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Storyline
Film adaptation of street tough Jim Carroll's epistle about his kaleidoscopic free fall into the harrowing world of drug addiction. As a member of a seemingly unbeatable high school basketball squad, Jim's life centers around the basketball court and the court becomes a metaphor for the world in his mind. A best friend who is dying of leukemia, a coach ("Swifty") who takes unacceptable liberties with the boys on his team, teenage sexual angst, and an unhealthy appetite for heroin -- all of these begin to encroach on young Jim's dream of becoming a basketball star. Soon, the dark streets of New York become a refuge from his mother's mounting concern for her son. He can't go home and his only escape from the reality of the streets is heroin for which he steals, robs and prostitutes himself. Only with the help of Reggie, an older neighborhood friend with whom Jim "picked up a game" now and then, is he able to begin the long journey back to sanity. Written by
Mark Fleetwood <mfleetwo@mail.coin.missouri.edu>
Plot Summary
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Taglines:
Every punk on the block says it's not going to happen to them... but it does.
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Motion Picture Rating
(MPAA)
Rated R for graphic depiction of drug addiction with related strong violence,sexuality and language
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Did You Know?
Trivia
After being nominated for an Oscar for
Running on Empty, MTV asked
River Phoenix what he wanted to do next. He responded by pulling out a beat up paperback of "The Basketball Diaries" and stated "I wanted to play Jim Carroll." Later, the Los Angeles Times declared, "River Phoenix may have wanted it too much."
Leonardo DiCaprio was a fan of Phoenix's.
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Goofs
When Jim is playing basketball and explaining how he plays and Pedro steals from the locker rooms, each time there is a point scored you can clearly hear the crowd cheering but visually the crowd is very calm.
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Quotes
Jim Carroll:
Time sure flies when you're young and jerking off.
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Soundtracks
"Strawberry Wine"
Written by
Salvadore Poe (as Paul DiBartolo),
Adam Flax
Performed by Massive Internal Complications
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May I say, that I was impressed with this movie. It shows the truth of drugs and what they can do to you. After I saw this movie, I went out and found the book and read it. It's more sad then the movie, but still seeing Leonardo's performance is very effective.
Jim Carrol is a high school basketball player who once in a while gets stoned with his friends. But eventually he becomes brutally addicted to the drugs and looses everything he has worked for.
To Leonardo, you did good.
8/10