Love & Basketball
USA 2000
Reviewed by Stephanie Zacharack
Synopsis
Our synopses give away the plot in full, including surprise twists.
Suburban southern California, 1981. Eleven-year-old Monica, a newcomer in a middle-class neighbourhood, elbows her way into a basketball game with a group of local boys. She proves she's just as good a player as they are, and young Quincy, whose father is a professional basketball player, is impressed. The two become friends, although this friendship is strained when they become teenagers. At the end of their senior year in high school, after both of them have been granted basketball scholarships at the University of Southern California, they start dating.
While at USC, Quincy discovers his father has been seeing other women behind his mother's back. He breaks up with Monica, feeling that she's too wrapped up in basketball to give him the attention he needs. He then decides to drop out of college to become a professional basketball player.
Later, in 1993, Monica is a star player with the International Women's Basketball Association in Barcelona. Back in the US, Quincy seriously injures himself during a game; Monica returns home and visits him in hospital where she learns that he's engaged to another woman. Having given up basketball to work in a bank, Monica musters the courage to tell Quincy that she still loves him. He realises that playing ball isn't everything, and that he wants Monica back. The two marry and Monica returns to pro basketball.
Review
There's nothing particularly daring about the way writer-director Gina Prince-Bythewood has put together her debut feature Love & Basketball. But it's a fine example of a conventionally made picture which follows all the rules yet still emerges as fresh and original. This may sound a little strange in the light of the film's final reel, which sees a talented and intelligent black woman get the career she's always wanted - playing professional basketball - only to discover that what she's been missing all along is a man. Sure enough, Prince-Bythewood might have finessed the last act of her film a little more gracefully - it's hard, for instance, to fathom precisely what Sanaa Lathan's Monica finds so unforgettable about Omar Epps' Quincy, a stud with a decent heart but not much depth - but Love & Basketball moves along smoothly and features enough careful details to keep it deeply satisfying.
The basketball sequences are beautifully shot and edited: there's a lively sense of momentum to them, but there's also a layered, thoughtful dimension to Prince-Bythewood's mise en scène. In one sequence she cuts between a men's game at USC and a women's, subtly underscoring the difference between the facilities (the women's gym is a bare-bones affair) and the density and energy levels of the crowds. The film features an adroit use of pop music, too; in an early scene we see the young Monica shoot hoops to the sound of New Edition's exhilarating 'Candy Girl,' a track which captures her effervescence perfectly.
Sanaa Lathan's performance as the adult Monica has a no-nonsense poise about it, both on the court and off; even Monica's moments of self-consciousness have a certain gangly beauty. In the scene where she's awkwardly dressed up for a school dance, she finds herself starting to relax - and automatically slouches forward in her chair, her elbows resting on her knees as if she were taking a break on the bench.
In its own unassuming way, Prince-Bythewood's film tackles a number of issues that other film-makers - particularly African-American ones - don't care to touch. For one thing, it's not set in the inner city but among America's black middle class, a sector with its own problems and prejudices. Perhaps most significantly, it plainly acknowledges sexism among black men without either defending or crucifying them - Quincy looks set to lead the same philandering life as his father and he refuses to acknowledge that Monica's ball-playing career is as important as his. Prince-Bythewood would seem to have no use for clichés, yet she ruefully admits that sometimes stereotypes have a grounding in certain social realities. But the film finishes with a wry acknowledgement that no one has to remain a stereotype forever. Incomprehensible as it is that Monica would rush back to the US from Barcelona to pursue a guy like Quincy. In the last shot we see of him, he's on the sidelines at one of Monica's games, holding their little girl.
Credits
- Director
- Gina Prince-Bythewood
- Producers
- Spike Lee
- Sam Kitt
- Screenplay
- Gina Prince-Bythewood
- Director of Photography
- Reynaldo Villalobos
- Editor
- Terilyn Shropshire
- Production Designer
- Jeff Howard
- Music/Music Conductor/ Orchestrations
- Terence Blanchard
- ©New Line Productions, Inc.
