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Love & Basketball

  • 2000
  • PG-13
  • 2h 4m
IMDb RATING
7.2/10
26K
YOUR RATING
Love & Basketball (2000)
Trailer
Play trailer2:24
2 Videos
95 Photos
BasketballFeel-Good RomanceDramaRomanceSport

Monica and Quincy love and play basketball together through many life challenges from childhood to adulthood.Monica and Quincy love and play basketball together through many life challenges from childhood to adulthood.Monica and Quincy love and play basketball together through many life challenges from childhood to adulthood.

  • Director
    • Gina Prince-Bythewood
  • Writer
    • Gina Prince-Bythewood
  • Stars
    • Sanaa Lathan
    • Omar Epps
    • Glenndon Chatman
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • IMDb RATING
    7.2/10
    26K
    YOUR RATING
    • Director
      • Gina Prince-Bythewood
    • Writer
      • Gina Prince-Bythewood
    • Stars
      • Sanaa Lathan
      • Omar Epps
      • Glenndon Chatman
    • 142User reviews
    • 35Critic reviews
    • 73Metascore
  • See production info at IMDbPro
    • Awards
      • 14 wins & 15 nominations total

    Videos2

    Love & Basketball
    Trailer 2:24
    Love & Basketball
    4 Basketball Classics and 3 You May Have Missed
    Clip 1:40
    4 Basketball Classics and 3 You May Have Missed
    4 Basketball Classics and 3 You May Have Missed
    Clip 1:40
    4 Basketball Classics and 3 You May Have Missed

    Photos95

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    + 89
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    Top cast92

    Edit
    Sanaa Lathan
    Sanaa Lathan
    • Monica Wright
    Omar Epps
    Omar Epps
    • Quincy McCall
    Glenndon Chatman
    • Young Quincy
    Jess Willard
    • Jamal
    Chris Warren
    Chris Warren
    • Kelvin
    • (as Chris Warren Jr.)
    Kyla Pratt
    Kyla Pratt
    • Young Monica
    Alfre Woodard
    Alfre Woodard
    • Camille Wright
    Naykia Harris
    • Young Lena
    Harry Lennix
    Harry Lennix
    • Nathan Wright
    Debbi Morgan
    Debbi Morgan
    • Nona McCall
    Dennis Haysbert
    Dennis Haysbert
    • Zeke McCall
    Colleen Matsuhara
    • UCLA Coach
    Al Foster
    • Coach Hiserman
    Nathaniel Bellamy Jr.
    Nathaniel Bellamy Jr.
    • Highschool Referee #1
    • (as Nathaniel Bellamy)
    Regina Hall
    Regina Hall
    • Lena Wright
    Shar Jackson
    Shar Jackson
    • Felicia
    Gabrielle Union
    Gabrielle Union
    • Shawnee
    James DuMont
    James DuMont
    • Reporter
    • Director
      • Gina Prince-Bythewood
    • Writer
      • Gina Prince-Bythewood
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

    User reviews142

    7.225.5K
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    Featured reviews

    10maccaveili

    A great relationship film, I give it a 10

    First off, let me say that I am a huge fan of almost every sport known to mankind. Now perhaps because of this, you'd think I'd enjoy movies easier whose central theme revolves around a sport. Contrary to that notion though, I am often a hard rater of sports movies because I expect so much from them.

    I really enjoyed this movie though. I thought the acting by both Lathan and Epps was outstanding. I found it to be extremely realistic, with the exception of seeing Epps in a Laker uniform, but other than that, it was real. At one point during the film, I really started to wonder if this film was based on a true story or something, how cool would that have been. Nonetheless, the fictional story is captivating.

    Yes I am a guy and I love sports, but I do like watching the occassional love story. I liked Pearl Harbor and Titantic which revolved around love stories, and I liked this love story too. There is more to it though, than just two people who fall for each other who happen to play basketball.

    There is the relationship not only between Quincy and Monica, but the relationships they had with their father and mother respectively. There is also the relationship they have with the world they live in, trying to find out what they really want in life. It really makes you think about how sometimes the very thing you are looking for is actually standing right there in front of you and you don't realize it.

    In the end, I loved Love and Basketball, and I give it a 10.
    Ms. V

    Everybody's All-American sepiaized x 2

    Instantly, when I watched this one, I could not help but harken back to Everybody's All-American, which had sports as an undercurrent to the central love story between Gavin and Babs streching a full quarter-century in spanning four decades. Even with football enveloping all which had entwined their lives, the humaneness of those two characters could not be discounted, especially with Babs emerging into a more stronger character who came into her own as a woman and an individual toward the film's end.

