In the year 2000, the prelude to a new millennium, Love and Basketball premiered for the first time and left a permanent mark on the hearts of hopeless romantics in the black community! This timeless romance/sports film still gets referenced today. Depending on when you watch this movie and where you are in your life, you may perceive it differently.
I first watched this movie when I was nine years old, had no business watching that sex scene that later became the staple for what every teenager wanted their first time to be like. At nine, I thought this movie was simply about two kids who both loved basketball. In middle school when I revisited the film, I realized it was about basketball and love. At the end of senior year in high school and beginning of college I thought it was about how the person you lose your virginity to is going to be the person you’ll marry. I mean, isn’t that what happened with Monica and Quincy?
I watched this movie a couple more times over the years and it wasn’t until recently, in the finale of my twenties, that I pose the question to Gina Prince ByTheWood, director extraordinaire, what is Love and Basketball truly about?
1. Was this movie about two lovers and their shared passion for the game?
In the very beginning of the movie, young Monica and Quincy, share a passion for the game and they profess their dreams to one another. Monica wants to play in the WNBA one day and wear the same jersey number as Magic Johnson while Quincy wants to carry on his father’s legacy. This alone is an expression of love between the two eleven-year old’s and their passion for the game. Throughout the movie there are other inclinations of love. Monica goes to all of Quincy’s basketball games and vice versa. They support one another.
2. Was this movie about a father and a son?
Quincy’s father plays a major role in Quincy’s life and the storyline. Quincy is let down by his father who gets caught up in a scandal outside of his marriage, proven to be a flawed man and not superman. This later creates a barrier between Quincy and Monica. He became angry and cold and the love he had for Monica turned cold too. However, his passion for the game grew. It grew so much that he dropped out of college and went pro. His father who has been his life coach always told him education came first and Quincy always listened until his father crossed the family and left him with trust issues and trauma. Once the father-son relationship experienced turmoil, so did Quincy's decision making.
3.Was this movie about a girl chasing her dream by any means necessary? #MalcolmXVibes
Monica is portrayed as an alien throughout the movie. Quincy doesn’t understand her in the very beginning, the girls at school don’t get her and even her prom date doesn’t get her. And dude was in college! Monica never faltered and she remained true to herself and her dream of playing professional basketball.
4.Was this movie about two different upbringings and the effects your childhood has on you as an adult?
Though the two lovers lived next door to one another, the upbringing in each of the California homes were different. Quincy heard everything his parents did. He could hear when they were arguing, having sex, and etc. Monica on the other hand, had conservative parents. We rarely saw the parents argue, sleep together, or anything like Quincy’s. Quincy later turns out to be a womanizer in high school. While we only see Monica date one guy for the entire movie. Can you say monogamist?
5.Was this movie about multiple relationships? Forget Monica and Quincy for a second, what about Monica and her mom?
The subplot of the relationship between Monica and her mom moved the plot forward. For starters, Monica and her mom were like day and night and this caused tension throughout the movie. Monica’s mother wanted her to be more “girly” and embrace her beauty. Meanwhile, Monica wished her mom were more assertive and outgoing. When you look at Quincy’s relationship with his mom, you see the respect, admiration he had for her. She’s involved in his personal life and basketball life. Monica felt disconnected from her mom and maybe even unloved.
6.Was this movie about sacrifice?
There were a few sacrificial actions and inactions that took place. Quincy sacrificed his education to play professional ball. He sacrificed his relationship with Monica to take a random girl on a “Burger King” date. But a date is a date, right? Monica didn’t make a sacrifice the night Quincy wanted to speak to her about his dad’s cheating. If she stayed to talk, she wouldn’t start the next game but in a way that’s a sacrifice for basketball, not Quincy. In the fourth quarter of the movie, Monica is playing overseas and flew back to California as soon as she heard the news about Quincy’s injury. After getting dumped in front of the college campus five years prior, she put her pride aside and flew hours to go see if her ex man’s was okay. Again, sacrifice!
7.Was this a film about growth?
When you’re in the finale of your twenties, everything becomes a revelation and that’s what Love and Basketball is. I’ve decided this movie is about growth! The two lovers at some point take separate paths and no longer have each other to lean on as crutches. They must live life after heartbreak and disappointment. Monica learned how to be more submissive. Quincy learned how to trust again and believe in love after witnessing his parent’s marriage fail. Monica ends up wearing a skirt and embracing her beauty. Quincy learns how to still be a man while sharing the limelight with his successful girlfriend. He even gives up the game and it is implied that he went back to school. This movie is about how when life doesn’t go your way, you pivot and keep going.
