Love & Basketball

It was fantastic film, full of love and emotions and believe in the sport's spirit.

I loved that Monica was fierce about her love of basketball, had a quick temper on the court, and knew exactly what she wanted. I kept waiting for her to punch out those idiot female high school classmates of hers who kept picking on her because she was a tomboy. There was a nice contrast between Monica's independence and the traditional homemaker route that her mother took. The subplot about the troubled marriage of Quincy's parents was also well done. I have seen other basketball movies ("Above The Rim" and "He Got Game" comes to mind), but this is one of the better ones, esp. since it tells the story from the viewpoint of the female athlete, and an African-American one, at that. I wholeheartedly recommend this. It's free of the fluff that permeates other romantic dramas.

I don't like sports movies. I don't like chick flicks. So imagine how happy I was when I rented this movie (it had been advertised as a sports movie in some ads and a chick flick in others) and found gold.

I won't give away anything about this surprisingly underrated film as I didn't know too much about it going in (as I've said many times before, that's often the best way to watch a movie). I'll just say that I'd be very happy to see more sports movies made in the mold of this one. Every cliche from the genera is tossed from the very beginning, and there isn't even a Big Game at the finale. (Well, not exactly. There *is* a climactic game, but [and you'll understand when you watch it] there is a LOT more at stake than the state championship or whatever.)

A little warning for the parents, as I'm a responsible gremlin. This movie's rated PG-13, and for a while I thought it was just for language and that this movie would be perfectly fine for thoughtful preteens. Little change of pace from the "Mighty Ducks" tripe. Well, it turns out that about halfway through there is a very *HOT* scene, so it really should have been rated R.

Then again, if "Scary Movie" can sneak by with an R and not a triple-X these days... but I digress.

"Love and Basketball" is one of the most feminist and non-stereotypical teen-through-20something movies I've ever seen.

It's in effect a tribute to Title IX and the WBNA, casually showing a girl with basketball dreams, and how it affects her personal life and those around her. Highly recommended for teens!

As good as Omar Epps was though, I thought he was a bit short to be believable as an NBA prospect.

Except for one talky section of the movie towards the end where everyone pretty much says the obvious about their relationships, the rest of the character development is done visually and through situations and not one sports movie (or African-American) cliché. It is a date movie because both leads change.

Stay through the credits to see a sweet shot at the end.

I was girding for a hip hop soundtrack, but it's old school R & B all the way and lovely to listen to (complete with a wonderful line that the audience really appreciated: "Mom, why are you drinking? I haven't seen you drink so much since Marvin Gaye died."

(originally written 5/6/2000)

First off, let me say that I am a huge fan of almost every sport known to mankind. Now perhaps because of this, you'd think I'd enjoy movies easier whose central theme revolves around a sport. Contrary to that notion though, I am often a hard rater of sports movies because I expect so much from them.

I really enjoyed this movie though. I thought the acting by both Lathan and Epps was outstanding. I found it to be extremely realistic, with the exception of seeing Epps in a Laker uniform, but other than that, it was real. At one point during the film, I really started to wonder if this film was based on a true story or something, how cool would that have been. Nonetheless, the fictional story is captivating.

Yes I am a guy and I love sports, but I do like watching the occassional love story. I liked Pearl Harbor and Titantic which revolved around love stories, and I liked this love story too. There is more to it though, than just two people who fall for each other who happen to play basketball.

There is the relationship not only between Quincy and Monica, but the relationships they had with their father and mother respectively. There is also the relationship they have with the world they live in, trying to find out what they really want in life. It really makes you think about how sometimes the very thing you are looking for is actually standing right there in front of you and you don't realize it.

In the end, I loved Love and Basketball, and I give it a 10.