    I bring that up to start my assessment of Love and Basketball. Yes, there were differences, of course, with Quincy (Omar Epps, of whose work I have been a fan of since "Juice" in 1992) and Monica (Sanaa Lathan, who has seemingly come from nowhere to emerge as a serious talent to be reckoned with on the screen!) both being African-American. And instead of football, the sport was basketball. And instead of one athlete, there were two, as Monica was a superior talent on par with Gavin Gray and Quincy McCall. And the story, of course, was set more in the recent past, from 1981 to the present.

    Nonethelss, this was also a film which touched my heart. I loved the depth which both actors in this film displayed, showing them not only as athletes and people, but also as they were with regard to their families as well. And the depths from where they came to where they ultimately went, from their beginnings as children to the adults they grew up into, was nothing short of amazing. I saw this not as a "black" movie, but rather as a movie about African-Americans and their dreams, desires, pains and triumphs as individuals and as a couple.

    The way this was broken down into four quarters is a testament to Gina Prince-RockByTheWood's astute writing and directing. And the supporting cast was on-mark also, from Alfre Woodard and Debbi Morgan on through to Dennis Haysbert and Harry J. Lennix...as well as Tyra Banks in her smaller yet significant role as the film bore on down the stretch. All-in-all, a film definitely worth the see. I came away with a warm smile not only on my face, but in my heart as well.
    hillari

    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.
    7Shiva-11

    The title says it all

    Love and Basketball: Monica and Quincy have lived beside one another since they were kids, and they only care about two things in life - basketball and each other.

    I am definitely more of a movie fan than a basketball fan, thus I went in expecting a jock flick with a token relationship thrown in to justify the title. I could not have been more wrong. Unlike "He Got Game" (another very good film), which dwells solely on the negative aspects of the sport - hustlers, hookers, drugs and death, L&B concentrates on the positive things in life and basketball serves as the background rather than the focus. The story is very well written and works on several levels - it refuses to be pinned down as simply a romance or drama, choosing instead a careful blending of different elements. My only complaint - minor at that - would have to be the ending (and no I'm not going to tell you).

    First, how could I find fault with a film that actually does a great casting job with Tyra Banks? She has a small cameo role- she plays a beautiful stewardess, small stretch - with some great lines. Omar Epps brings his trademark cockiness to the role, and although it took me awhile to buy him as a basketball player -he's not exactly Goliath -he grows on you. More importantly, he exhibits and a depth and range that he's never shown before. Sanaa Lathan however, goes one step further, and demonstrates an intensity both on and off the court that puts her in a league all her own. Her performance can be summed up as superb.

    L&B is real, engaging, and enjoyable.

    Don't miss it.
    7La Gremlin

    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.

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    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • 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."
    • Goofs
      When Monica is playing for Barcelona in the Euro Championship, she encounters her former college teammate (Sidra), who is playing for the opponent (Parma). One would assume that there would be a lot of game-planning and film watching prior to a big game such as this. Despite this, both are surprised to see the other in the hallway leading up to the court.
    • Quotes

      Monica: I'll play you.

      Quincy: For what?

      Monica: Your heart.

    • Crazy credits
      The end of the creidts show Quincy's and Monica's daughter dunking a basketball .
    • Connections
      Featured in Siskel & Ebert: U-571/Love & Basketball/Joe Gould's Secret/Gossip/Pups (2000)
    • Soundtracks
      Love and Happiness
      Written by Al Green and Teenie Hodges

      Performed by Al Green

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    FAQ20

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    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • April 21, 2000 (United States)
    • Country of origin
      • United States
    • Languages
      • English
      • Spanish
    • Also known as
      • Love and Basketball
    • Filming locations
      • Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain(Barcelona, Cataluña, Spain)
    • Production company
      • 40 Acres & A Mule Filmworks
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

    Edit
    • Budget
      • $20,000,000 (estimated)
    • Gross US & Canada
      • $27,475,093
    • Opening weekend US & Canada
      • $8,139,180
      • Apr 23, 2000
    • Gross worldwide
      • $27,743,596
    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Tech specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      2 hours 4 minutes
    • Color
      • Color
    • Sound mix
      • Dolby Digital
      • SDDS
      • DTS
    • Aspect ratio
      • 1.85 : 1

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