Love & Basketball is a 2000 American romantic drama film, directed by Gina Prince-Bythewood, starring Omar Epps and Sanaa Lathan.
Plot[]
| Spoiler Warning: The following contains important plot details of the entire film. |
Monica (Sanaa Lathan) and Quincy (Omar Epps) have wanted to be professional basketball stars since they were kids. Monica wanted to play for the Los Angeles Lakers and wear Magic Johnson's number: 32 & Quincy wanted to be like his father and play for the Clippers.
However, Monica has to work hard to establish herself while Quincy was born with natural star potential. As the two struggle to reach their goals of playing professionally, they must also deal with their emotions for each other.
The film spans roughly thirteen years of friendship between childhood sweethearts Monica Wright and Quincy McCall. Monica and her family moved to Los Angeles in 1981 from Atlanta, Georgia, and quickly became acquainted with their new neighbors the McCalls, a wealthy family due to the success of Quincy's father Zeke, the star shooting guard for the Los Angeles Clippers. Quincy and Monica are drawn to each other instantly, sharing a love of the game basketball.
Quincy is shocked that a girl could ever love basketball as much as he did, and he is even more shocked when Monica plays so well. Although their first interaction results in Quincy angrily knocking Monica down during game point and accidentally scarring her face, they share their first kiss on the first day of school and end the "first quarter" of the story fighting in the grass.
The second quarter of the story begins in 1988 when both Monica and Quincy are the respective leaders of their high school teams.
Scouts have taken clear notice of Quincy, who many see as one of the top prospects in the country. His popularity was not just evident on the court as he is extremely popular with the other students and could have any girl in school that he wanted, but he is still good friends and neighbors with Monica.
Monica, on the other hand struggles with her fiery emotions on the court, which often resulted in technical fouls at critical moments of games, getting benched, and eventually pushing away many potential scouting opportunities due to her lack of control. Aside from her emotions on the court, she also struggles with the emotions she secretly still harbors for Quincy and struggles to express them as he is always surrounded by other girls.
Monica also has problems with her mother Camille, a stay at home wife and mother; ever since she was a little girl Monica has been pressured by Camille to give up basketball and "act like a lady", to the point that Camille would force her to wear dresses and skirts against her will.
This has continued into her high school years with Camille still complaining that Monica is too much of a "tomboy" and needs to learn to be more feminine, which leaves Monica feeling hurt and resentful of her mother for not accepting her for who she is and refuses to embrace the domestic "house wife" work that her mother seems to enjoy so much. Through soul searching throughout the season, Monica learns to control her emotions and leads her team to the state championship game, but came up short leading them to a victory.
She begins to recover from the defeat with the help of her older sister Lena, who gives her a makeover and even finds a college friend to take her to her spring dance. With nothing more than a new hair style and a dress, Monica shows up to the spring dance looking as beautiful as ever.
Despite having a date of his own, Quincy notices her and immediately walks over to her to compliment her new appearance, but doesn't hesitate to comment on her date. They both show jealousy towards each others' dates and part ways. Later that night, they both speak outside her window and reveal to each other how their dates didn't meet their needs. She also lets him know that she has a letter from USC and insists on him to open it.
After the letter reveals that Monica has been accepted, Quincy finally vocalized that USC was also his choice. As they move in to congratulate each other with a hug, Monica mistakes the gesture as a kiss and that leads to them finally acting on their feelings for one another by making love to each other. It was Monica's first time.
The third quarter of the story follows Quincy and Monica to their freshman year at USC in 1988-89, where they are managing themselves as athletes, students, and a couple. Again, the same problems seem to present themselves, this time on a bigger stage. While Quincy finds instant success on the court, as well as more and more female admirers, Monica struggles for playing time, being the backup to USC's senior guard, Sidra O'Neal. To make matters worse, she falls on the bad side of the head coach Ellie Davis for showing off and her lack of defense.
Monica's relationship with Quincy becomes more and more strained as Quincy struggles to deal with the media attention surrounding his father, who is trying to convince Quincy to finish college before going pro, and a paternity suit against him from a former lover. Quincy feels betrayed by his father for lying to him and threatens to leave school for the NBA early despite his father begging him not to sacrifice his education just to spite him. Zeke mentions that his mom was only nineteen when she was pregnant with Quincy and he wasn't ready for a family, but he stayed anyway.
Monica finally earns the starting point guard spot at the end of the season, Quincy can't be happy for her because he blames her for not being there for him when he was having problems with his father. Monica is hurt deeply by Quincy, and the two go their separate ways.
