Still, there’s a lot to enjoy in The Great Debaters, both as a reminder of our country’s history and a piece of positive entertainment. It’s PG-13, but it could easily have been PG; imagine how nice it would be if, this Christmas, families with reasonably intelligent children went to see this instead of Alvin and the Chipmunks.

Movie Grade: B+

Synopsis:

Set against the backdrop of the Jim Crow South and inspired by a true story, "The Great Debaters" chronicles the journey of a brilliant but volatile coach (Denzel Washington) who uses the power of words to shape a group of underdog students from a small, modest black college in East Texas into an elite debate team while challenging the social mores of the time, culminating with a groundbreaking invitation to debate Harvard's championship team.