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Jimmy Papiris, Leonardo DiCaprio, Nick Gaetani, Bruno Kirby, Alexander Gaberman ... see more see more... , Lorraine Bracco , Ben Jorgensen , Ernie Hudson , Patrick McGaw , Akiko Ashley , Juliette Lewis , Cynthia Daniel , Brittany Daniel , Erik "Panther" Betts , Joyce R. Korbin , Lawrence Barth , Gary Iorio , Jim Carroll , John Hoyt , Manny Siverio , Tom Fitzpatrick , Vincent Pastore , Manny Alfaro , Doc Dougherty , Barton Heyman , Michael Imperioli , James Madio , Michael Rapaport , Marilyn Sokol , John C. Vennema , Josh Mostel , Roy Cooper , Toby Huss , Mark Wahlberg , William Webb

Very loosely based on the memoir of the same name, The Basketball Diaries transposes the late '60s adolescence of writer/artist Jim Carroll to some unspecified time period at least 15 years later, fur... read more read more...ther confusing the timeframe with three decades of rock music, some by Carroll himself. Jim (Leonardo DiCaprio) and his Catholic school chums are on the hottest basketball team in New York, but their friend Bobby (Michael Imperioli) languishes in the hospital with leukemia. In-between typically boyish adventures, Jim scribbles in his notebook and experiments with sex and drugs. His group of friends begins to disintegrate after coach Swifty (Bruno Kirby) not only makes a pass at Jim, but also catches him and his pals using drugs on the court and kicks them off the team. Out of school and on the streets, Jim turns tricks, betrays friends, robs stores, and deals drugs to feed his heroin addiction. Not even the efforts of former addict Reggie (Ernie Hudson) can cure Jim. Mark Wahlberg appears as one of Jim's basketball and drug buddies, while Carroll himself makes a memorable cameo as an addict who describes the almost Catholic rituals of shooting heroin. ~ Brian J. Dillard, Rovi

Flixster Users

76% liked it

52,750 ratings

Critics

46% liked it

39 critics

R, 1 hr. 42 min.

Directed by: Scott Kalvert

Release Date: April 21, 1995

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DVD Release Date: June 30, 1998

Stats: 2,603 reviews

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Flixster Reviews (2,603)

  • imrealgod
    August 17, 2011
    imrealgod
    Used 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 enti... read morerely 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.
  • LoughnerWasLucid
    June 22, 2011
    LoughnerWasLucid
    "Man, who da hell axed you to suck dat dick!?"
  • helpahorse
    June 12, 2011
    helpahorse
    Leo 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 wa... read mores 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.
  • FilmFanatik
    December 27, 2010
    FilmFanatik
    Leo's drug-addled turn in this early film was proof he was destined for greater things.
  • stevenecarrier
    July 19, 2010
    stevenecarrier
    "The Basketball Diaries" is an effective film about drug addiction but it's practically undone by incoherent editing and pacing and Mark Whalberg's embarrassing performance. What makes the film worthwhile though is the stunning turn from Leonardo DiCaprio. It is one of the most c... read moreonvincing portrayals of heroin addiction I have ever seen committed to film. The film is obviously against drugs, and it's message is almost annoying for 3/4 of the runtime, but it's in the final scenes of the film where you see that it's message and heart were in the right place. "The Basketball Diaries" may be poorly constructed, but it's in Leo's performance, the vivid cinematography and the effective message that make the film passable.
  • fb619846742
    February 18, 2010
    fb619846742
    Extremely uneven and unrelentingly dark. DiCaprio and Wahlberg are phenomenal, and there are some compelling moments near the end, but its not enough to salvage this wreck. Most drug addiction movies go to the redemptive side at the end, this one does, but tries to make us feel c... read moreomforted with about two minutes left. It doesn't work.
  • LWOODS04
    December 11, 2009
    LWOODS04
    Leonardo DiCaprio, Lorraine Bracco, Ernie Hudson, Mark Wahlberg, James Madio, Patrick McGaw , Bruno Kirby , Juliette Lewis

