This true-life story still feels manufactured

The film seems to conform to the tried-and-true formulas of past award winners.
By MILAN PAURICH
VINDICATOR CORRESPONDENT
For a movie based on a true-life story, "Antwone Fisher" has an awfully generic feel.
Its tale of a young sailor with anger management issues who finds redemption thanks to a kindly doctor is lifted directly from "Good Will Hunting," with impressive newcomer Derek Luke replacing Matt Damon and Denzel Washington (who also makes his directing debut here) subbing for Robin Williams.
Those with even longer memories can trace that same basic set-up back further to Robert Redford's "Ordinary People," where troubled teen Timothy Hutton found salvation through the tough-love ministrations of shrink Judd Hirsch.
The fact that the latter marked the directorial bow of another famous actor seems less coincidental than deliberate. One gets the sense that Washington studied every Academy Award-winning Best Picture from the past 30 years and deduced that "Fisher" was his best shot at matching Redford's Oscar gold.
After all, underdog stories with a therapeutic bent never go out of style, as last year's insidious "A Beautiful Mind" proved.
If that conjecture sounds a bit cynical, you obviously haven't seen "Antwone Fisher."
Lacks subtlety
Opening with a dream in which Antwone imagines himself as a small child surrounded by the big, warm, and loving family he's never known, the movie works overtime to tug at your heartstrings. The fact that it succeeds more often than not -- I confess shedding a few tears during the cathartic climax -- is a tribute more to Washington's skill at directing actors than to the real Antwone Fisher's unsubtle screenplay, which he adapted from his book, "Finding Fish: A Memoir."
After a run-in with Navy brass, hot-tempered Antwone is ordered to see San Diego base psychiatrist Jerome Davenport for evaluation. Their mandatory three sessions soon stretch into an ongoing doctor-patient relationship, with Antwone gradually opening up to Davenport and sharing painful secrets from his past. Still bearing the scars of childhood abuse at the hands of a sadistic foster mother (Novella Nelson), Antwone has never trusted anyone or even allowed himself to grow close to people for fear of abandonment or worse.
Back to his roots
Thanks to the guidance and understanding of Davenport and new girlfriend Cheryl (Joy Bryant), Antwone works up the courage to return home to Cleveland.
By tracking down his biological mom, he hopes to gain a sense of closure and move on with his life. Awkwardly shoehorned into the main plot is a clich & eacute;d back story about Davenport's rocky marriage, which fails to contribute anything meaningful to the drama, and only interrupts the film's narrative flow.
Fisher's formulaic script -- dutifully moving from Point A to Point B -- does his own life story no favors. Instead of coming across as heartfelt and genuine, it seems more like a movie that was inspired by lots of other better movies. Of course, that secondhand quality won't necessarily hurt its chances with Academy voters who traditionally favor the tried-and-true over the bold and innovative anyway.