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This was an interesting film that kept my attention from start to finish. I don't think it is a great film, but it is well worth the time it takes to watch it for the entertainment value alone. Two lives of two young people, a boy and a girl, who have known one another from their days as toddlers, are traced up to the time when a career in basketball imposes harsh strains on their relationship. They are forced to make choices between each other and the game, between their family and the team, and between love and basketball. If you enjoy romantic films, or sports films, you should thoroughly enjoy this combination of both genres. Epps and Lathan light up the screen with their totally believeable performances Reviewed by John W. Chance, Founder & CEO Online Concepts http://www.onlineconcepts.org/ A Tangible Concept http://www.tangibleconcept.comRead full review
Monica (Sanaa Lathan) and Quincy (Omar Epps) have wanted to be professional basketball stars since they were kids. 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 San Diego 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 her 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. Through soul searching throughout the season, Monica learns to control her emotions and leads her team to the state championship game, but could not lead them to a victory. She begins to recover from the loss 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 she has been accepted, he 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. The third quarter of the story follows Quincy and Monica to their freshman year at USC, where they are managing themselves as athletes, students, and a couple. Again, the same problems seem to present themselves, this time on a bigger stRead full review
Love this movie! I've always been a fan of sports movies, and I like the twist that the girl not only gets the career the guy was expected to get, but she gets the guy, too! All the actors handled their business--loved the opening part with the main characters as kids (so reminded me of petty middle school years! HaHa!) I had to laugh, when checking imdb.com, while Dennis Haysbert (Zeke) is 19 years older than Omar Epps, who played his son, Sanaa Lathan (Monica) is only 7 years younger than Harry Lennix, who plays her dad! They managed to get away with it pretty well. It's a lot of fun to watch--the dialogue, the soundtrack, the sports, the relationships--and worth watching again and again.
I had no problems using this DVD in my Apple, the quality of it is great. A love story with a healthy dollop of basketball by first-time feature filmmaker Gina Prince-Bythewood, whose background includes a stint writing for Felicity. Quincey McCall (Omar Epps) and Monica Wright (Sanaa Lathan) grow up next door to each other from the age of 11, and they're bound together by their mutual love of basketball. Q's parents, particularly his dad (Dennis Haysbert), a fading NBA player, support their son's love of the game but want him to get a solid education. Monica's mother (Alfre Woodard) wishes her daughter could be sweeter and girlier, like her older sister; Monica's father (Harry J. Lennix) is behind his little girl's ambitions all the way. The kids grow into competitive high school players, begin dating, go off to college together, fight, go their separate ways... and always, the game shapes them, nutures them, divides them and ultimately brings them back together. Prince-Bythewood's structural conceit — "a love story in four quarters" — is both precious and schematic, but the movie's performances, especially Lathan's, are strong enough to balance out the sometimes-clichéd script. Prince-Bythewood should thank her lucky stars she has an actress of Woodard's caliber to deliver that speech about the dignity of stay-at-home mothers. And while there are plenty of basketball pictures bouncing around, this is the first to give equal prominence to women's pro ball — that alone makes it stand out from the pack.Read full review
This film is the best film i have ever seen!!!Me and my boyfriend are huge fans of basketball. My history is very similar to history of Monica. Sometimes it seems that Monika is me. In this film there are a lot of situations similar to what happened with me, similar dialogues...))) Besides...There is the relationship not only between Quincy and Monica, but the relationships they had with their father and mother respectively. There is also the relationship they have with the world they live in, trying to find out what they really want in life. It really makes you think about how sometimes the very thing you are looking for is actually standing right there in front of you and you don't realize it.For Exaple-Monica said important words:"-When you're a kid, you-you see the life you want, and it never crosses your mind that it's not gonna turn out that way."I think that it is very good that Monica understood it and destiny gives one more chance for her and she has rectified the error and has achieved what she wanted:"All's fair in love and basketball:double or nothing!))"Read full review
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