Love & Basketball (2000)

User Rating:

6.7/10   

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:

Love Test | Love | Coming Of Age | Fiancée | First Love

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:

Miscellaneous: Omar Epps' tattoo is visible during the love scene despite the fact that it has been covered with make-up in an attempt to disguise it.

Quotes:

Shawnee: [after noticing Monica at the dance] Damn, girl, I didn't know Nike made dresses.

Movie Connections:

Featured in This Film Is Not Yet Rated (2006)

Soundtrack:

Prince

Intelligent romantic comedy with a feminist touch.

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.