The Basketball Diaries (1995)
72%RT Audience Score: 76%
Awards & Nominations: NA
The Basketball Diaries is a film that has been both praised and criticized for its portrayal of drug addiction and teenage angst. While some critics have lauded Leonardo DiCaprio’s performance as a glimpse into his future greatness, others have found the film hard to watch and lacking in candor. The screenplay has been criticized for its shock effects and lack of honest portrayal of addiction. However, what cannot be denied is DiCaprio’s raw and dynamic performance, which almost saves the film from fouling out. In the end, The Basketball Diaries is a stark tale of teen drug abuse and delinquency that may have benefited from a more honest and straightforward approach.
The Basketball Diaries is a movie that’s been around for a while, but it’s still worth watching just for Leonardo DiCaprio’s performance. Sure, the movie has its flaws and can be hard to watch at times, but Leo shines through it all. It’s not a perfect movie, but it’s definitely worth checking out if you’re a fan of Leo or just want to see a stark tale of teen drug abuse and delinquency. Plus, it’s always fun to see how far he’s come since his early 90s accomplishments were widely dismissed or ignored.
Production Company(ies)
Absolute Clay Productions, Quincy Jones Productions, Shadow Catcher Entertainment,
Distributor
NA
Release Type
Theatrical
Filming Location(s)
Forest Hills High School, Forest Hills, Queens, New York City, New York, USA
MPAA / Certificate
Rated R for graphic depiction of drug addiction with related strong violence,sexuality and language
Year of Release
1995
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Color:Color
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Sound mix:Dolby Digital DTS
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Aspect ratio:1.85 : 1
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Runtime:NA
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Language(s):English
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Country of origin:United States
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Release date:Release Date (Streaming): Oct 19, 2004
Genre(s)
Drama
Keyword(s)
starring Leonardo DiCaprio, Bruno Kirby, Lorraine Bracco, Ernie Hudson, Patrick McGaw, James Madio, Liz Heller, John Bard Manulis, directed by Scott Kalvert, written by Bryan Goluboff, based on the book by Jim Carroll, drama, R rating, box office gross $2.1M, reviewed by Owen Gleiberman, Jonathan Rosenbaum, Janet Maslin, Peter Travers, Kenneth Turan, Hal Hinson, Mal Vincent, Q.V Hough, Jas Keimig, Nick Johnston, Dennis Schwartz, David Gurney, cautionary tale, heroin addiction, high school basketball, New York City, mean streets, drugs, prostitution, friendship, redemption, coming of age, 90s film, young Leonardo DiCaprio
Worldwide gross: $2,402,438
Worldwide gross (inflation-adjusted): $4,724,058
Worldwide gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 2,195
Worldwide tickets sold (est.): 515,164
US/Canada gross: $2,381,087
US/Canada gross (inflation-adjusted): $4,682,074
US/Canada gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 1,826
US/Canada opening weekend: $765,335
US/Canada opening weekend (inflation-adjusted): $1,504,924
US/Canada opening weekend ranking (inflation-adjusted): 1,233
Budget and Earnings Details
Production budget (est.): $2,000,000
Production budget (inflation-adjusted): $3,932,720
Production budget ranking: 1,949
Marketing and distribution budget (inflation-adjusted est.): $2,117,770
Box office net earnings to date (inflation-adjusted est.): -$1,326,432
ROI to date (est.): -22%
ROI ranking: 1,516
Bruno Kirby – Swifty
Lorraine Bracco – Jim’s Mother
Ernie Hudson – Reggie
Patrick McGaw – Neutron
James Madio – Pedro
Director(s)
Scott Kalvert
Writer(s)
NA
Producer(s)
Liz Heller, John Bard Manulis
Film Festivals
Awards & Nominations
NA
Academy Awards
All Critics (43) | Top Critics (14) | Fresh (20) | Rotten (23)
For those few soul-freezing moments, you get a glimpse of the great actor Leonardo DiCaprio is going to be.
March 24, 2008 | Rating: B-
Owen Gleiberman
Entertainment Weekly
TOP CRITIC
Significantly, the movie keeps the hero’s reformation offscreen as well as unexplained; it’s more interested in shock effects than in candor or elucidation.
March 24, 2008
Jonathan Rosenbaum
Chicago Reader
TOP CRITIC
The star shines, but the movie is hard to watch.
August 30, 2004 | Rating: 2/5
Janet Maslin
New York Times
TOP CRITIC
You leave The Basketball Diaries believing that Leonardo DiCaprio can do anything.
May 12, 2001
Peter Travers
Rolling Stone
TOP CRITIC
Although it masquerades as a cautionary tale about the horrors of heroin, this epic of teen-age angst is more accurately seen as a reverential wallow in the gutter of self-absorption.
February 13, 2001 | Rating: 1.5/5
Kenneth Turan
Los Angeles Times
TOP CRITIC
DiCaprio goes as far into the hell of drug abuse as any actor ever has — and comes out a star.
January 1, 2000
Hal Hinson
Washington Post
TOP CRITIC
There is no conflict here, just pointless and aimless wandering. It’s a downer but, nonetheless, an intriguing DiCaprio performance.
March 1, 2022 | Rating: 2/4
Mal Vincent
The Virginian-Pilot
DiCaprio’s early 90s accomplishments have been widely dismissed or ignored ever since Titanic’s Jack Dawson become a beloved movie figure amongst parents and their nostalgia-loving kids.
February 18, 2022
Q.V. Hough
Vague Visages
The screenplay could definitely have been better-but it’s worth the watch for Leo’s performance alone.
January 7, 2022
Jas Keimig
The Stranger (Seattle, WA)
For as much as The Basketball Diaries wants to claim that it’s a realistic portrayal of addiction, it might have done better to root it in its honest time-and-place and play Carroll’s story as straight-forward and as honest as they could.
April 22, 2020
Nick Johnston
Vanyaland
What almost saves the muddled pic from fouling out is the raw dynamic performance by Leonardo DiCaprio… .
July 1, 2011 | Rating: C+
Dennis Schwartz
Dennis Schwartz Movie Reviews
Stark tale of teen drug abuse and delinquency.
January 1, 2011 | Rating: 3/5
David Gurney
Common Sense Media…
Plot
Film adaptation of street tough Jim Carroll’s epistle about his kaleidoscopic free fall into the harrowing world of drug addiction. As a member of a seemingly unbeatable high school basketball squad, Jim’s life centers around the basketball court and the court becomes a metaphor for the world in his mind. A best friend who is dying of leukemia, a coach (“Swifty”) who takes unacceptable liberties with the boys on his team, teenage sexual angst, and an unhealthy appetite for heroin
Trivia
Goofs / Tidbits
“For those few soul-freezing moments, you get a glimpse of the great actor Leonardo DiCaprio is going to be.” – Owen Gleiberman, Entertainment Weekly
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