Stars: Sanaa Lathan, Omar Epps, Alfre Woodard, Dennis Haysbert, Debbi Morgan, Monica Calhoun, Tyra Banks, Kyla Pratt, Harry J. Lennix, Glenndon Chatman, James DuMont, Robin Roberts, Dick Vitale

Director: Gina Prince-Bythewood

Summary: Quincy and Monica are an African-American couple who grew up together and as they reach adulthood they fall in love. They also share the same passion - basketball - and their lives consist of making all of these relationships work...

LOVE AND BASKETBALL is the powerful story of two next-door neighbors in Los Angeles who grow up loving basketball and, eventually, each other. Monica (Sanaa Lathan) and Quincy (Omar Epps) have wanted to be basketball stars since they were kids. Monica has had to work hard to establish herself as a presence, 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 feelings for each other.

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Director Gina Prince-Bythewood, a former college athlete, puts a spin on this one-on-one tale of, as the title says, Love and Basketball. Sanaa Lathan (The Best Man) is the fiercely driven, hot-tempered Monica, a tomboy who gives her all for basketball. Omar Epps is Quincy, an NBA player's son who has pro dreams of his own. Next-door neighbours since first grade, they start as rivals (she flabbergasts the boy by outplaying him in a game of driveway pickup) and age into best friends and lovers. The romantic complications follow a familiar game plan, but the film throws a fascinating spotlight onto the contrast between men's and women's basketball. While Quincy plays college ball on huge courts to cheering, sold-out crowds, we see Monica's sweat, tears and sheer physical dedication in front of tiny audiences in small gyms and second-rate auditoriums. The story is pointedly set in the late 1980s, years before the establishment of the WNBA, so Monica's prospects for pro ball lie exclusively in Europe, while Quincy steps into the pros at home. It's a pleasure to see a character as passionate and fully developed as Monica, and Lathan gives a fiery portrayal (she had never played ball before the film, but you'd never tell from her performance). Prince-Bythewood favours her struggle over Quincy's and opens our eyes to her unique challenges with a sharp, savvy contrast. Alfre Woodard co-stars as Monica's harping mother (always trying to get her to be more ladylike) and Dennis Haysbert is Quincy's philandering father. Hoops fan Spike Lee produced. --Sean Axmaker, Amazon.com

Aspect Ratio:	4:3
Main Language:	English
Region:	Region 2
Special Features:	Trailer, Sound Bites, B Roll
Year:	2000
Release Date:	February 26, 2001
Runtime:	119 minutes
Certification:
Catalogue Number:	E D V 9099
Keywords:	Love, Basketball, General, Romantic, Drama
Genre:	Drama