Love & Basketball (2000)

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. Their love-hate relationship lasts into high school, with ... See full summary »

Director:

Gina Prince-Bythewood

Writer:

Gina Prince-Bythewood

Stars:

Glenndon Chatman, Jess Willard, Sanaa Lathan

12 wins & 15 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
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

Storyline

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. Their love-hate relationship lasts into high school, with Monica's edge and Quincy's top-dog attitude separating them, except when Quincy's parents argue and he climbs through Monica's window to sleep on the floor. As high school ends, they come together as a couple, but within a year, with both of them playing ball at USC, Quincy's relationship with his father takes an ugly turn, and it leads to a break up with Monica. Some years later, their pro careers at a crossroads, they meet again. It's time for a final game of one-on-one with high stakes.

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Plot Keywords:

high school | nba | professional athlete | year 1988 | female basketball player | 

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Taglines:

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

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Genres:

Drama | Romance | Sport

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for sexuality and language

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English Spanish

Release Date:

21 April 2000 (USA)

Also Known As:

Love and Basketball

Filming Locations:

Barcelona, Cataluña, Spain

Box Office

Budget:

$15,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

£46,423 (UK) (7 July 2000)

Gross:

ESP 334,150 (Spain) (29 June 2001)

Company Credits

Production Co:

40 Acres & A Mule Filmworks

Technical Specs

Runtime:

124 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital SDDS DTS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Producer Spike Lee believed the female lead should have believable basketball skills. Gina Prince-Bythewood said in an interview "I saw over 700 people for the part: actors, ballplayers, people who had never acted before in their life. It finally came down to Sanaa [Lathan] and Niesha Butler [a star player at Georgia Tech and 1999 Atlantic Coast Conference rookie of the year]. I put Sanaa with a basketball coach for two months and Niesha with an acting coach."

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Goofs

At the dance, Monica tells her date she feels hot, so Jason goes to get her some punch. Quincy comes over to talk to Monica, then has an awkward moment when Jason returns and takes Monica onto the dance floor. Jason never has or mentions punch.

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Quotes

Monica: I'm a ball player.

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Crazy Credits

The end of the creidts show Quincy's and Monica's daughter dunking a basketball .

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Connections

Referenced in The Tracey Fragments (2007)

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Soundtracks

"Lyte As A Rock"
Written by MC Lyte and Audio Two
Performed by MC Lyte
Courtesy of Electra Entertainment Group
By Arrangement with Warner Special Products

User Reviews

Terrific Non-Stereotypical, Feminist African-American Romance

"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)