- Production Companies
- New Line Cinema presents a 40 Acres and a Mule Filmworks production
- Executive Producers
- Andrew Z. Davis
- Jay Stern
- Cynthia Guidry
- Executive in Charge of Production
- Carla Fry
- Production Executive
- Michele McGuire
- Production Controller
- Paul Prokop
- Supervising Production Co-ordinator
- Emily Glatter
- Production Co-ordinators
- Brett A. Boydstun
- Spain Unit:
- Maxine Parker
- Unit Production Manager
- Spain Unit:
- Ricardo Ceballos
- Location Managers
- Wayne Middleton
- Spain Unit:
- Mar Francoli
- Post-production
- Executive in Charge of:
- Jody Levin
- Supervisor:
- Ric 'Mastabaka' Keeley
- Assistant Directors
- Mark Anthony Little
- Eric Oliver
- Spain Unit:
- Cristobal Martin
- Script Supervisor
- Martin Kitrosser
- Casting
- Aisha Coley
- Hi-8 Footage
- Reggie Rock Bythewood
- Camera Operators
- Joseph D. Urbanczyk
- Joe Chess
- Steadicam Operator
- Joe Chess
- Art Director
- Susan K. Chan
- Set Designer
- Ron Wilkinson
- Set Decorator
- Dena Roth
- Lead Scenic Artist
- Craig Anthony Muzio
- Costume Designer
- Ruth Carter
- Costume Supervisor
- Helen R. Monaghan
- Make-up
- Key Artist:
- Anita Gibson
- Additional Artist:
- Carmé Tenuta
- Spain Unit, Artist:
- Gisella Tutusaus
- Key Hairstylists
- Joann Stafford-Chaney
- Sterfon Demings
- Hairstylists
- Brian Andrew Tunstall
- Andrea Jackson
- Main/End Titles Design
- Custom Film Effects
- Opticals
- Custom Film Effects
- Music Supervisor
- Melodee Sutton
- Music Executive
- Dana Sano
- Session Co-ordinator
- Robin Burgess
- Music Editors
- Lori Slomka
- Michael Dittrick
- Engineer
- Don Murray
- Soundtrack
- "Love and Happiness" - Al Green; "Candy Girl" - New Edition; "After the Dance", "I Wish I Didn't Love You So" - Marvin Gaye; "Sweet Thing" - Rufus featuring Chaka Khan; "Lyte as a Rock" - M.C. Lyte; "I Go to Work" - Kool Moe Dee; "Prince", "Love Is Basketball" - Tony Dimito; "Rock Me Tonight for Old Times Sake" - Freddie Jackson; "Making Love in the Rain" - Herb Alpert featuring Lisa Keith; "Just Got Paid" - Johnny Kemp; "My Prerogative" - Bobby Brown; "I Want to Be Your Man" - Roger; "This Woman's Work" - Maxwell; "I Like" - Guy; "Our Destiny" - Hinda Hicks; "It Takes Two" - Rob Base & DJ EZ Rock; "Doowutchyalike" - Digital Underground; "Morning Star" - Melky Sedeck; "Holding Back the Years" - Angie Stone; "Fool of Me" - Me'Shell Nedegeocello; "I'll Go" - Donnell Jones; "Dance Tonight" - Lucy Pearl
- Sound Supervisor
- Frederick 'Mastavisa' Howard
- Sound Mixers
- Willie Burton
- Spain Unit:
- Pepe Caceres
- Re-recording Mixers
- Marc 'M3' Fishman
- Derek 'DMD' Marcil
- Digital Transfer Engineers
- Matt Dubin
- Johanna Kraemer
- Dialogue Editors
- David Grant
- Kevin Hamilton
- Robert Getty
- Michael Hertlein
- Sound Effects Editors
- Benjamin Cook
- Michael Kamper
