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Love & Basketball (2000) More at IMDbPro »

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113 comments in total

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21 out of 25 people found the following comment useful :-
love & basketball & family & gender roles &..., 18 April 2000
Author: beastwakko from LA, CA

I was watching a Lakers games when I first saw a commercial for Love & Basketball, so naturally it was comprised of mostly basketball action and a snippet of an adult version of the b-ball game HORSE. I thought, "oh, cute movie about a guy and girl who play basketball and get together". Not exactly earth-shattering, I thought, but cute. So imagine my surprise when I saw the film start like a cute movie but then evolve. And deepen. And bloom. I laughed, I sat on the edge of my seat in anticipation, and I swear I almost cried. A "cute" movie? This film had levels I hadn't dreamed of and spoke to so much more than just sex and basketball, and yet all of it was held together cohesively by the love affair and the commitment to the sport. I was thoroughly impressed by the performances all around and by Ms. Prince-Blythewood's unerring writing and direction. A definite recommendation.

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14 out of 15 people found the following comment useful :-
I never saw this side of basketball before, 14 April 2002
Author: gerald Booth (chuckrules@juno.com) from alexandria VA

Follows the relationship of Monica and Q from elementary school, through high school, college, and life afterwards as they grow to maturity on the court and off. Sanaa Lathan is great as Monica, the girl who wants nothing more than to be the first woman to play in the NBA yet slowly begins to realize there is something greater missing from her life. Omar Epps does his usual fine performance as Q, a boy striving to be better than his NBA star father who learns that a man doesn't necessarily have to be a star. The basketball scenes are well shot and pretty realistic in the aspect of how male and female teams are viewed by the fans. Overall a very enjoyable movie.

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12 out of 13 people found the following comment useful :-
A great relationship film, I give it a 10, 18 January 2002

Author: maccaveili from United States

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.

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10 out of 10 people found the following comment useful :-
Terrific Non-Stereotypical, Feminist African-American Romance, 12 December 2005

Author: noralee from Queens, NY

"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)

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12 out of 15 people found the following comment useful :-
this is the bomb, 2 April 2002
Author: spearitt (spearitt@hotmail.com) from liverpool, engand

i must of watched this film a hundred times it is so fab. Sanaa Lathan and Omar Epps are brillant in this movie. It is not only a super love storey but it shows the womans rights to play a sport she loves. This film is by far the best film i have ever seen the actors the director everybody involved in this movie was totaly brillant. There has been many love stories that are typical they meat fall in love and live happy for the rest of there lives, this movie shows the ups and downs of a relationship but still the bond between them is never broken. This is a movie worth getting.

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10 out of 12 people found the following comment useful :-
Great!, 26 December 2001
Author: kel_har from VA

With its strong characters and rich story, scribe/director Gina Prince Bythewood has conceived a competent romantic drama. "L&B" treks two Californians, Quincy and Monica (Omar Epps and Sanaa Lathan, respectively) who share a love for B-ball and each other. The cast are excellent, but the standout has to be Lathan. Along with the acting and direction, Terence Blanchard's score is great. This is two hours of great drama.

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6 out of 6 people found the following comment useful :-
The title says it all, 22 April 2000

Author: Shiva-11 from Vancouver, BC

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.

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4 out of 5 people found the following comment useful :-
Wow, a sports movie I liked!, 21 January 2001

Author: La Gremlin from Boston, MA

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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5 out of 7 people found the following comment useful :-
Love and Basketball, 27 December 2005

Author: brittney7717 from United States

i love this movie.. actually i watching it now.. I love how it puts love into one of my favorite sports.. its so much fun to watch and you never get sick of watching it. It shows how Monica and Q have grown through the "quarters"in the movie.. This movie reminds me a lot of my first love, when we broke up I still loved him just as Monica did with Q.. My favorite part of this movie is when everything is going great with them and they are in college and their life just seems perfect. My least favorite part is when they are going through their crossroads because i hate to see people that are so in love break up. this is my favorite movie and i would recommend it to anyone!!!

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1 out of 1 people found the following comment useful :-
Intelligent romantic comedy with a feminist touch., 24 April 2000
Author: hillari from Chicago, USA

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.

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