Lenny Cooke

MOVIE #1,253 • 🍿🍿🍿🍿🍿🍿🍿 • 11.27.23 P̳a̳r̳t̳ ̳o̳f̳ ̳T̳H̳E̳ ̳S̳A̳F̳D̳I̳E̳ ̳B̳R̳O̳T̳H̳E̳R̳S̳ ̳D̳i̳r̳e̳c̳t̳o̳r̳ ̳F̳o̳c̳u̳s̳ The first hour of this 90-minute movie, the lone documentary feature in the Safdies’ filmography, is footage compiled from an abandoned project by Adam Shopkorn “who originally set out to make a movie about a basketball player’s journey from high school ball to the big leagues… only for the project to fizzle out when Lenny Cooke ultimately went unchosen and was forced to pivot to the minor leagues” (Source). Picking up the story six years later, when Cooke has essentially given up on basketball, the Safdies close the book on what’s ultimately a real sad story about broken dreams and manipulation.

Cooke, who at one point was ranked ahead of LeBron James, is not the first prospect to fizzle out. But his story is unique given the overwhelming success of his peers (James, and also Amar’e Stoudemire and fellow New Yorker Carmelo Anthony) and the specific place in time when the NBA and amateur ranks were at odds about when and how young athletes should be transitioning to the pros.

Reminiscent — in look, feel and subject matter — of the legendary Hoop Dreams, Lenny Cooke is much more condensed, yet still engaging glance into a singular subject. Benny Safdie seamlessly bridges the gap between the new and old footage in the editing room. An end flourish which involves superimposing older Lenny onto the screen with his younger self didn’t really work for me, but I otherwise enjoyed this sports doc. It’s at least an interesting bridge between Daddy Longlegs and their next narrative feature, 2014’s Heaven Knows What.


PS. Here’s a fun fact that I didn’t really know how to fit into the actual review: the beginning of this features an interview with an ESPN reporter named Tom Farrey, who actually interviewed ME when I was in high school for a segment on their show Outside the Lines. The footage is no longer online but this post from the episode still exists…

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Lenny Cooke is a 2013 American sports documentary film directed by Josh and Benny Safdie. It tells the life of the former high school basketball player Lenny Cooke. The film had its world premiere at the 2013 Tribeca Film Festival. It was released on April 18, 2013.