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 Female Relationship | Love | Student Athlete | Los Angeles California | Coming Of Age

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 J. 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:

DTS | Dolby Digital | SDDS

Certification:

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

Filming Locations:

Barcelona, Barcelona, Cataluña, Spain

Company:

40 Acres & A Mule Filmworks

Goofs:

Anachronisms: The very first scene when you see Monica in 1986, they play the song "Lyte as a Rock". The problem is “Lyte as a Rock” came out in 1988

Quotes:

Monica: So that's it? Just forget about you and me?

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Even Stevens: Love and Basketball (#2.9)" (2001)

Soundtrack:

Sweet Thing

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.