THOUGH IT HAS BEEN SEVERAL YEARS since I taught that class, I still think about it often. I go over in mind what I would have done differently if I could repeat the class over. It was the last part of my yoga class, where we go into a relaxed position with guided visualization. I had turned the lights off; there was only a faint glow coming from the displays of the few electronic devices in the room. Halfway through our relaxation period, a member coughed a couple of times then burped. Though I could not see faces I could tell the noise had come from a female member. While I was still guiding the class through a visualization, I quietly walked towards the woman. Before I reached her, I saw another woman had rolled over to face her, to see if she was okay. As I came up to them the other woman said her mother was not feeling well, pointing to the burping woman. Before I could say anything, the ill sounding woman started making sounds as if she was about to vomit. I ran to get a garbage can as the daughter helped her mother to a sitting position. When I returned with the garbage can the daughter told me her mother had eaten dinner just before she came to class. I still wish to this day that I would have mentioned something about eating during my introduction at the beginning of the class.      MY YEARNING TO REVISIT AN EVENT in the past used to be based solely on guilt. There was the aerobic charity event where I lead a packed basketball court of people through a workout. I had to wear what I thought was a goofy outfit promoting the event. Looking back, I now realize my movements were a tad too complicated for the novice exerciser. I remember seeing guests getting lost with my directions. Where guilt used to drive my actions, I can now look back at the things I have done and consider them a learning experience. I know some people never look back at their history, but I cannot do such a thing. For me, the ability to look back at a past event is a teaching experience. A friend of mine never takes the time to study their past; as a result, they keep making the same mistakes over and over. I mentioned guilt used to be my motivator; however, I believe there are individuals whose motivation is their desire to receive approval. It could be from a parent, a teacher or even best friend; for some reason they may not have enough confidence to appreciate the things they can do. I wonder if this was what was going on with the main character in this dramatic sports film?      ACCEPTING THE OFFER TO TEACH THE school’s losing basketball team would provide Jack Cunningham, played by Ben Affleck (The Accountant, Gone Girl), an opportunity to revisit his past. It was a past he was running away from, however. With Janina Gavankar (Blindspotting, True Blood-TV) as Angela, Michaela Watkins (Brittany Runs a Marathon, The Back-Up Plan) as Beth, Hayes MacArthur (Life as We Know It, She’s Out of My League) as Eric and Da’Vinchi (All American-TV, Grown-ish-TV) as Devon Childress; most of the attention was given to Ben. I will say he was excellent in this role; though, I did wonder how close did this character mirror his own life. The story and the script were easily predictable which took some of the drama out for me. I did find the basketball scenes funny, especially the ones involving Jack interacting with the team’s spiritual advisor. There will not be any surprises here, I do not think, for the viewer. Luckily, Ben’s skill at playing this type of flawed character is his forte, in my opinion. What connected me further was my experiences with dwelling in the past.

3 stars