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LOVE AND BASKETBALL
Review by Michael Jacobson
Stars: Omar Epps, Sanaa Lathan, Alfre Woodard, Dennis
Haysbert
Director: Gina Prince-Bythewood
Audio: Dolby Digital 5.1, Dolby Surround
Video: Widescreen 1.85:1 Anamorphic Transfer
Studio: New Line Cinema
Features: See Review
Length: 127 Minutes
Release Date: October 10, 2000
Film ***
Love & Basketball is fairly unique in the
fact that it's a sports movie that was written and directed by a woman, first
timer Gina Prince-Bythewood. She instinctively discovered with her work that
there can be more to a sports film than just the sports...a LOT more.
Her picture follows the young lives of two aspiring
basketball players. When Quincy and Monica first meet, they're about eleven
years old. Monica has just moved in next door, and is ready to shoot some hoops
with the neighborhood kids. Needless to say, they are less than thrilled by her
gender, but she proves a formidable match for them on the court. So much so, in
fact, that Quincy seems to forget himself, shoving off on her so hard that she
hits the pavement and cuts her cheek; a scar that will be there for life.
Flash forward to high school (in this film,
"Second Quarter"). Both are following their dreams, but it seems to be
much harder for Monica (Lathan). The problem? She plays like the boys play:
hard, physical, and aggressive. And while men are applauded for that kind of
play, women are frowned upon. She only has a couple of games left in her season,
and is desperate to be recruited by a college, but spends a lot of her time on
the bench because of her 'attitude'.
Meanwhile, both struggle to relate to their parents.
Quincy's father (Haysbert), a one-time NBA pro, wants his son to get a good
education and not follow in his footsteps. His parents often fight over the
father's long hours away from home, leading Quincy (Epps) to sneak across to
Monica's house and sleep on her floor. Monica's mother (Woodard) likewise
doesn't understand her love for the game or her tendency towards tomboyish
things. And Monica isn't able to appreciate her mother's decision to live life
as a simple wife and mother.
Come "Third Quarter", both kids are playing
ball for USC. Quincy starts out as a freshman star, but his game soon becomes
affected by horrible news from his parents. Monica, on the other hand, struggles
out of the gate to the rage and condemnations of both her coach and fellow
players, but finally gets her chance to stand up and prove herself. One of the
nice aspects of the film structurally is how Quincy's games and Monica's games
rarely take place at the same time, until it becomes necessary for
juxtaposition.
Oh, and did I forget to mention the blossoming
on-again, off-again romance between the two lead stars? Well, the film ain't
called Love & Basketball for nothing. It starts when they're just
kids and Quincy asks Monica to be his girl, though neither really understands
what that means. Later, at their school prom, both are with other dates, but
stare at each other during the slow dances. In college, they play a rather fast
and funny game of strip basketball in a dorm room.
All of this leads, naturally, to "Fourth
Quarter". Decisions will have to made that will greatly effect the outcome
of both of their lives, and whether or not their lives will continue to include
each other. Much of this film takes place pre-WNBA, which meant that for a girl
like Monica who had dedicated her entire life to being the best she could be on
the court, there wasn't much hope of taking her talents beyond college.
Overall, I found this a very satisfying, though
occasionally slow moving film. It thankfully avoids most of the sports movie
cliché's (the big game finale, the buzzer beaters--we can't always be sure we
know what the outcome of their games will be) and focuses very strongly on the
two lead characters, who are both very appealing and brought to life by two
terrific young actors in Omar Epps and Sanaa Lathan. The script is very good
with terrific direction by Prince-Bythewood. There's no reason to think she
won't evolve into a major player in Hollywood. The film was co-produced by Spike
Lee, who thankfully didn't show up in the movie sitting on the bleachers and
heckling the opposing teams. :-)
In short, Love & Basketball is a different
kind of sports movie because it subtly sneaks in a woman's point of view about
life, love, and competing on an equal court with the opposite sex, and is all
the better for it.
Video ***1/2
New Line, as usual, doesn't disappoint with their disc
quality. This is a terrific looking anamorphic transfer, with excellent coloring
throughout and good, sharp imaging. There are no instances of grain, shimmer, or
distortions associated with compression, even in darker scenes. Occasionally,
mid-level lighting scenes look just a tad soft around the edges and defining
lines, but it's barely noticeable and FAR from a distraction. Indoor and outdoor
shots look equally crisp and natural, without a hint of color bleeding, even in
the shots with a wide chromatic scheme.
Audio **
I'm a little confused in this department...my player
and receiver registered this disc as having both a 5.1 soundtrack and a 2
channel surround. I listened with the 5.1 audio activated, and though it was a
perfectly decent listening experience, at no time did I hear anything from the
surrounds! There were plenty of scenes that could have utilized them easily,
from the basketball games to the terrific song and music score, but I never
heard a peep. I even reached behind me to put my hand over the speaker cone
during a game to see if I felt any tell-tale vibrations--none. I also checked
the 2 channel surround, which was a little thinner sounding up front and sparse
rear-channel use. The copy I reviewed is a test copy, however, and there's a
possibility that the 5.1 problem might just be a glitch that will be repaired in
time for the disc's release. The front stage was well spread, and offered clear
dialogue and plenty of direction action, and the subwoofer came into place
nicely for some of the songs and louder game moments. As it is, this is a
perfectly good soundtrack, but if those rears end up kicking in on release day,
it'll be even better.
Features ****
Four words: New Line Platinum Series. This studio
continues to set the standard for well packaged, quality discs at good prices,
and Love & Basketball is sure to delight DVD fans with its extras.
For starters, you get nice animated menus with sound, including a bouncing
basketball that takes you from screen to screen. There is a 30+ minute
documentary on the "glass ceiling", and it features interviews with
the director and other women who have earned success in traditionally
male-oriented areas, like politics, law and sports. There are two full length
commentary tracks: one by director Prince-Bythewood and star Sanaa Lathan. It
starts out sounding like two separate tracks edited together, but soon the two
join forces. The track is entertaining, and lively, to say the least. They often
raise their voices in excitement and laugh spontaneously, and even argue a
little bit. I would have like a LITTLE more serious information, especially with
Prince-Bythewood being a first time director, but still, no real complaints. The
second track features an isolated score with comments from the director and the
composer, Terence Blanchard.
Also included on the disc are the trailer, animated
storyboards, deleted scenes, a blooper real, a music video (artist unspecified),
and most interesting of all: screen tests for newcomer Lathan. All in all, a
typically terrific New Line package.
Summary: