What distinguishes Pride from any other inspirational teacher/coach drama about guiding ragtag underdogs to championship-level teamwork and dedication? Well, not much, really. If anything stands out in this relatively routine take on an old sports standby, it's Terrence Howard, who takes his role very seriously and understands his performance must hold the movie together, for it's a whole team of swimmers he's coaching, with no particular strong focus on any one of them.

Howard plays real-life Jim Ellis as a man driven nearly to the point of relentlessness, arguing that only someone with such singular (tunnel?) vision would be able to enact the kinds of positive changes his community needed. Even a somewhat goofy character played by the usually scene-stealing Bernie Mac is subdued by comparison.

Other than that, the pairing of this drama with the significance of the rise of civil rights makes Pride a decent and natural reminder about prejudice being something that had to be overcome, and in this case not so much by forceful or calculated measures but by a sheer blunt determination to attain equal participation in even the most humble of activities. (Capsule review)

(Released by Lionsgate and rated "PG" for thematic material, language including some racial epithets and violence.)

Review also posted at www.windowtothemovies.com.