By STEVE PERSALL

© St. Petersburg Times, published November 9, 2000

The story of Carl Brashear is a worthy one, told well but for a few gaps. But many who would be inspired will never see it because of the R rating.

Carl Brashear's life story would inspire anyone, especially young Americans who, according to the rules, aren't likely to see Men of Honor.

The film, based on Brashear's struggles as the first African-American diver in the U.S. Navy, conveys values that anyone would want children to share: patriotism, valor, family pride and, of course, honor.

Men of Honor also carries an R rating, mostly for salty language that is authentic but certainly isn't necessary. We already know the stereotype of sailors cursing like, well, like sailors. Piling on profanity doesn't make Brashear's story more compelling. But it does reduce its chance of impressing young viewers with lessons of racial equality and perseverance against the odds.

Hollywood presents a rare role-model movie, then shuts out the audience with the most to learn.

(Don't get me started on the MPAA ratings system sticking Men of Honor with the same R rating it gave the sexually violent American Psycho and Blair Witch 2.)

Except for the profanity and one grisly scene, Men of Honor is the kind of old-fashioned military rouser John Ford might have made after World War II. Lines between decency and deceit are clearly defined, almost to a fault. Brashear is a nearly flawless hero, so anyone doubting or denying him is automatically a villain. Bad guys eventually, abruptly see the light.

[Times photo: ] Master Chief Billy Sunday (Robert De Niro) switches from baiting Carl Brashear (Cuba Gooding Jr.) to championing him.

Brashear is even easier to cheer on because Cuba Gooding Jr. plays him. Gooding performs here with the dignified frustration of Sidney Poitier's defining roles; a more-than-capable black man convincing others of that fact with bold deeds and carefully measured words. Even when the script is obvious, Gooding's unblinking verve makes us wonder what happens next.

Plenty happens in George Tillman Jr.'s film. Perhaps too much. The movie skips too many dramatic details at times, leaving a viewer temporarily puzzled. It's a common problem in film biographies and wouldn't be distracting if this were a better-known life. Men of Honor occasionally feels like a scrapbook instead of a journal.

We get moving snapshots of Brashear growing up as a Kentucky sharecropper's son, urged by his father to stay in school and be the best. One jump-cut and he's getting on the bus to naval training. Then it's fast introductions to Brashear's nemesis, 1950s racial discrimination, and his purpose, breaking the color barrier among deep-sea rescue divers.

Robert De Niro diverts the film in another direction as Master Chief Billy Sunday, whose reckless insubordination got him busted to a training position. De Niro adds a fine Southern accent to his usual magnetism, first creating a stern obstacle for Brashear, then becoming a supporter "just to p-- people off." Everybody changes their minds that easily in Men of Honor, except Brashear.

Scott Marshall Smith's screenplay gives Gooding and De Niro their share of showcases. Detox jitters, rehab pain, new fatherhood, a courtroom showdown and eye-to-eye combat are just a few of the scenarios Smith glides through between underwater scenes. The rigors of that duty are summed up in a couple of close calls and a disfiguring accident. Dramatic material, some reminiscent of An Officer and Gentleman, gets the same abbreviated treatment.

Charlize Theron (The Legend of Bagger Vance) seems like an afterthought of casting as Mrs. Sunday, popping in for fast advice and supportive smiles. Hal Holbrook grumbles atop the prejudicial chain of command, while Michael Rapaport is barely used as Brashear's stammering friend. Men of Honor sifts through a life as if for trinkets, pausing to briefly admire something before tossing it away.

Tillman showed the same over-stuffed ambition in Soul Food, getting so involved with the story that he leaves gaps for the rest of us. It all connects in his mind, but the material isn't communicated smoothly. Men of Honor is a good movie that could be terrific, simply by trimming down to the reason for telling Brashear's story in the first place.

Men of Honor suffers from the tidy way Hollywood handles such complex lives. Brashear's true story is reportedly more exciting and tragic than Tillman's film, with alcohol dependency, dangerous missions and even harsher racist assaults. This is merely a sketch of an American hero, but an involving one, thanks to two actors' talents and one man's courage.

Just what today's youth could use, and what they'll have to sneak into.

Men of Honor

Grade: B

Director: George Tillman Jr.

Cast: Cuba Gooding Jr., Robert De Niro, Charlize Theron, Aunjanue Ellis, Michael Rapaport, Hal Holbrook

Screenplay: Scott Marshall Smith

Rating: R; profanity, violence

Running time: 128 min.

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