JUST WRIGHT
(PG-13)
MOVIE: *1/2 (out of 5)
BLU-RAY EXPERIENCE: ** (out of 5)
BY KEVIN CARR
WHAT IT’S ABOUT
Leslie Wright (Queen Latifah) is a physical therapist who can’t seem to win in love. When she gets a shot at helping rehabilitate New Jersey Nets’ star player Scott McKnight (Common), they find an attraction to each other. However, Leslie’s gold-digging friend Morgan (Paula Patton) is determined to become an NBA wife and targets Scott. And while Leslie’s career seems to take off, she sees her love life in danger of falling apart.
WHAT I LIKED
I like Queen Latifah. I really do. She’s a beautiful, gutsy, multitalented woman. And she won a freaking Oscar, which was actually deserved (unlike many awards that are handed out each year). So I’ll watch almost anything with her in it and enjoy it to a certain degree.
She deserves better than this.
WHAT I DIDN’T LIKE
“Just Wright” tries to do too many things. It tries to be a romantic comedy. It tries to be an inspirational sports movie. It tries to be a story of an independent woman who can make it on her own. As the film tries to tell all of these stories, the focus just gets lost.
There’s an underlying philosophy in this movie that makes most of the characters undesirable. The character of Morgan is nothing short of a whore who wants fame and money over a functional relationship. The character of Scott is as shallow as real NBA players, enamored by a pretty face and tight body over a decent person. No amount of redemption of these characters makes them likeable, even in the end.
And then there’s Common. I’m sure he’s a decent rapper, but the six-foot-nothing aspiring actor is completely unbelievable as an NBA star or a romantic lead. Put him in “Date Night” next to one of the McPoyles as a thug, and he works. Try to feel sympathy in a love story? He fails, uncommonly.
BLU-RAY FEATURES
This Blu-ray comes with a gag reel and three featurettes, “The One You Can’t Live Without,” “Common on the Fast Break” and “When Amazing Happens.”
WHO’S GOING TO LIKE THIS MOVIE
I have no idea.