The fourth quarter of the story follows the characters through the early 1990s, a few years before the establishment of the WNBA.
In 1993, Monica's prospects for professional basketball lie exclusively in the IWBA, the International Women's Basketball Association, while Quincy steps into the pros at home.
Monica settles into her new life in Barcelona, where she struggles to cope with the everyday grind of playing overseas away from family and friends. She misses home, but can't imagine a life that didn't include basketball. (Sidra points out that their teammate at USC Big Toni quit the previous year and now works at a bookstore). She tries to adapt to her surroundings as a local sports celebrity and the focal point of the team's offense. She leads her team to a dominant victory in the championship game at the end of the season. Despite all her personal success, she starts to realize her love for basketball isn't the same as it was before.
Having left USC after his freshman season, Quincy is now in his fifth year in the pros, trying to find a role with his new team, the Los Angeles Lakers. The moment he finally finds some playing time, he injures himself landing awkwardly after a slam-dunk, and tearing his ACL. His family rushes to the hospital to be with him, but his now divorced parents still have bad blood when they see each other. Monica hears about Quincy's injury, and flies home to see him.
Monica goes to the hospital to visit Quincy, and is stunned to hear of Quincy's engagement and to meet his fiancée (Tyra Banks). After her meeting with Quincy, Monica soon realizes that her feelings for him still exist. Monica also clashes with her mother Camille again over old resentments, causing Camille to remark that she had to give up her own dreams after having children and resenting Monica for not appreciating the sacrifices she made for her family with Monica countering that Camille never made her feel loved or accepted because she kept trying to force her to give up her goals for a stereotypical "woman's role" in life that she didn't want.
Over the next few months, Quincy undergoes rehabilitation while the day of his wedding draws closer. By this time, Monica has decided to give up basketball and work at a bank with her dad. When questioned by Quincy she states that it was no longer fun for her, Quincy does not understand, stating he never knew anyone who loved basketball as much as she did.
After seeing how truly unhappy her daughter is without basketball or Quincy in her life, Camille finally relents and encourages Monica to fight for her dreams and the man she loves.
Quincy and Monica meet up (this time as friends) and reminisce over their shared past. At this point, Quincy has recovered from his injury, and Monica finally steps up with an ultimatum. She challenges him to one final game on the court- but this time the stakes are higher: if he loses, he calls off the wedding and chooses Monica; if not, he marries his fiancée.
Monica's reasoning is that the if he loses it would be because he let her win which would mean that deep down he really doesn't want to get married because he still loves her. Quincy agrees and beats her in the game, but can no longer be apart from Monica and chooses her. The phrase "double or nothing" brings a whole new meaning to the game.
The film fast-forwards 2–3 years later in 1998 where Monica has finally gone pro in the WNBA (which was created by the NBA in 1996.)
The movie ends with Quincy helping their baby daughter cheer on Monica during her game where the back of her jersey is seen with the name "Wright-McCall", showing that Monica and Quincy got married.
Cast[]
- Sanaa Lathan as Monica Wright
- Omar Epps as Quincy McCall
- Alfre Woodard as Camille Wright
- Dennis Haysbert as Zeke McCall
- Debbi Morgan as Mona McCall
- Harry J. Lenix as Nathan Wright
- Kyla Pratt as Young Monica Wright
- Glenndon Chatman as Young Quincy McCall
- Boris Kodjoe as Jason
- Gabrielle Union as Shawnee
- Monica Calhoun as Kerry
- Regina Hall as Lena Wright
- Christine Dunford as Coach Davis
- Tyra Banks as Kyra
Production[]
Producer Spike Lee believed that the female lead in the movie should have believable basketball skills.
According to Gina Prince-Bythewood 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".
In the end, the role went to Sanaa Lathan.
Dennis Haysbert (who portrayed Zeke McCall, Quincy's father) was hesistant about playing another cheater in the film after portraying a smooth-talking player in the 1995 film Waiting to Exhale.
Haysbert later told Jet magazine that he took the role of Zeke McCall because he "saw the emphasis was going to be on the father-son relationship. That was something that was close to my heart".
Reception[]
Box Office[]
jfvu"Love and Basketball" debuted at #2 at the box office, grossing $8,139,180 during its opening weekend, coming in behind the film U-571.
Domestically, it made $27,459,615 and $27,728,118 worldwide.
Critical Reception[]
The movie received generally favorable reviews from film critics.
At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the film received an average score of 70, based on 28 reviews, which indicates "generally favorable".
