The Basketball Diaries

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The Basketball Diaries

R

1995

1h 42m

Drama

Crime

Biography

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

45%

Tomatometer

42 Reviews

76%

Popcornmeter

50,000+ Ratings

Jim Carroll (Leonardo DiCaprio) is consumed by his life as a high school basketball star. Pressured by a wicked coach (Bruno Kirby) and a concerned mother (Lorraine Bracco), Jim develops an appetite for heroin. Soon, the mean streets of New York City have replaced the basketball court as his main destination. Jim and his friends scrounge, steal and prostitute themselves to score drugs. Jim's only chance to escape addiction may be Reggie (Ernie Hudson), a neighborhood friend and hoops companion.

Critics Consensus

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.

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Owen Gleiberman

Entertainment Weekly

For those few soul-freezing moments, you get a glimpse of the great actor Leonardo DiCaprio is going to be.

Rated: B-

Mar 24, 2008

Full Review

Jonathan Rosenbaum

Chicago Reader

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.

Mar 24, 2008

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Time Out

The angel-faced DiCaprio is a gifted actor, but he lacks the authority and physical presence to keep us with him.

Jan 26, 2006

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Mal Vincent

The Virginian-Pilot

There is no conflict here, just pointless and aimless wandering. It's a downer but, nonetheless, an intriguing DiCaprio performance.

Rated: 2/4

Mar 1, 2022

Full Review

Q.V. Hough

Vague Visages

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.

Feb 18, 2022

Full Review

Jas Keimig

The Stranger (Seattle, WA)

The screenplay could definitely have been better-but it's worth the watch for Leo's performance alone.

Jan 7, 2022

Full Review

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Mackenzie A

For those few soul-freezing moments, you get a glimpse of the great actor Leonardo DiCaprio is going to be.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

08/24/25

Full Review

David L

an intoxicating, frightening and emotionally honest essay on the self-destructive impulses of the nascent artist.

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

08/18/25

Full Review

Arman T

DiCaprio goes as far into the hell of drug abuse as any actor ever has -- and comes out a star.

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

08/17/25

Full Review

Ronny J

It was impossible in The Basketball Diaries not to take notice of DiCaprio's seemingly undauntable talent, as he channeled the tortures of the drug-addicted damned.

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

08/11/25

Full Review

Robert T

Di Caprio gives a bravura turn that should've won him an Oscar

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

08/02/25

Full Review

Don V

an intoxicating, frightening and emotionally honest essay on the self-destructive impulses of the nascent artist.

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

08/01/25

Full Review

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Scott Kalvert

Director

Leonardo DiCaprio

Jim Carroll

Bruno Kirby

Swifty

Lorraine Bracco

Jim's Mother

Ernie Hudson

Reggie

Patrick McGaw

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Synopsis

Jim Carroll (Leonardo DiCaprio) is consumed by his life as a high school basketball star. Pressured by a wicked coach (Bruno Kirby) and a concerned mother (Lorraine Bracco), Jim develops an appetite for heroin. Soon, the mean streets of New York City have replaced the basketball court as his main destination. Jim and his friends scrounge, steal and prostitute themselves to score drugs. Jim's only chance to escape addiction may be Reggie (Ernie Hudson), a neighborhood friend and hoops companion.

Director: Scott Kalvert
Producer: Liz Heller, John Bard Manulis
Screenwriter: Bryan Goluboff
Production Co: New Line Cinema, Island Pictures
Rating: R
Genre: Drama, Crime, Biography
Original Language: English
Release Date (DVD): Oct 19, 2004
Box Office (Gross USA): $2.1M
Runtime: 1h 42m
Sound Mix: Surround, Stereo