Gina Prince-Bythewood, a former college athlete, puts a spin on this one-on-one tale of 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 (The Mod Squad) is Quincy, an NBA player's son who has pro dreams of his own. Next-door neighbors 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.

"All's fair in love and basketball, right?"

I am a sick, sick fan of hoops, and I cannot get over how much I like LOVE & BASKETBALL. Yet, here's the thing. My appreciation of this film doesn't largely hinge on its basketball aspects (although they play a part). LOVE & BASKETBALL, as the title would imply, is much more than just about ballin', although hoops has an integral role in the storyline. I guess, when I get ready to watch a sports flick and being readily aware of the limitations associated with this genre, I only expect to be moved on a certain level. But, I tell you, it's ridiculous how quickly and thoroughly I came to love the characters. Especially Monica. From the very moment she came on scene, I was rooting for her.

This is the story of Quentin and Monica and their mutual passion for basketball and their years together and their years apart. LOVE & BASKETBALL opens with their first meeting at age 11 as the tomboyish Monica moves in next door and plays Quentin (or "Q") in a pickup game, in which she shows off her game. Q rewards her with an inadvertent facial scar which would be there all her life. They become friends, anyway. The camera cuts to years later and goes on to chronicle their lives from high school to college and beyond. For most of these years, they remain friends, then they become lovers. But there are always pitfalls to romance. The happy-go-lucky Q is always dealing with the pressure and obligations of fame, but then he finds himself having to come to grips with an adored father who has fallen from grace. We note the fallout of Sanaa's ultra-competitiveness and all-consuming commitment to her sport as her relationships with Q and with her mother become undermined. We see Q and Monica bitterly part ways, and, years later, have a reconciliation of sorts. Friendship, glory, betrayal, pain, heartache, sacrifice, loneliness, love, and basketball. It's a journey not to be missed.

LOVE & BASKETBALL is Writer/Director Gina Prince-Bythewood's baby. She lived with this story for two and a half years, tweaking and rewriting. Understandably, she makes for a hard taskmaster as she pushed and pushed Sanaa Lathan (they're friends now). But Prince-Bythewood's hard work pays off. LOVE & BASKETBALL is a thoughtful, soulful, sensitive, and funny movie, telling a romance as expressed thru the prism of basketball. And, even though there's ample focus on Q, the film is told mostly thru the eyes of Monica, who makes an ideal role model for young girls and women, African-American or not.

Back to the basketball angle, the sequences on the hardwood are nice enough, but they aren't there to deliver the big sports moments as much as to add further nuance and development to the characters. My favorite basketball scenes actually aren't the ones played out in front of gym or arena crowds. Rather, they're the pickup games played by Q and Monica. They meet in a pickup game, and the tone of their relationship is established right then and there. There's a game of strip basketball they play with a Nerf ball in Q's dorm which serves to accentuate the playful and amorous nature of their relationship. And, lastly, there's a standout high stakes game of one on one, upon which rests Monica and Q's happiness. This last scene - and the preceding one in which Monica challenges Q - could've come off as corny, but the actors and the writing are so good they pull it off.

The cast is uniformly great, with standout efforts by the great Alfre Woodard as Monica's very domestic mom and Christine Dunford as Monica's demanding college coach. And, as Q, Omar Epps is very solid. But if I were to single out an actor, it must be Sanaa Lathan, who OWNS this picture. Sanaa is simply exquisite, a quality actress with a self-assured focus, a complexity to her, and an aching vulnerability. She's good enough that she carries scenes without dialogue. She breaths vivid life into Monica and makes her into a driven, hot-tempered, beautiful, lost, and wounded woman. I dare you to not root for her.

Personally, it cheeses me when actors play athletes who don't convince in their sports setting. The role of Monica had actually come down to Sanaa Lathan and a basketball player. Thankfully, the director opted for the actress. Her decision pays huge dividends as Sanaa pulls off the basketball part of her scenes. She had never ever touched a basketball before, but Sanaa spent grueling months learning and training, and this before she even officially got the part. She ends up being very convincing (in fact, she looks more at home with the ball than does Omar Epps, who's short for a hoopster).

Without hammering 'em home, Prince-Bythewood manages to raise a few topical issues. Obviously, the issue of feminism. There's also the prevailing inequality of men versus women in sports (while Q basks in the spotlight and the props, Monica toils in abject anonymity and then has to ply her trade overseas). The continuing struggles of women athletes are further delved into in an involving documentary in the bonus features.

Speaking of the extra features, Lathan and Prince-Bythewood's cheerful audio commentary is a must-listen if you want the fascinating behind-the-scenes 411 on LOVE & BASKETBALL. I also liked the segment with the audition tapes. And there's the gag reel, in which we get to see the great Laker voice Chick Hearn one more time (although, the rest of the gag reel, I could take or leave).

The soundtrack proves invaluable in setting the mood, and, anyways, I've always been partial to Al Green's "Love and Happiness" and even Kool Moe Dee's "I Go To Work." That the cast is peppered by actual ballers lends the film an air of authenticity. Monica's Crenshaw High teammates are the actual Crenshaw High basketball team, and Monica's USC teammates are professional basketball players. Even Prince-Bythewood, herself an athlete, does a cameo (she's the one earning floor burns on the floor with Sanaa as they skirmish for the rock). But the film's greatest strengths lie in the strong storytelling and in the multi-faceted characters. There is a truth and an intelligence here, and a maturity and a sexy appeal. And a wonderful love story. LOVE & BASKETBALL, the fruit of one determined woman's dream and labor, engages us all the way. I'm a Laker fan and a UCLA fan, and, I'm telling you, despite the Clipper and Trojan sightings, I like this movie so much. I can't get over how very much I like it (Sanaa Lathan, will you marry me?).

*Great Movie!*

This is a wonderful movie.A movie that makes you feel good.It is nice to watch a movie that lets you see that dreams can come true.

"The love of the game"

This is a love story of a young boy and girl who finds each other.Though the love of basket ball.Problems seperates them ,but they both become successful. In the end their love for the game and each other. Over came their hate and sorrow. Now a loving family togther.