40 Acres and a Mule Filmworks presents another romance film.
“Love And Basketball” is a two hour and four minute movie that dives into an experience with a little girl, Monica Wright (Sanna Latban) who just moved into a neighborhood with her two parents and her older sister, living in Los Angeles, California. The movie starts off with Monica going to play at her neighborhood basketball court with a group of three little boys, one of those boys being Quincy Epps (Omar Epps.) The group of boys didn’t know Monica was a girl considering she had on a basketball cap on and dressed very tomboyish. Once the boys figure out that she’s a girl, they start to treat her differently, but she ends up winning the short game of basketball they were playing before Omar accidently pushed her. The film is filled with drama; as the drama between the two progresses and the audience witnesses the relationship between the two grow.
Something gathered from watching this film is the complexities of love and relationships. The whole movie is about the complicated relationship between Quincy and Monica. It shows how love and personal growth have a lot to do with maintaining a healthy relationship and being truthful to one another. In the movie, Monica is so focused on doing good in college and making it to the world of basketball. She wants to make it to the championships and be a part of one of the biggest teams in women’s basketball. This is while she and Quincy go through a complicated relationship since she had to balance basketball and the boy she moves, but at the same time he was holding her back from facing these dreams. The multiple fights that they have are a prime example of it; their relationship was rocky and in shambles as they both couldn’t figure out what they wanted.
Another idea that can be gathered from watching this movie was the importance of growth and self-discovery. Monica and Quincy both grow throughout the film as they learn about themselves and each other. Monica became more confident in herself as a basketball player, while Quincy dealt with his family struggles as his parents were going through a divorce, while Monica’s family showed her the way of pursuing her dreams and containing a happy love life. For example, during the end of the movie, Monica and Quincy have a little girl and Quincy is on the sidelines supporting his wife as she pursues her dreams of being in the women’s NBA, Showing how the couple pushed through their problems and all this toxicity as they became loving and dream catching people. They grew for the better good as they discovered who they want to be. The film is filled with mostly drama and witty comebacks that the couple make at each other, as the people around them take a step back and try to put themselves in Monica and Quincy’s shoes. The film is all about how love is basically war at times.
All and all, “Love and Basketball” is recommended for those who enjoy a good romance drama film. It’s mainly for teens and adults as it is rated PG-13.
