Love & Basketball

Love & Basketball is the soundtrack to the film, released April 18, 2000, on Overbrook Entertainment and Interscope Records.[8] Production for the album came from several recording artists, including Raphael Saadiq, Angie Stone, Zapp, and Steve "Silk" Hurley.[9] In the US, the album peaked at number 45 on the Billboard 200 and number 15 on R&B/Hip-Hop Albums.[10] Stacia Proefrock of Allmusic gave the album a three-of-five star review, saying, "Songs like Meshell Ndegeocello's 'Fool of Me' help punctuate this story of childhood friends who love each other almost as much as they love the game of basketball. Other highlights of the soundtrack include songs from MC Lyte, Al Green, and Rufus."[11]

On review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 85% based on 113 reviews, with an average rating of 6.9/10. The site's critics consensus reads: "Confident directing and acting deliver an insightful look at young athletes."[12] At Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 70 out of 100, based on 28 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".[13] Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "A" on an A+ to F scale.[14]

Film critic Lisa Schwarzbaum of Entertainment Weekly gave Love & Basketball an A− review. She enjoyed how the film portrayed women's sports in general and said, "The speed and wiliness of the game itself ensure that movies about men who shoot hoops are exciting, but the novelty of watching women bring their own physical grace to the contest is a turn-on."[15]

Rachel Deahl of AllRovi gave the film 3.5 out of 5 stars. In her review she complimented Epps and Lathan on their performances, and said, "Love & Basketball serves as a somber reminder of how few films exist (much less love stories, much less ones that focus on the female perspective) about multi-dimensional African-American characters outside the ghetto."[16] Film critic Desson Thomson of The Washington Post wrote, "Love and Basketball had moments of such tenderness and sophistication, complimented [sic] by such romantic dreaminess between lead performers Omar Epps and Sanaa Lathan. First-time filmmaker Gina Prince-Bythewood's film joins such films as The Best Man and The Wood, which look for the class, not the crass, in African American life."[17]

New York Post critic Jonathan Foreman gave the film a mixed review; he appreciated how the film "effectively conveys the excitement of basketball from a player's point of view", but opined the film is "filled with fake-sounding dialogue you only find in the cheesiest TV movies."[18] Roger Ebert, film critic for the Chicago Sun-Times, wrote, "The film is not as taut as it could have been, but I prefer its emotional perception to the pumped-up sports clichés I was sort of expecting. It's about the pressures of being a star athlete; the whole life, not the game highlights. I'm not sure I quite believe the final shot, though. I think the girl suits up for the sequel."[19] Ebert gave the film three out of four stars.[19] Robert Wilonsky of the Dallas Observer gave the film a negative review, saying "[it] is a film built upon transitions so weak and obvious it's astonishing the entire thing doesn't collapse on itself. You want to root for it, as you would any rookie underdog, but it offers nothing to cheer for."[20] Of the acting, he stated, "Omar Epps possesses a chiseled body and a blank stare [...] Lathan is only slightly better, but she's stuck in a hollow role."[20]

A 2015 review of the film by The A.V. Club praises it as a "nearly perfect modern romantic drama", and notes that it is an impressive debut for writer-director Gina Prince-Bythewood. The review highlights the film's focus on the protagonist, Monica, and her coming-of-age story as a female basketball player who is constantly told that her body type and attitude are unacceptable. The review also notes the film's respect for Monica's athleticism, which is captured in every frame, and praises the director's tender and celebratory gaze towards her female lead.[21]

Love & Basketball was released in North America on April 21, 2000 to 1,237 theaters.[2] It grossed $3,176,000 its first day and ending its North American weekend with $8,139,180, which was the second-highest grossing movie of the April 21–23, 2000 weekend, only behind U-571.[22] Love & Basketball grossed $27,459,615 in the United States, which is ninth all-time for a basketball film and thirty-seventh all-time for a sports drama.[2] The film grossed $27,728,118 worldwide; $268,503 (1%) was grossed outside of the United States.[2]

• Prince-Bythewood, Gina (Director) (2000). Love & Basketball (DVD). Los Angeles, CA: New Line Cinema.