Part of Music City Mondays: Michael Schultz.
All Screenings: Director Michael Schultz provides a special pre-recorded introduction to COOLEY HIGH
Two high-schoolers in 1964 Chicago, Richard “Cochise” Morris (Lawrence-Hilton Jacobs), a local basketball hero, and Leroy “Preach” Jackson (Glynn Turman), who dreams of a screenwriting career in Hollywood, hang out with friends and court girls to the Motown tunes that defined the era. Each wants to make it big in his own way, but not everybody they meet is looking out for them — which they learn when a seemingly harmless outing goes awry.
Featuring outstanding central performances by Jacobs and Turman, the film’s supporting cast of Garret Morris, Cynthia Davis, Corin Rogers and others make this bittersweet nostalgic classic shine. Keep an ear out for hits by The Four Tops, Smokey Robinson and The Miracles, Diana Ross and The Supremes, Martha Reeves and The Vandellas, The Temptations, Stevie Wonder and many more.
“...Remembers how it really was when we were young enough to see ourselves without sociology's help, without clichés, when our identity was largely a mixture of self ‐discovery, friendship and what we hoped to be.” —Jack Slater, New York Times “Like a good hangout movie should, COOLEY HIGH feels fully lived-in, and thanks to the talented cast of mostly unknowns (some of whom would go on to long careers, although most didn’t), even its minor characters have their stories to tell.” —Craig J. Clark, The Dissolve “It’s a feature-length party that feels steeped in anecdote, in half-remembered personalities, and especially in an impression of the city as an exciting place to grow up.” —A.A. Dowd, A.V. Club
