Not bad but just OK

I saw this last month at the 2009 Palm Springs International FilmFestival. This marks the debut feature film of writer/director MarkYoung who was at my screening for an audience Q&A. following the 1965Watts riots, Richard Kelly (Cedric Sanders), a young black man with apromising career ahead of him in the corporate world finds himself inthe wrong place at the wrong time and is sentenced to serve probationat an all-white seminary that is looking to break the color barrier.The president of the seminary is Alan Beckett (William Devane) who isnot looking for black church leaders of the future but simply blackfollowers to break the color barrier at his school and help woofinancial support for a large campus building extension from aphilanthropic benefactor. Kelly reluctantly agrees to attend so he canget it over with and eventually get back on track to his job offer inthe corporate world with a large firm. He, of course is met withprejudice and resistance by the other students. He finds a friend andlife coach in the school grounds caretaker and building janitor SamuelBenton (Louis Gossett Jr.) With Lauren Holly as professor and formermissionary Kate Allison this has an excellent cast in Gosset, Devaneand Holly but the script is a little weak and clich?d and Sanders inthe lead role is over the top at times and very weak at other times.It's an interesting story based on the true life experiences of Rev.Dr. Charles Marks who was the inspiration for the Richard Kellycharacter and inspired writer/director Young to craft the story afterhe heard Marks speak at at young's church several years ago. It's agood film for a first time director but I wouldn't expect this to be abox office draw. It would make a good TV movie, especially during blackhistory month, and I would expect to see it eventually on somethinglike BET, Hallmark, AMC or the Lifetime movies channels and I wouldgive it a 7.0 out of 10.