Review of The Basketball Diaries (1995) by Ama A — 20 Dec 2008

This film was a big disappointment even though I had looked forward to seeing it I saw it in the theater and was greatly disappointed even then so it was shocking to me later when it hit DVD and over the years how many people like the film. It is because even though there is a wealth of material in the book somehow the filmmakers in the words of Robert DeNiro in the film â??Coplandâ?? â??You Blew itâ??

A film based ion the diaries of poet jim carroll. who went from altar boy to junkie to rehab to writer.

This film shows what a great talent Leonardo Dicaprio has and would have in the future but he wasnâ??t quite there yet. in fact the only reason to watch this is his performance and the performance of Mark Wahlberg. The scene where he is going through Detox alone is a great piece of acting.

Iâ??m thinking that the reason this movie got such a great cast involved in supporting roles and cameos was both a mixture of the heat Mr. Dicaprio was gaining at the time the fact that the book had been celebrated over the years and some were just his buddies. While the book is a interesting autobiography they gloss over the more seedier sides of the book. The script goes into the dark passages to make it a dirtier version then a afterschool special or TV-Movie but not quite enough to make a interesting feature. Itâ??s nothing we havenâ??t seen before but it should appeal to teenagers because we havenâ??t seen a teenage character go through quite so much so fast due to theyâ??re addiction.

One of the biggest problems is the direction the book is set in the 70â??s but the film seems set in the 90â??s even though the film does seem to have scenes that seem to be throwbacks to the previous decade so it makes it a strange mixing and meeting. Even though the story is set in New York in the streets half the scenes seem to take place on sets because the backgrounds look fake and there is a surprising lack of people and extras in a lot of the scenes.

The director even tries to set the screen on fire with iconic images that belong more in a music video then this film. Which is not surprising considering the director is a former music video director. Scenes like the guys playing basketball in the rain or the fantasy the lead character has of shotgunnning his teachers in a leather coat. Years later puritans tried to scapegoat the film and the scene for inspiring the columbine tragedy.

I could gripe about a few scenes like we never really understand the relationship between Leoâ??s character and Ernie Hudson who seem to just know each other from the streets next thing he is almost his best friend forcing him to Detox and keep guard over him. I could also complain that near the end it seems like he is putting on a performance before he runs into a old friend but you canâ??t really tell waist a performance or was it a rehab meeting? The quick cutting is annoying and the writers could have chosen his better writings for scenes where we see him compose his writing and read it. The few pieces they do choose are not the best and donâ??t really give you the impression he is a future talented writer.

I Donâ??t think itâ??s good but you may like it so I would say wait for cable.