim Ellis—who shaped a ragtag bunch of ghetto youths into a champion swim team—a grand total of four screenwriters rip off everything from The Bad News Bears to Welcome Back, Kotter. About two-thirds of the way through the predictable plot, first-time director Sunu Gonera unleashes enough tears in the audience to fill a small wading pool. There's no way any of this shameless string-pulling should work, but it does.

This is largely due to the performance of Terrence Howard as Jim Ellis. Doubling as executive producer, the Oscar-nominated actor is in total command here. As if Crash and Hustle & Flow aren't proof enough that he just may be Hollywood's most charismatic leading man, Howard brings an intoxicating combination of dignity and sex appeal to the role of a former competitive swimmer with a quick temper and a big heart.

The film gets going when Ellis is turned down for a teaching job at a prestigious private school by a racist swim coach named Bink (Tom Arnold, who manages to be both sleazy and artfully restrained). Desperate for work, Ellis takes a job phasing out a decrepit community centre in the heart of the inner city. A foxy city councillor (Kimberly Elise) is determined to shut down the building on schedule. But the place means everything to Elston, the centre's crusty caretaker (Bernie Mac, pulling off the film's most sentimental turn through sheer force of personality).

At first, the two men clash. But when Ellis gets the dormant pool going again, Elston warms to the idea of getting a swim team together. The young swimmers—who you just know are going to end up challenging Bink and his prep-school snobs—are written as a series of floating clichés. There's Andre (Kevin Phillips), the troubled kid trying to avoid getting caught up in crime; Reggie (Evan Ross), the stuttering little guy who's all heart; Willie (Regine Nehy), the token spunky girl; and Hakim (Nate Parker), the slacker who thinks education is for suckers.

Fortunately, the accomplished cast rises above any number of potentially trite situations. It's easy to figure out how things are going to turn out. But Pride has so much genuine conviction behind it that we don't mind being along for the ride.