The Basketball Diaries
1995, Drama, 1h 42m
40 Reviews 50,000+ RatingsWhat to know
In spite of its young leading man's heroic efforts to hold it all together, a muddled message prevents The Basketball Diaries from compelling as a cautionary tale. Read critic reviews
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The Basketball Diaries Photos
Movie Info
Cast & Crew
Jim Carroll
Swifty
Jim's Mother
Reggie
Neutron
Pedro
News & Interviews for The Basketball Diaries
Critic Reviews for The Basketball Diaries
All Critics (40) | Top Critics (14) | Fresh (18) | Rotten (22)
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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- | Full Review… -
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 | Full Review… -
The angel-faced DiCaprio is a gifted actor, but he lacks the authority and physical presence to keep us with him.
January 26, 2006 | Full Review… -
The star shines, but the movie is hard to watch.
August 30, 2004 | Rating: 2/5 -
You leave The Basketball Diaries believing that Leonardo DiCaprio can do anything.
May 12, 2001 -
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 | Full Review…
Audience Reviews for The Basketball Diaries
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Apr 28, 2014Leonardo's acting was brilliant. But aside from that, I don't think there is any more to look forward to in seeing this film.Maymay A Super Reviewer
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Nov 22, 2012The Basketball Diaries (1995) is not initially about the sport itself, but the abuse of drug consumption. The message here falls flat with it excellent cast barely saving the film from being just another "Say no to drugs" service announcement. The Basketball Diaries recall the true events of author Jim Carroll's falling victim to drugs and seeing his world collapse in front of him. The film has a good moral to send out, but fails to give us deep characters. The film just expects to care about these character because they are just teenagers ruining their life; though skipping over character developments does it moral no favor. Some scenes that were meant to powerful just fall short, like when Leonardo dreams about killing his students and teachers Terminator style, fall flat because of a lack of depth. The dialogue here is odd, just don't expect award winning material from a film that has the line "Time sure fly by when your young and jerking off" in it. The only saving grace come from it cast, especially Leonardo DiCaprio who gives a fantastic dramatic performance. He simply shines in this and in spite the lack of the character development, his good performance is good enough make you care what he's going through. He gives the film one very memorable and powerful film when he begs his mother for money. The rest of the cast is solid as well. Even Mark Wahlberg was good; though he never interest me as an actor (he barely chooses an interesting leading role in my opinion). Every single one the actors have great chemistry with one another making up for the writing shortcoming. The Basketball Diaries has an excellent cast that makes up for it plot which lack depth. It's solid film with a good message that fails to be as effective as it could have been or as inspiring as it source material.Caesar M Super Reviewer
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Aug 16, 2011Used to despise Caprio initially, but now he's growing on me. Probably I was not qualified to see how talented an actor is. But I guess I'm progressing with time, at least in that direction. Or maybe it's vice versa. [Hell, whenever I comment, for most of the times, it's not entirely concentrated on the movie itself. Instead of asking (begging would come last, if at all) for your pardon, I'd rather that you get used to it. Even better, stop wa.....] Back to the movie. Oh, hadn't started in the first place!!! The movie entertains as long as it depicts the teenage kiddo activities of Jim and company. It's fun for that part except for the sobby Bobby track in which Leonardo sucks. But the movie sort of descends with his downfall. It tries to portray the frustrations of an addicted teenager and how his relationships are worsened, but doesn't get it right. It becomes a bit too melodramatic, and some cliched dialogues only make it worse. And once he runs out of money to fetch drugs, it becomes tough not only for him but also for us. Wish it was the same for the recovery part. However, on the whole, the movie's worth a shot. If you decide to see "The Basketball Diaries", please be cautious enough to not to piss on it.familiar s Super Reviewer
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Jun 12, 2011Leo makes this movie awesome. His acting skills are amazing in this. The film didn't really show Jim's spiral into addiction. It was kind of just like one minute he's clean, then the next he's a full fledged druggie. The plot was supposed to be based on a true story, but it was pretty damn unrealistic e.g. the guy falling off the roof, the coach being a pervert, the excessive mugging etc. It was all way too dramatized. I didn't like that. Other than that, it was pretty good. Leo pretty much made the movie.Japes . Super Reviewer
The Basketball Diaries Quotes
| Jim Carroll: | Don't let your mouth get you into something that your ass can't handle |
| Jim Carroll: | Don't let your mouth get you into something that your ass can't handle. |
| Jim Carroll: | And it's good that there is rain. It clears the month of your sorry rainbow expressions, and it clears the streets of the silent armies... so we can dance |
| Jim Carroll: | And it's good that there is rain. It clears the month of your sorry rainbow expressions, and it clears the streets of the silent armies... so we can dance. |
| Pedro: | Holy shit look at this place. |
| Pedro: | Holy shit, look at this place. |
| Mickey: | I'll tell ya what, if our school was this nice I'd go more than once a week. |
| Mickey: | Wow! I tell you what, if our school was this nice I'd go more than once a week. |
| Jim Carroll: | You gotta have presence On the court. Presence like a Cheetah rather then a chimp. Sure they both got it.But chimpy gotta jump his nuts around to get it The shy cheetah Moves with total Nonchalance, stickin' it to them in his sexy,slow strut. Me? I play like a cheetah. |
| Jim Carroll: | You gotta have presence on the court. Presence like a cheetah rather than a chimp. Sure, they both got it, but Chimpy gotta jump his nuts around to get it. The shy cheetah moves with total nonchalance, stickin' it to them in his sexy, slow strut. Me? I play like a cheetah. |
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