On B List of Movie Reviews
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The Basketball Diaries (1995)
Rate:
5
Viewed:
6/15
6/15:
The Man with the Golden Arm,
The Panic in Needle Park,
Sid and Nancy,
Less Than Zero,
Drugstore Cowboy, and
Rush are some of the notable films about heroin junkies.
Chances are there's nothing to uncover although an exception is made for
Requiem for a Dream by finally
getting everything right. Then, there came The Basketball Diaries in hopes of reinventing the wheel.
Mind you, I don't have any sympathy for drug addicts. That being said, it automatically marks the end of the
film for me. Strangely, The Basketball Diaries likes to glamorize drugs as a "cool" thing to do.
At the end, Jim Carroll comes out unscathed as if it's just a phase, and he's ready to move on with his life.
It's unrealistic, irresponsible, and stupid of the filmmakers. The real Jim Carroll died in 2009 at the age
of 60, probably from the side effects of his drug addiction. He was looking emaciated with missing teeth for
a long while. By the way, his poetry is horrible and not worth bothering with.
Leonardo DiCaprio has given only one superlative performance, and that's as Arnie in
What's Eating Gilbert Grape. Despite his inability to act
well sometimes, he can thank his pretty boy looks for continuing to survive in Hollywood. In
The Basketball Diaries, Leonardo DiCaprio thinks he only needs to look pathetic by letting his eyes
be dazed as much as possible. The funniest and worst acting moments are when he's bitching, moaning, wailing,
and sobbing for money. In truth, playing a drug junkie is one of the easiest roles anyone can take on.
Meanwhile, it's ridiculous to see Marky Mark taking advantage of the celluloid to show off his steroid-shaped
body when he has no business being an actor in the first place. If there's anything positive to say, it's David
Phillips' cinematography that saves the film. Although the feel has been theatrical, he does a nice job of
making it look surreal because there have been times that I couldn't distinguish whether it's real or a dream.
However, the basketball scenes are god-awful.
All in all, there are better films than The Basketball Diaries on drug addiction.