- Lisle Engle
- Mark Hunshik Choi
- ADR
- Supervisor:
- Susan 'Sound Sista' Shin
- Mixer:
- Alan Freedman
- Foley
- Artists:
- S. Diane Marshall
- David Lee Fein
- Mixers:
- Lucy Sustar
- David Jobe
- Editors:
- Craig Jurkiewicz
- Sarah Smith
- Background Editor:
- Michael Mullane
- Basketball Advisers
- Dick Baker
- Colleen Matsuhara
- Steve Spencer
- Stunt Co-ordinator
- Manny Perry
- Cast
- Omar Epps
- Quincy McCall
- Sanaa Lathan
- Monica Wright
- Alfre Woodard
- Camille Wright
- Dennis Haysbert
- Zeke McCall
- Debbi Morgan
- Nona McCall
- Harry J. Lennix
- Nathan Wright
- Kyla Pratt
- young Monica
- Glenndon Chatman
- young Quincy
- Christine Dunford
- Coach Davis
- Erika Ringor
- Sidra O'Neal
- Regina Hall
- Lena Wright
- Jess Willard
- Jamal
- Chris Warren Jr
- Kelvin
- Naykia Harris
- young Lena
- Colleen Matsuhara
- UCLA coach
- Al Foster
- Coach Hiserman
- Nathaniel Bellamy
- high school referee 1
- Shar Jackson
- Felicia
- Gabrielle Union
- Shawnee
- James Dumont
- reporter
- April Griffin
- Dorsey High School player
- Boris Kodjoe
- Jason
- Kara Brock
- college girl 1
- Aichi Ali
- college girl 2
- Charles O'Bannon
- Reggie
- Robin Roberts
- herself
- Dick Vitale
- himself
- Jimmy Lennon Jr
- sports announcer
- Terry Cummings
- himself
- Andre Bellinger
- college referee
- Monica Calhoun
- Kerry
- Dion Basco
- college student
- Marta Bou Morera
- Marta Crespo
- Raquel Hurtado
- Spanish girls
- Jordi Clemente
- security guard
- Jesse Corti
- Coach Parra
- Leticia Oseguera
- Luisa
- Selah
- Spanish band
- Mar Castro
- lead singer
- Yussi Wenger
- guitar
- Django C. Porter
- bass
- Alberto de Almar
- Paris H. Rooks
- guitar
- Julio Ledezma
- percussion
- Chick Hearn
- Stu Lantz
- Trevor Wilson
- themselves
- Rebecca Patterson
- nurse
- Tyra Banks
- Kyra Kessler
- Steve Spencer
- Lakers trainer
- Lisa Barkin Oxley
- bank officer
- Madison Duvernay
- Lena's baby
- Nairobi Dickens
- Monica & Quincy's baby
- Sandra von Embriqs
- Yolanda Higgins
- assistant coaches
- USC women players
- Wendi Levy
- Shayla
- Sandra Perez
- Sandra
- Carla Houser
- Lisa
- Marigold Clark
- Big Toni
- Marte Alexander
- Zvette
- Sabrina Roberson
- Lacresha
- Audrey Gomez
- Audrey
- Erica Jackson
- Erica
- Valerie Agee
- Maeyen
- Afton Thompson
- Chevana Player
- Lorna Monique Clemmons
- Carenda Saunder
- Chandra Cole
- Shawnte Watson
- Krystal Braden
- Lakesha Willingham
- Jenece Johnson
- Erika Wilson
- Sharon Vigne
- Crenshaw High School girl's basketball team
- Major Dennis
- assistant coach
- [uncredited]
- Gina Prince-Bythewood
- diving basketball player
- Certificate
- 12
- Distributor
- Entertainment Film Distributors Ltd
- 11,211 feet
- 124 minutes 34 seconds
- Dolby Digital/DTS/SDDS
- Colour by
- Fotokem
- Prints by
- DeLuxe
- End credits title
- Love and Basketball