#728) Love & Basketball (2000)

The Plot: “Love & Basketball” follows two childhood friends and aspiring basketball players as they grow up and fall in love through the 1980s. Monica Wright (Sanaa Lathan) keeps playing despite the insistence of her mother (Alfre Woodard) that “girls shouldn’t play basketball”. Quincy “Q” McCall (Omar Epps) is following in the footsteps of his NBA star dad (Dennis Haysbert) but uncovers some tough truths along the way. During their senior year of high school in 1988, Monica and Q both get accepted to play basketball at USC, and sleep together for the first time. While their romantic relationship blossoms in college, their separate career paths threaten to tear them apart, proving that all’s fair in love and basketball.

Why It Matters: The NFR calls the film “[u]nforgettable and inspiring”, highlighting its “ongoing resonance with women athletes and young people”.

But Does It Really?: I had never seen “Love & Basketball” before this viewing, and I was quite charmed by it. “Love & Basketball” is another prime example of why we need more women and people of color directing movies. This film could have been riddled with sports and rom-com cliches had it been directed by a White person, but by telling her own story, Gina Prince-Bythewood guarantees a fresh dynamic to the proceedings: What could be contrived and obvious plays here as authentic and realistic. Prince-Bythewood’s commitment is matched by a very strong cast, led by the charismatic Lathan and Epps. “Love & Basketball” continues to not only entertain, but also inspire a generation of female athletes finally seeing themselves represented on the big screen. “Love & Basketball” is a modern classic, and I’m glad it has taken its rightful spot on the Registry.

Everybody Gets One: Raised in Pacific Grove, California, Gina Prince played high school basketball, and later ran track at UCLA, where she received her film degree. One of her first professional jobs was as a writer for “A Different World”, where she met her future husband, fellow writer Reggie Rock Bythewood. Although several other TV jobs followed, Gina Prince-Bythewood walked away from TV to focus on writing a semi-autobiographical screenplay she declared would be “a Black ‘When Harry Met Sally’.” After being turned down by multiple studios, “Love & Basketball” received a reading at the Sundance Institute, which caught the attention of Spike Lee, who would produce the film under his company 40 Acres and a Mule Filmworks. Thanks to Spike Lee’s clout, Prince-Bythewood was able to direct the film herself, marking her feature film debut.

Title Track: The title is a riff on the idiom “All’s fair in love and war”, which I always assumed was a Shakespeare quote; turns out it’s John Lyly from his novel “Euphues”. In the category of “Lines that sound weird but inexplicably work in this movie”, the line “All’s fair in love and basketball” is spoken twice in the film.

Wow, That’s Dated: Monica’s dream of being the first female NBA player stems from the fact that there was no WNBA in the 1980s. The league would not be founded until 1996, while Gina Prince-Bythewood was writing the screenplay.

Seriously, Oscars?: No Oscar nods for “Love & Basketball”, though Gina Prince-Bythewood did win the Independent Spirit Award for Best First Screenplay. The film also cleaned up at that year’s Black Reel Awards.

• Shoutout to the actors playing the parents; all of whom do not age at any point in this movie’s 12-year timeline. Oscar nominee/perennial Emmy winner Alfre Woodard is the standout to me, popping up sporadically in the film, but delivering a powerful monologue near the end. For those of us who know Dennis Haysbert as the President on “24”, it’s great seeing him play a much more despicable, yet still likeable, character; though admittedly every time Haysbert spoke all I could hear was “That’s Allstate’s stand. Are you in good hands?” Also appearing in smaller but no less important roles are “Eve’s Bayou” standout Debbi Morgan as Q’s mother, and Spike Lee staple Harry J. Lennix as Monica’s supportive dad.
• The scene where young Monica fights with young Q on his front lawn was re-written to incorporate the real-life scar on Sanaa Lathan’s cheek, which begs the question: Just how sharp is that grass?
• Two of this film’s supporting actors were on the cusp of their own stardom. Both Regina Hall (as Monica’s sister Lena) and Gabrielle Union (Q’s high-school date Shawnee) were a few months away from their breakout performances in, respectively, “Scary Movie” and “Bring It On”. Side note: Gabrielle Union originally auditioned for Monica, and despite playing Varsity basketball in high school was told by Gina Prince-Bythewood that she didn’t look like a basketball player.
• I especially loved how bad Monica is at being flirty or sexy. Watching Monica not know how to sit down while wearing a dress is her most endearing moment. 
• Once again, the MPA’s double-standard with Black sex scenes rears its ugly head. “Love & Basketball” originally received an R rating, but Gina Prince-Bythewood was adamant the film be PG-13 so that young girls could see it. Several trims were made to the sex scene, even though there is no nudity and very little movement depicted. I get the feeling that this was somehow Jack Valenti’s fault; I have no evidence to support this claim, it just seems right.
• After such a tender love scene, what could be a better mood killer than an overenthusiastic cameo by longtime college basketball announcer Dick Vitale? Vitale is one of several real-life sportscasters and athletes who appear as themselves in the film, including Robin Roberts, Stu Lantz, and Chick Hearn. Conspicuously absent is “Magic” Johnson, whose career highlights are weaved throughout the film (Johnson does appear via archival footage).
• For those of us ignorant to the rules and positions of basketball, I can vouch that this is a love story first and a sports movie second, so you can still follow along with relative ease (although my wife did have to explain to me what a point guard is). Also, I believe this, “Hoosiers”, and “Hoop Dreams” are the only basketball movies on the NFR. I can’t think of any more that should be on the list, other than joke answers like “Air Bud” or “Space Jam”.
• Yes, that is Tyra Banks near the end of the film as Kyra. Truly, everybody gets one.
• “Love & Basketball” gives me one of my favorite movie tropes of all time: the “Everyone is sad” montage that happens in a film’s third act (or in this movie’s case its fourth quarter). The montage song of choice is Angie Stone’s cover of Simply Red’s “Holding Back the Years”.
• It was during Alfre Woodard’s monologue that I realized I have unintentionally bookended this year’s blog posts with Alfre Woodard movies (She also makes an appearance in “12 Years a Slave”).

• The final one-on-one match between Monica and Q is great. Yes, the “For your heart” line is cheesy, but after everything you’ve gone through with these characters you really don’t mind. And I love how many of these shots are clearly the actors themselves making the basket in one uninterrupted take.

• Stick around after the credits for one final shot. Also, this film’s copyright reminded me that 2000 is the easiest Roman numeral year to remember (MM; I recall a certain candy brand using this to their marketing advantage at the time).

And with that defiant stance against sequels, we conclude Year Eight of The Horse’s Head. My thanks to each and every one of you for making 2024 the blog’s most successful year ever! I’ll be back later this month to cover the Class of 2024, and after that taking some time off for the holidays. Until then, Happy Viewing, and may your nominations finally make the cut this year.

Tony