On Rotten Tomatoes, it received an aggregated score of 82% based on 87 reviews stating, "Confident directing and acting deliver an insightful look at young athletes."
Entertainment Weekly's Lisa Schwarzbaum gave the movie an A- review.
She enjoyed how the film portrayed women's sports in general, saying: "The speed and wiliness of the game itself ensure that movies about men who shoot hoops are exciting, but the novelty of watching women bring their own physical grace to the contest is a turn-on."
Schwarzbaum also appreciated Prince-Bythewood's directing skills, claiming, "[She] is also vigilant and honest about the hard sacrifices made in pursuit of sexual equality. And for that, she scores big in her first pro game."
Rachel Deahl of AllRovi gave the film 3.5 out of 5 stars.
In her review she complimented Epps and Lathan on their performances, saying, "Love & Basketball serves as a somber reminder of how few films exist (much less love stories, much less ones that focus on the female perspective) about multi-dimensional African-American characters outside the ghetto."
Desson Howe from The Washington Post 's Entertainment Guide gave the film a favorable review, saying:
"Love and Basketball had moments of such tenderness and sophistication, complimented [sic] by such romantic dreaminess between lead performers Omar Epps and Sanaa Lathan. First-time filmmaker Gina Prince-Bythewood's film joins such films as The Best Man and The Wood, which look for the class, not the crass, in African American life."
New York Post film critic Jonathan Foreman gave the film a mixed review; he appreciated how the film "effectively conveys the excitement of basketball from a player's point of view", but says "it's filled with fake-sounding dialogue you only find in the cheesiest TV movies."
Roger Ebert gave the film a rating of three out of four stars, saying, "The film is not as taut as it could have been, but I prefer its emotional perception to the pumped-up sports clichés I was sort of expecting. It's about the pressures of being a star athlete; the whole life, not the game highlights. I'm not sure I quite believe the final shot, though. I think the girl suits up for the sequel."
Robert Wilonsky from the Dallas Observer gave the film a negative review, saying, "[it] is a film built upon transitions so weak and obvious it's astonishing the entire thing doesn't collapse on itself. You want to root for it, as you would any rookie underdog, but it offers nothing to cheer for."
He also elaborates on the acting, stating, "Omar Epps possesses a chiseled body and a blank stare [...] Lathan is only slightly better, but she's stuck in a hollow role".
Accolades[]
2001 BET Awards
- Best Actress: Sanaa Lathan (won)
- Best Actor: Omar Epps (nominated)
2001 Black Reel Awards
- Best Soundtrack (won)
- Best Film Poster (won)
- Theatrical- Best Actress: Sanaa Lathan (won)
- Theatrical- Best Director: Gina Prince-Bythewood (won)
- Best Song (for the song "Fool of Me"): Meshell Ndegeocello (performer & writer) and Federico Pena (writer) (won)
- Best Film: Spike Lee and Sam Kitt (producers) (won)
- Theatrical- Best Actor: Omar Epps (nominated)
- Theatrical- Best Screenplay (Original or Adapted): Gina Prince-Bythewood (nominated)
- Best Song (for the song "Dance Tonight"): Lucy Pearl (performers); Raphael Saadiq & Dawn Robinson (writers) (nominated); (for the song "I'll Go"): Donell Jones (performer); Rashaan Patterson & Steve "Silk" Hurley (writers) (nominated)
2001 Golden Trailer Awards
- Best Romance (nominated)
2000 Humanitas Prize
- Sundance Film Category: Gina Prince-Bythewood (won)
2001 Image Awards
- Outstanding Actress in a Motion Picture: Sanaa Lathan (won)
- Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Motion Picture: Alfre Woodard (won)
- Outstanding Motion Picture (nominated)
- Outstanding Actor in a Motion Picture: Omar Epps (nominated)
- Outstanding Youth Actor\Actress: Kyla Pratt (nominated)
2001 Independent Spirit Awards
- Best First Screenplay: Gina Prince-Bythewood (won)
- Best First Feature: Gina Prince-Bythewood (director); Spike Lee & Sam Kitt (producers) (nominated)
- Best Female Lead: Sanaa Lathan (nominated)
2001 Key Art Awards
- Best Drama Poster (won)
2001 MTV Movie Awards
- Best Male Performance: Omar Epps (nominated)
2000 Teen Choice Awards
- Film- Choice Actor: Omar Epps (nominated)
- Film- Choice Drama (nominated)
- Film- Choice Chemistry: Omar Epps & Sanaa Lathan (nominated)
