Who's In It: Queen Latifah, Common, Paula Patton, James Pickens Jr., Phylicia Rashad, Pam Grier, Michael Landes, Laz Alonso
The Basics: Queen Latifah is everybody's favorite homegirl, an NBA-loving physical therapist who gets along great with men -- the only problem is, they never want to be more than just friends. That includes New Jersey Nets guard Scott McKnight (conscious rapper-turned-actor Common), who meets cute with Latifah's Leslie one night but is smitten by her gorgeous gold-digging friend, Morgan (Paula Patton). When Scott suffers a career-crippling injury, Leslie is hired to rehabilitate him back to pro-hoops health, and the two slowly fall for each other. But will Morgan's dreams of becoming an NBA trophy wife get in the way of Leslie's happiness?
What's The Deal: Everyone loves Queen Latifah, especially when she's playing a character comfortable and confident in her own skin who loves herself no matter how many blind dates end in platonic disappointment. And audiences should love Just Wright's twist on the familiar "average guy scores hot chick" cliché, which sees a refreshing gender reversal thanks to Michael Elliot's script. The problem is, there's one person who I don't believe truly love-loves Queen Latifah, and that person is Common. In his first lead role, the musician-actor tries his damnedest to cuddle up to the Queen, but their romantic (and in one scene, sexual) chemistry is virtually nonexistent -- and if you can't buy the romantic bond between these two, a bond we're asked to believe can overcome the sensual allure of a purring Paula Patton doing her best full court press to get poor, unwitting Common to put a ring on it, then what's the point of this romantic fantasy?
Why Queen Latifah Falls For Common: He loves jazz and Joni Mitchell (and plays a little sensitive jazz piano himself when he's off the court, natch). He's a self-avowed gentleman. He feeds her chicken soup. Also, he's pretty to look at. And, uh… that's about it.
Why Common Falls For Queen Latifah: She can recite his career stats by memory. She helps him fix his knee, even when he throws tantrums and gets depressed. She's there for him to lean on when his hot fiancée abandons him. She feeds him awesome chocolate chip cookie 'n' marshmallow sandwiches. She's the best mom-girlfriend-therapist a grown man could ask for! (Wait, is this a fantasy for women or men?)
Stay Through The Credits To Hear: An empowering song by Queen Latifah in which she sings about how secure she is with "who I is" and how she believes in herself and her "fly"-ness.
Biggest Leap Of Fantasy: That the New Jersey Nets make the playoffs. Zing!
A Better Movie About Love And Basketball: Love & Basketball.