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

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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

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Dionisis T

Can't say I wasn't amazed by Leo but it had its flaws...

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

11/28/24

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Audience Member

This movie is rhe only dramatic movie i ever like! Leonardo is so really cute when he was younger days lol i love his acting! Very talented young leonardo he is so much cute love his talent when he was young

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

11/20/24

Full Review

Malena S

"Mama, I'll be a good boy... just give me the money, please!" HEART WRENCHING. I've been following DiCaprios'career almost from the start - from that heart-breakingly stunning young actor that he was, so beautiful and so near geniously talented, and charismatic in any second of on-screen... Through the years he had a huge draw back from what could've been expected from this start - from the meme-producing Oscar winning ambition that shouted through a great number of his movies, to his fanatically vocal support to the environmental industry that felt... awkwardly dodgy, to the least. But in Basketball diaries he did so much for the prevention of teenagers starting the way of drugs, as no state-funded, NGO executed, decades-long global campaign could ever dream to acchieve. You can't start "trying stuff" after seeing this and going deep into this movie. You simply don't. And that's one of the very rare cases where hollywood productions accomplish something more than show andbusiness: that's something that actually mattered! That's why, to me, this is and remains DiCaprio's greatest accomplishment so far. Not just as acting skills, but as global contribution to humanity. This website's notorious for down scoring some of the best productions, while pumping up any shallow stuff that goes round, But this time it's hilarious. Hats down, people.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

09/19/24

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Thomas R

Don’t understand the love with this movie. The acting is good but the story is really weak

Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars

08/31/24

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Isadora A

Leonardo was obviously amazing and this movie is one of my favourites

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

07/07/24

Full Review

s a

extremely good acting

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

05/03/24

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

Neutron

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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