The surprise element here is that the film takes Monica's career, and her love of the game, as seriously, probably more seriously, than it does Quincy's.
Comment
03/24/08
Love and Basketball (2000)
82 %
Reviews Counted: 84 Fresh: 69 Rotten:15 Average Rating: 6.7/10
Consensus:
Confident directing and acting deliver an insightful look at young athletes.
Runtime: 2 hrs 7 mins
Synopsis: LOVE AND BASKETBALL is the powerful story of two next-door neighbors in Los Angeles who grow up loving basketball and, eventually, each other. Monica (Sanaa Lathan) and Quincy (Omar Epps) have wanted to be basketball stars since they were kids. Monica has had to work hard to establish herself... [More]
Genre: Dramas
Starring: Sanaa Lathan, Omar Epps, Alfre Woodard, Dennis Haysbert, Debbi Morgan
Director: Gina Prince-Blythewood
Screenwriter: Gina Prince-Blythewood
Producer: Sam Kitt, Spike Lee
Composer: Terence Blanchard
Screenwriter: Gina Prince-Blythewood
Producer: Sam Kitt, Spike Lee
Composer: Terence Blanchard
Reviews
Top Critic
Stylishly shot and bursting with visual and sexual energy, this is confident black women's film-making and an eloquent tribute to the girl with the permanently grazed knees -- and about time too.
06/24/06
Top Critic
It's a fine example of a conventionally made picture which follows all the rules yet still emerges as fresh and original.
12/03/02
Top Critic Top Critic
This romantic drama from writer-director Gina Prince-Bythewood is well-acted.
08/07/08
Told largely from the point of view of the woman, this career-versus-love story still develops the perspective of the man persuasively, as Sanaa Lathan and Omar Epps reveal their characters' motives with nuances of expression that transcend the dialogue.
03/26/07
The pic is so well directed and lead performance by Sanaa Lathan so charismatic that audiences will overlook the script's flaws and root for the central duo.
03/26/07
Top Critic
Thanks to Spike Lee's production company for giving a talented newcomer a good start.
04/09/05
Mawkishly heartfelt, but actress Sanaa Lathan performs as if she were lit from within.
08/07/04
An unusual but engaging mix of the overwrought and the understated, a picture that, at two hours plus, keeps threatening to overstay its welcome and yet always pulls us back into its conversational orbit.
12/23/02
Prince-Bythewood, a first-time feature filmmaker out of UCLA's film school, tells a story that is at once warm and heartfelt -- and often funny as well.
10/21/02
The chemistry between the two stars is exactly right. They are entirely believable as friends, as rivals and as lovers -- a tricky combination for any acting pair.
10/15/02
The humor is terrific, the cinematography has a burnished glow, and the score is lush.
02/09/01
The most passionate, clear-sighted movie ever made about women in sports.
01/01/00
Love and Basketball never really reconciles the two elements of its title and ultimately basketball is forced to take a backseat to love.
01/01/00
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