Female Filmmaker February (pt. II)
Love & Basketball
Enough Said
After the intense vibes of last week’s films, I wanted to give us a break and indulge in some light-hearted romance. It is a complex, varied, and yet oftentimes, rather formulaic category of film. The arc of the marriage plot is a tried and true mode of love storytelling: two people meet and, despite all odds, end up together. From Lizzie Bennet to Bridget Jones, love proves to be worth fighting for, and people never really get tired of seeing that. Not every romance ends in a marriage and not all romances end happily, but I wanted to take it easy tonight, so I’m happy to report that neither of these films ended unhappily. The romance genre is, kinda surprisingly, a real boys club—especially in my favorite romantic sub genre, rom coms. Hitch, There’s Something About Mary, Chasing Amy, High Fidelity, 500 Days of Summer, She’s All That, Mr. Deeds, and my least favorite, Knocked Up, are all irrevocably male-centric romances, and, in my opinion, are very clearly made by men, in a category that is often coded as feminine. To quote Ava Phillippe “gender is whatever” and never plays a role in how good or bad a movie is, however I do think that romance is the most gendered genre when it comes to narrative perspective. I don’t think that gender plays a role in how a film is made and received, but when it comes to romance especially, I really feel that it plays a role in the way the story is told. Romance looks and tastes and feels different to everyone, regardless of gender, but there’s something about love stories told by women, that just feel so special and so intentional. I’m not normally drawn to straight up romance films, mostly because so many are very poignant or just straight up depressing. I think I’m just scarred from A Walk to Remember, The Fault in Our Stars, The Notebook, The Titanic, etc. Thank god, neither of tonight’s films were sad. Nicole Holofcener’s 2013 film Enough Said was the only rom com of the evening, but it was more rom than com. But what Enough Said lacked in uproarious hilarity, it made up for in sweetness and sincerity. Julia Louis-Dreyfus stars as Eva, a divorced, almost-empty-nested masseuse who finds herself in an unexpected romance with James Gandolfini’s Albert, a fellow divorcee also with a college-bound kid. Julia is reliably charming and bright, and she had a wonderful chemistry with the always lovable James Gandolfini. This was his next to last film, and his part feels all the more special when you learn that Louis C.K. was the first choice for the role… we really dodged a bullet folks, and it’s just really hard to imagine anyone but James here. Whether he was having a sit-down as Tony Soprano or just sitting on a porch with Julia Louis-Dreyfus, James Gandolfini had a way of lighting up the screen and commanding attention. This role could not have been more different than Tony Soprano, but there’s still tenderness and love and passion at the core. He brought a warmth to an already cozy movie, and his banter with Julia was funny and silly and almost cringey it was so cute. It’s a middle-aged, PG-13 romance, but I really think this movie is for everyone. Toni Collette was hilarious (and speaking in her native Aussie accent), Catherine Keener was her funny, monotone self, and the stakes were relatively low. It’s not the kind of romance that’s meant to make you cry, but when the credits rolled and “For Jim” popped up, uh yeah I might’ve shed a tear. Gina Prince-Blythewood’s 2000 classic Love & Basketball was not a tearjerker, despite what it says on every “best romance movie” list. I know I’m extremely late to the party, but Love & Basketball was perfection. I have never cared about basketball in my life, but as this game played out my heart was racing and my face felt hot with excitement! It was so gentle and sexy and authentic. I haven’t been this captivated by a romance in a minute but the love felt real, the conflict felt real, and Sanaa Lathan and Omar Epps made me believe in it all. Sanaa plays Monica, a timid but tough basketball player who lives next door to Omar Epps’ Quincy, another driven but distracted basketball player. We meet them as children, then watch their friendship evolve into a courtship, and a relationship that is only complicated by time, fame, and their dedication to their athletic careers. From Alfre Woodard to Dennis Haysbert, to Regina Hall to Gabrielle Union to Tyra Banks, I couldn’t get over how iconic this cast was. The story was riveting, and shockingly, in spite of my disdain for sports being involved in anything, the basketball was riveting! I’m not super well-versed in the intricacies of the gender politics of professional basketball, but I think this film captured a lot of the obstacles that women in the sport face. So much so that I’m disappointed (but not surprised) that my feminist film theory professor in college never screened this. The cast, the music, the excellently earnest script, it felt like a favorite almost instantly. I’m a sucker for those deep and complicated romances that span many years and take many forms—a la Call Me By Your Name, the Before Sunrise series, Normal People—but rarely do those have happy endings. Love & Basketball never let me down though, and kept me hanging on every dribble. I was pleasantly so into it all and honestly can’t wait to watch it again. Both of tonight’s films put a smile on this cynic’s face, and I made me yearn for the kind of love worth playing basketball for.
