May is win-or-go-home time in the NBA, but on summer movie screens, things are just getting warmed up with a little one-on-one balling.
Movie: Just Wright [Fox] Opening Date: May 14
Starring: Queen Latifah, Common, Paula Patton, Dwight Howard and Dwyane Wade
Rated: PG-13
Leslie Wright [Latifah] is just an average physical therapist working to help normal people get back on their feet. But when she bumps into NBA All-Star Scott McKnight [Common] from the New Jersey Nets, her happy little life becomes anything but average.
After suffering a career-threatening knee injury, McKnight finds himself warming the bench for the first time, unable to play the game he loves. After consulting with Wright, he decides to hire her as his personal therapist to help him get back on the court.
All goes well and McKnight is starting to show signs of his former self, until—in a twist as predictable as a Magic/Hawks playoff series—Wright falls for her patient. Once his rehab begins to pay dividends on the court, other teams line up to sign Wright as a consultant. She must choose either to run away, or stay and fight to win her man.
STACK’s Take: Is this a love story? Yes, and it’s kind of a chick flick. But so was Love and Basketball, and that turned out pretty well. What makes this movie special is that Fox was able to recruit current NBA athletes to appear in it. Dwight Howard and Dwyane Wade have small roles; and Rajon Rondo, Elton Brand, Kenny Smith and Stuart Scott get into the action with small cameos.