It's basketball playoff time! The New York Knicks are once again in the thick of the title hunt, and Spike Lee, Knick fan No. 1, can be found on the sideline, cheering on his team. Lee has become famous not only for his skills as a film director ("Do the Right Thing"), but also for his basketball passion (1998's "He Got Game"), and prominent role on the sideline. So it doesn't come as a surprise that Lee co-produced the new basketball film, "Love & Basketball."
The movie tells the story of Quincy McCall (Omar Epps), son of an NBA player, and Monica Wright (Sanaa Lathan). In the first quarter, they meet as kids who become new neighbors. To Quincy's amazement, she can play ball better than most boys, which leads them to a competitive bet on who will turn professional first. The second quarter takes the friends to high school, where Monica gains the reputation of a tomboy who can't get a date for the seniors' dance, while Q has his choice of friends (and girls), but displays somewhat poor taste. He changes his mind about Monica when they move on to the third quarter, college life. Their relationship, rooted in their love for the game, prospers as their skills improve. Soon, they have to start choosing between the love for their game and for each other. Quincy's troubles on the home front further complicate things, and eventually, they both move on and try to carve out a living at the pro level. Their fourth quarters lead them to different parts of the world, before they meet each other again. Now they face a decision that determines the outcome of this "Love & Basketball" game.
Instead of directing the movie himself, Spike Lee helped to develop young talent: black director Gina Prince-Bythewood responded with an admirable debut. She managed to create an engaging and honest film about the relationship, development, and challenges of a young black couple. The cast also rises to the same level, most of all with the lead performances of Omar Epps and Sanaa Lathan. They both deliver good games and manage to feed off each other both on and off the court. Especially Sanaa Lathan seems a rising star who will certainly be seen and heard more of in her cinematic future. Maybe what makes the movie most credible: The shooting locations. Real-life powerhouse Crenshaw High in Los Angeles was used as the high school, and close-by Southern Cal, a prominent basketball program, was a perfect fit for the college quarter of the movie. Even the woman's basketball league, WNBA, and the NBA agreed to lend their names to the movie. Interestingly, a college assistant coach from local rival UCLA was hired as a basketball advisor and coach. A segment of the film was even shot in Barcelona, Spain, all contributing to "Love & Basketball" being a successful successor of "He Got Game" with an added feminist twist.
Unfortunately, the real-life image doesn't exclude one of the more negative aspects of basketball that didn't really have anything to do in this movie. Both in the locker room and during the romantic scenes, Monica's Nike sports bra gets considerably more screen time than even Brandi Chastaine's at last summer's Soccer World Cup. The small Nike symbol is placed subtly but noticeably throughout the movie, raising the question if the sports company sponsored the film budget to gain a small advantage in the hard-fought basketball (sneaker) market. On another downside, the plot of "Love & Basketball" remains rather predictable: The audience knows the outcome far ahead of the buzzer.
However, as basketball fans know, even games that fail to deliver the upset win, or that are not decided at the buzzer, can be a lot of fun to watch.
The movie tells the story of Quincy McCall (Omar Epps), son of an NBA player, and Monica Wright (Sanaa Lathan). In the first quarter, they meet as kids who become new neighbors. To Quincy's amazement, she can play ball better than most boys, which leads them to a competitive bet on who will turn professional first. The second quarter takes the friends to high school, where Monica gains the reputation of a tomboy who can't get a date for the seniors' dance, while Q has his choice of friends (and girls), but displays somewhat poor taste. He changes his mind about Monica when they move on to the third quarter, college life. Their relationship, rooted in their love for the game, prospers as their skills improve. Soon, they have to start choosing between the love for their game and for each other. Quincy's troubles on the home front further complicate things, and eventually, they both move on and try to carve out a living at the pro level. Their fourth quarters lead them to different parts of the world, before they meet each other again. Now they face a decision that determines the outcome of this "Love & Basketball" game.
Instead of directing the movie himself, Spike Lee helped to develop young talent: black director Gina Prince-Bythewood responded with an admirable debut. She managed to create an engaging and honest film about the relationship, development, and challenges of a young black couple. The cast also rises to the same level, most of all with the lead performances of Omar Epps and Sanaa Lathan. They both deliver good games and manage to feed off each other both on and off the court. Especially Sanaa Lathan seems a rising star who will certainly be seen and heard more of in her cinematic future. Maybe what makes the movie most credible: The shooting locations. Real-life powerhouse Crenshaw High in Los Angeles was used as the high school, and close-by Southern Cal, a prominent basketball program, was a perfect fit for the college quarter of the movie. Even the woman's basketball league, WNBA, and the NBA agreed to lend their names to the movie. Interestingly, a college assistant coach from local rival UCLA was hired as a basketball advisor and coach. A segment of the film was even shot in Barcelona, Spain, all contributing to "Love & Basketball" being a successful successor of "He Got Game" with an added feminist twist.
Unfortunately, the real-life image doesn't exclude one of the more negative aspects of basketball that didn't really have anything to do in this movie. Both in the locker room and during the romantic scenes, Monica's Nike sports bra gets considerably more screen time than even Brandi Chastaine's at last summer's Soccer World Cup. The small Nike symbol is placed subtly but noticeably throughout the movie, raising the question if the sports company sponsored the film budget to gain a small advantage in the hard-fought basketball (sneaker) market. On another downside, the plot of "Love & Basketball" remains rather predictable: The audience knows the outcome far ahead of the buzzer.
However, as basketball fans know, even games that fail to deliver the upset win, or that are not decided at the buzzer, can be a lot of fun to watch.