Sweetwater has a precious story in its hands, along with a sparkling cast of tried-and-true actors and a generous budget that allows them to go all in with the movie’s 1950s setting. But the parts are far greater than the sum here, because all together, Sweetwater is a mess. It promises to be a biopic about Clifton but fractures into many other things. During its duller parts, it’s a white savior story about basketball owners, and during its more vibrant parts, it’s a snapshot of the Harlem Globetrotters during their humble beginnings. The basketball matches themselves are playful and exciting to watch, but for every game, there is an overdramatic scene that cranks up the notch on sappy music and predictable dialogues. Often, it also feels like director Martin Guigui went to the Green Book School of Anti-prejudice, given his extremely elementary portrayal of racism and his preference for the white characters over the Black characters. Sweetwater isn’t watchable, but it’s a shame that the star of the film had to share the spotlight with less interesting personalities. 

For the most part, Sweetwater looks like a proper period film. It has a muted quality to it that recalls old black-and-white photos that were colorized in later years. But this just makes the presence of Jeanne Staples (played by the singer Emmaline) and Joe Lapchick (Entourage’s Jeremy Piven) all the more off-putting. The two look like they’ve walked in straight from their trailers; Emmaline with her modern makeup and Piven with his unshaven face and 2010s haircut. It’s not a major case of anachronism, but it is distracting enough to keep you from focusing on the film.