Streetballers (2009)

Streetballers is for basketball, what Field of Dreams was for baseball. Defining street basketball as America's new favorite pastime, it is a story driven by passion, faith, and achieving ... See full summary »

Director:

Matt Krentz

Writer:

Matt Krentz

Stars:

Jimmy McKinney, Matt Krentz, Adrieanne Perez

3 wins.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Jimmy McKinney	...	Jacob
Matt Krentz	...	John
Adrieanne Perez	...	Sarah
Eric Fletcher	...	Terry
Craig Thomas	...	Damon
Patrick Rooney	...	Michael
Justin Tatum	...	Dante
Caitlin Howley	...	Caiti
MaryBeth Scherr	...	Kat
Jordan Ward	...	Ty
Peggy Neely-Harris	...	Auntie Rose
Bryan Lane	...	Stepdad
Craig Hawksley	...	Mr. Henry
Ryan Johnson	...	Rufus
Tracy Taylor	...	UFC Fighter / Dante's Muscle

Storyline

Streetballers is for basketball, what Field of Dreams was for baseball. Defining street basketball as America's new favorite pastime, it is a story driven by passion, faith, and achieving goals. A story capturing the poetic nature of street basketball, highlighting the struggles endured on and off the court by the purest of athletes. Constantly searching for sanity in the midst of alcoholism, racism, and drugs, John Hogan and Jacob Whitmore, two junior college basketball players, find release and therapy while competing at one of the most competitive and poetic street courts in the U.S. Both men must spend an entire summer helping one another overcome their adversities. Their dedication and love for the game of basketball transcends from the playground courts into each of their dysfunctional households where the two boys play the constant role of the father figure. Pounding through life one day at a time, Jacob has no choice but to play in an underground league, constantly fighting to...

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Plot Keywords:

basketball | street | junior college | spiritual | athlete | 

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Genres:

Drama | Sport

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for pervasive language, sexuality, some drug use and violence

Details

Official Sites:

Official site

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

21 August 2009 (USA)

Also Known As:

American Streetballers

Filming Locations:

St. Louis, Missouri, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Blaze Brothers Entertainment, MSK Productions, Counterhound Productions

Technical Specs

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

User Reviews

Don't overlook this gem! Pulsates with energy and passion.

Acting on a neighbor's recommendation, my wife and I went to see "streetballers" during its premier week. Our verdict? "WOW!" I can say with little fear of contradiction that this film is an event completely unprecedented in St. Louis history. Not only was it SHOT in St. Louis, but ALL the talent--cinematographers (gorgeous shots!), soundtrack (original songs!), editing--in fact, ALL creative and every other kind of work was performed by St. Louis locals. This film is a complete St. Louis production.

Local production doesn't necessarily translate to high quality, of course. There are many St. Louis residents who could produce SOME kind of film using strictly local talent and resources, but--and here's the kicker--"streetballers" has truly world-class production values! Let me repeat, world-class! The film, despite being shot on an unbelievably small budget of $1.5 million (movies of this quality require budgets of $25-50 million) has absolutely no low-cost "indie" feel to it. Although Matt Krentz originally wrote the screenplay about 7 years ago, it took him until now to: shop it around to all the major studios, who liked it but turned him down because he was too young, didn't have a "big name", and has never been to film school; decide to do it himself; raise the money; put together a production company; and, finally, to actually make the movie.

Some St. Louis folks have already seen "streetballers", since it was screened during SLIFF (the St. Louis International Film Festival), where it won the top award for audience choice, outscoring previous years' winners "Slumdog Millionaire" and "Juno." This weekend was its first actual opening in theaters, two of which are in St. Louis.

We simply can't recommend "streetballers" highly enough. Our only caveat is that the language is more than a little rough at times, if your ears are easily offended. (Think "Spike Lee" film--and "streetballers" doesn't suffer by the comparison!) We purchased the soundtrack CD at the showing, and have pre-ordered a DVD of the movie itself on their website. The website also contains an amazing amount of information on all the people involved. (Did you know that one of the stars, Jimmy McKinney, was a basketball star at the University of Missouri from 2003-2006? Many of the players have similarly astounding court skills.) By the way, the schoolyard where the protagonist practices his basketball is behind Sigel Elementary, located in McKinley Heights on Allen at Serbian Way. The girl's house is on Russell at the corner.