Love & Basketball (2000)

Director:

Gina Prince-Bythewood

Writer (WGA):

Gina Prince-Bythewood (written by)

Release Date:

21 April 2000 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Romance | Sport

Tagline:

A story of the passion it takes to keep your dreams alive.

Plot:

In 1981 in L.A., Monica moves in next door to Quincy. They're 11, and both want to play in the NBA, just like Quincy's dad...

Plot Keywords:

Male Stripping | Housewife | Los Angeles California | Homesickness | Scar

Awards:

10 wins & 14 nominations

Cast

Glenndon Chatman	...	Young Quincy
Jess Willard	...	Jamal
Chris Warren Jr.	...	Kelvin
Kyla Pratt	...	Young Monica
Alfre Woodard	...	Camille Wright
Naykia Harris	...	Young Lena
Harry Lennix	...	Nathan Wright
Debbi Morgan	...	Nona McCall
Dennis Haysbert	...	Zeke McCall
Sanaa Lathan	...	Monica Wright
Omar Epps	...	Quincy McCall
Colleen Matsuhara	...	UCLA Coach
Al Foster	...	Coach Hiserman
Nathaniel Bellamy Jr.	...	Highschool Referee #1 (as Nathaniel Bellamy)
Regina Hall	...	Lena Wright

Also Known As:

Love and Basketball (USA) (closing credits title)

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for sexuality and language.

Runtime:

124 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | Spanish

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital | SDDS | DTS

Certification:

Iceland:L | USA:PG-13 (certificate #36989) | South Korea:15 | Australia:M | Germany:6 | Spain:T | UK:12

Filming Locations:

Barcelona, Cataluña, Spain

Company:

40 Acres & A Mule Filmworks

Goofs:

Anachronisms: In 1981 when the movie begins, Quincy's father plays for the Clippers. However, the family is living and playing in Los Angeles. The Clippers didn't move from San Diego until 1984, so they couldn't be playing in Los Angeles yet.

Quotes:

Monica: It's a trip, you know? When you're a kid, you-you see the life you want, and it never crosses your mind that it's not gonna turn out that way.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Be Kind Rewind (2008)

Soundtrack:

Morning Star

Wow, a sports movie I liked!

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.