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Boo Hoo Flanagan

A black correctional officer coaches a prison basketball team and finds the motivation he needs, in life and on the job, in Boo Hoo Flanagan, an aging, white, crippled inmate who shoots 3-point baskets better than anyone has ever seen.

Synopsis

CW Gavin's father committed suicide soon after he was suspended from the police force on accusations of being a crooked cop. CW, an African American correctional officer, knew his father was framed. He tried to clear his name, but he did not get very far because the lives of his family were anonymously threatened. Unable to cope with this situation, CW had an emotional breakdown.

The Governor arranged for CW to coach basketball to the inmates at Longhorne Correctional Institution when he got back from his leave of absence. When CW meets an older inmate, a cripple who shoots three-point baskets better than anyone in the NBA, CW sees an opportunity to erase his own self-image as a failing son. The fact that he is black and the inmate is white doesn't matter. It's the inmate's story that attracts CW to him. His name is Brendon H. Flanagan.

The inmates nicknamed B. H. Flanagan 'Boo Hoo' because of his sobbing episodes ten years earlier. CW pieces together the puzzle of Boo Hoo's story. Petzinger, the villain, was caught having an affair with Boo Hoo's wife. A struggle ensued. During this scuffle, random shots were fired. Petzinger's knee was blown out of his leg and Boo Hoo's wife was dead with a stray bullet in her head. Petzinger lied and said Boo Hoo callously shot his wife in cold blood. Based on this testimony, Boo Hoo received a twenty-year sentence for second-degree murder.

Boo Hoo's daughters also believed the lies, and the girls disowned Boo Hoo for killing their mother. Left to rot in jail, Boo Hoo faces another letdown. Petzinger, cloaked with a mask, raped Boo Hoo's youngest daughter and took pictures of her bruised body for one reason - to see the anguish on Boo Hoo's face while he inspected the pictures of his tortured daughter. Boo Hoo was going to suffer for destroying Petzinger's tennis career.

Boo Hoo thought, ate, and slept basketball for almost a decade, distilling his mind from anguishing thoughts of his wife and haunting images of his daughter's brutal experience. The repetitive act of shooting basketballs was the only way he could keep his sanity, and he rarely talked to anyone during this time in prison. Until CW came along, that is.

In a carefully choreographed background of basketball, which culminates in a tension-packed game between the inmates and guards, the forefront story has CW struggling to get past the Warden's personal agenda, Petzinger's decadency, and two very stubborn Flanagan daughters. In the end, Boo Hoo's redemption, and closure on the issue of the Gavin's good name, converge in a good-feeling climax where three-point shots save the day.

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Written by:

Robert Gately

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Format:

Screenplay

Genres:

Drama Sports Urban

Budget:

Low

Starring Roles For:

Denzel Washington
Danny Glover
Billy Crystal

In the Vein Of:

Longest Yard
Shawshank Redemption
Green Mile

Posted:

08/19/2003

Updated:

04/04/2020

Author Bio:

Since retiring early in 1998, Robert has written 2 novels, 2 non-fiction books, 12 screenplays and 3 stage plays. His body of work has been recognized in over 300 festival, stage, book and screenplay competitions around the world (over 180 of those were finalist or better). The finalist or better placements include book, screen and stage play successes in Faulkner/Wisdom Creative Writing contest, Norumbego Fiction Award, Chesterfield, Writer's Network, Dana Awards, Frontiers in Writing, SFWP (Santa Fe), etc.

Contest Results:

Burris-Hulett (First Place, Best overall) [2003]
Hollywood Scriptwriting (First Place) [2004]
Queens (First Place) [2004]
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Boo Hoo Flanagan

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