The Basketball Diaries
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Movie Reviews of The Basketball Diaries
Movie Review: These are people who died, died
Summary: 3 Stars
The final scene gives a brief glimpse of why we should care about this rather routine drug addiction film-noir, when we see Jim Carroll giving a reading of his writings. However, that comes 90 minutes too late to save what should have been an interesting biopic. The loss is now more poignant, given Carrol's recent death at age 60. Songs from Carroll's four rock albums dot the soundtrack, and the script is based on the book Carroll wrote at age 17 depicting his grim youth as a Catholic school drug addict in NYC. If only watchers were advised of these accomplishments at the film's beginnings, and then given a tour backward in time, the movie would have benefited. As it is, it's a lot of puking and screaming and fighting and writhing as the characters search for dope and/or go through withdrawal.Movie Review: Drama at it's best
Summary: 3 Stars
I wouldn't have sit through the entire movie if the story lacked but eventually, after it's shady opening, narrated by DiCaprio's character, i became interested in the actual plot of the downfall of the protagonist. The better scenes in this movie involves the induction of supporting cast Mark Wahlberg, who makes the movie even more realistic and hard-hitting. It's a simple story of a frustrated adolesent taking drugs in prep-school suffering the torments of phedos such as the Coach and his teacher.
The movie overall was entertaining but leaves you wondering at the end where does the character go from now and where are the other prominent characters of the story. If you like drama based on true stories and actual happenings of teen life, pick up Basketball Diaries.
Movie Review: Didn't really work for me personally, but if you haven't read the source material it's worth a watch
Summary: 2 Stars
Jim Carroll is a basketball star. He and his gang of friends get into gang fights and steal things in their spare time. When Jim gets involved in drugs, his life slowly start to deteriorate. More and more problems arise as he continues to get fixated and goes to more horrific and depressing extremes in order to get his next fix. The film details his descent from basketball star to full-fledged junkie. Based on the diaries by writer Jim Carroll, the film was in the making for several years before finally being released to mixed reviews in the mid-90s. Being a big fan of the book, I watched this film. This is what I think of it.
This film could have been great. Indeed, it isn't terrible. There is a lot to admire about this piece of work. For starters, Leonardo DiCaprio's performance. He displays a strong range of talent reminiscent of James Dean. His performance is definitely very memorable and extremely realistic. The soundtrack to the film is also quite top-notch and truly lends itself to the angry tone of the film. I also appreciated much of the early scenes in the film and I found many of them to have a true sense of gritty realism as well as a type of ironic detachment that you really don't see too often these days. Juliette Lewis, despite her role being very brief, does an excellent job as well and, had she gotten more to do, could have really been remembered for her role. The film also gets the look of the dank, dark, grimy streets of New York down pitch-perfect. You can really get a true feel for the atmosphere and the scum that pervades the life of Jim and of his friends. You really get a sense of the filmmaker almost being a witness to the type of depraved behavior depicted in the film.
Unfortunately, the flaws outweigh the positives in this film. One of my biggest complaints has to do with the terrible decision to change the time of the story from the 80s to the mid-90s. If there were any time period this film should have been set in it should have been the 80s. The film's soundtrack consists mostly of 80s music. The idea of 80s excess was a big part of the original book and almost lent itself to a kind of realism nearly on par with Less than Zero(the novel) in terms of it's graphic depiction from a boy whose love of life and of writing was corrupted by drug addiction and peer pressure. Unfortunately, the shift from the 80s to the mid-90s not only destroys any chance of any of those themes being explored, but also turns the film into nothing more than a mid-90s cautionary drug tale. The problems with the film, unfortunately, don't even end there. Mark Wahlberg and Ernie Hudson are known for some tremendous work in the past, but their performances in this film have to be some of their worst work ever! Mark Wahlberg is painfully one-dimensional and he manages to not even be able to do THAT right! His performance comes off completely too over-the-top and forced to the point where you cringe at his line delivery! This was before Boogie Nights, so at least he has an excuse, but what was Ernie Hudson thinking??? His character comes off as the stereotypical would-be hero who has been through it all and has made something of himself. It comes off completely fake and simply too cartoonish in nature. He was very miscast in the role and he is ultimately what takes the film down even further. My absolute worst complaint, however, has to do with one particular scene. While I cannot say what goes on in this scene, I will say that the way the filmmakers depicted it was far too over-the-top and extreme in it's nature. It's one of the most notorious scenes in the film, so I'm sure you've heard of it, the infamous "bathroom stall scene". Yeah, the way it is handled in the film is completely gratuitous and absolutely disgusting. It is the sole reason why I refuse to outright recommend this film. Many folks will likely attack me and say "Oh, well that's how it really happens" or "Oh, well you've never experienced what that Jim guy experienced so you don't know what you're talking about". Well, perhaps that's true. Perhaps I have never been a prostitute, nor have I been a drug addict. However, that does not make the scene less graphic and explicit than it needed to be. It's an absolutely disgusting and far too grotesque scene that was completely uncalled for.
As it stands, I can still appreciate the film because it does some things right. I did like the moments of humor and the little scenes that ring true about growing up and being admired by your peers. However, if you have read the book you will be seriously disappointed. The film was a bit too flawed for me to really enjoy or be intrigued by. It's a well-made film in a lot of ways, but I cannot recommend the film to fans of the book. If you are a fan of the book, you will hate this film. If you've never read it, check it out. You might like it.
Movie Review: So-so drug story.
Summary: 2 Stars
The Basketball Diaries starring Leonardo DiCaprio is a good film about drug abuse but this coming of age drama left me disappointed. DiCaprio is so talented but even his electric performance can't save this dribble. This is a movie you borrow or rent but not buy.Movie Review: Not what I expected..
Summary: 1 Stars
Oh Leo.. why would you take this role?? I guess I can justify it since it was his early days. I rented this movie on whim. I thought this movie was perhaps a fun look at life as a teenager.. boy was I ever wrong. It was not about diaries and there was very little basketball involved. I was hoping for an inspirational story about a boy who came out of a rough neighborhood, wins the state basketball tournament, gets the girl and receives a full scholarship to Harvard, while recording these life changing moments in his diary. However, none of those events happened. I guess next time I will read the back of the movie to save myself many months of nightmares and therapy.