Love & Basketball (2000)

Directed by

Gina Prince-Bythewood

Genre

drama film, romance film, sport film, coming-of-age film, romantic comedy film

Country

United States

Runtime

2h 04m

Rated

PG-13

Rating

7.3 of 10 from 471 voters

Elsewhere

IMDb

How it feels

Two childhood neighbors in Los Angeles grow up sharing a passion for basketball. They pursue professional sports careers while their friendship slowly turns into a romantic relationship.

heartfeltromanticambitiouspoignantearnestslow-burnbittersweetgrounded

What happens

Love & Basketball is a 2000 American romantic sports drama film written and directed by Gina Prince-Bythewood in her feature film directorial debut. It was produced by Spike Lee and Sam Kit and stars Sanaa Lathan, Omar Epps, and Alfre Woodard, with Regina Hall, Gabrielle Union and Debbi Morgan in supporting roles. The film follows Quincy McCall (Epps) and Monica Wright (Lathan), two next-door neighbors in Los Angeles, who are pursuing their respective basketball careers while navigating a developing romantic relationship. Love & Basketball was released on April 21, 2000. It received positive reviews from critics, with praise for the performances of Lathan and Epps, as well as Prince-Bythewood's direction and screenplay. It grossed $27.7 million worldwide on a production budget of $14–20 million. The film later developed a dedicated following and has been regarded as a cult classic within Black cinema. In 2023, it was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress for being "culturally, historically or aesthetically significant." (from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA)

Trailer

More like this

• Flipped (2010)
• Love 101 (2000)
• The Girls' Room (2000)
• Chinese Coffee (2000)
• Jailbait (2000)
• Down to You (2000)
• Blue Moon (2000)
• Disappearing Acts (2000)