    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 seem... read moreingly 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 -- all of these begin to encroach on young Jim's dream of becoming a basketball star. Soon, the dark streets of New York become a refuge from his mother's mounting concern for her son. He can't go home and his only escape from the reality of the streets is heroin for which he steals, robs and prostitutes himself. Only with the help of Reggie, an older neighborhood friend with whom Jim "picked up a game" now and then, is he able to begin the long journey back to sanity.
    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
    This movie didn't really appeal to my liking. Didn't feel a big interest in it at all. It wasn't a bad movie, but it wasn't amazing either. It is based on a true story, so I guess maybe it should be watched for that reason. But I found it to be a bit boring. Just didn't grab my full attention. Good performances though. Just the story was a little blah for me.
  • ythelastman89
    November 23, 2009
    ythelastman89
    An excellent set of early performances from Leonardo DiCaprio and Mark Wahlberg as well as a captivating story. I was surprised at the brave attitude of the subject matter in the film and how bold it was in doing so. It has a great urban tone to it that really sells the story.
  • SirPant
    September 28, 2009
    SirPant
    Surprisingly good, not amazing and far from convincing but still pretty entertaining
  • stormyweather980
    September 10, 2009
    stormyweather980
    Unlike what the title would suggest, this isn't really a basketball movie (wish it was more of one), but moreso a movie about struggles with drugs and other things a teenager goes through and does (mooning a passing boat, having a coach notice you have a sexy butt and hitting on ... read moreyou, finding risque places to masturbate for the thrill without getting caught, etc.), and it was actually very well done, especially for a movie that you never hear about.

View All The Basketball Diaries Reviews

Critic Reviews

Owen Gleiberman
March 24, 2008
Owen Gleiberman, Entertainment Weekly

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

Jonathan Rosenbaum
March 24, 2008
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. Full Review

Janet Maslin
August 30, 2004
Janet Maslin, New York Times

The star shines, but the movie is hard to watch. Full Review

Peter Travers
May 12, 2001
Peter Travers, Rolling Stone

You leave The Basketball Diaries believing that Leonardo DiCaprio can do anything.

Kenneth Turan
February 13, 2001
Kenneth Turan, Los Angeles Times

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. Full Review

James Berardinelli
January 1, 2000
James Berardinelli, ReelViews

Facile escapes are rejected, and the resolution is acceptable because we can believe it. In fact, that's the reason this film works as well as it does: credibility. Full Review

Hal Hinson
January 1, 2000
Hal Hinson, Washington Post

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

Joe Brown
January 1, 2000
Joe Brown, Washington Post

A movie for masochists, an unrelentingly ugly 'Just Say No' propaganda movie, it might have been bankrolled by Nancy Reagan. Full Review

Edward Guthmann
January 1, 2000
Edward Guthmann, San Francisco Chronicle

Amazingly, though, even with Kalvert's lack of style and vision, the greatness of DiCaprio's performance is undiminished. Full Review

Roger Ebert
January 1, 2000
Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times

Will there ever be a market for a movie about a character who hurries past his drug phase because he can't wait to tell you what he did after he pulled his act together? Probably not. Full Review

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Facts

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    • 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.
    • 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 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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The Basketball Diaries Trivia

  • Which actor starred in The Beach, The Basketball Diaries and William Shakespeare's Romeo & Juliet?  Answer »
  • SAME NAME: Jason Biggs in American Pie James Dean in Rebel Without A Cause Leonardo DiCaprio in The Basketball Diaries Sean Penn in We're No Angels John C. Reilly in Magnolia  Answer »
  • He played "Jim Carroll" in the basketball diaries  Answer »
  • If at some point in life we've all hated Leo DiCaprio, we got compensation in seeing him playing a heroin addict, and a retard (sorry, "mentally challenged"). The movies in question are:  Answer »
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