It’s clear early on in Just Wright that the film is set in a Cinderella-like dreamland. Not only is the setup—a professional basketball player falls for some regular girl he meets at a gas station—unrealistic, the film portrays the New Jersey Nets as being the all-stars of the league.
Since I admittedly know nothing about basketball, I did my research on the team. As it turns out, the Nets suck and, to add insult to injury, the team will soon be leaving New Jersey. One must wonder what in the world Hollywood was thinking, and how all of the Nets fans out there (assuming there are any) are going to feel about this.
Inaccurate team information aside, Just Wright is one of those predictable sports rom-coms. A film like this is best taken at arm’s length—or perhaps even further away. Queen Latifah stars as Leslie Wright, a physical therapist and a diehard Nets fan. When she meets the star of the team, Scott McKnight (played by rapper Common) at a gas station, they appear to hit it off and he invites her to his birthday party that weekend.
Apparently Leslie is the girl that guys love to hang out with, but not the girl that guys love to date. Accompanied by her best friend Morgan (Paula Patton), who dreams of becoming an NBA wife, Leslie attends Scott’s party. And like the hottie best friend always does in romantic comedies, Morgan steals Scott’s attention immediately.
Fast forward a few months and Morgan and Scott are engaged. That is, until—cue suspense music—Scott takes a fall, tearing a knee ligament. When his doctor tells him that he may not recover before the playoffs (which is necessary in order to be re-signed by the Nets), Morgan dumps him.
Enter Leslie—Scott’s new physical therapist. Although she has just purchased a fixer-upper house that desperately needs her tender loving care, Leslie agrees to live in Scott’s house full-time to help him get back in the game.
It works. By the time playoffs roll around, Scott’s knee has healed. He makes it to the playoffs and makes the winning shot. Oh, and he and Leslie fall in love somewhere along the line, in case you hadn’t figured that out yet.
All in all, the entire film is nauseatingly cheesy. Common is too adorable to be taken seriously. He has puppy dog eyes even when he’s supposed to be angry. Latifah’s character comes off as weak and passive, which contradicts everything that comes out of her mouth.
The dialogue is beyond predictable. Those versed in the romantic comedy genre may even be able to guess what each character will say and when. One such scene occurs when McKnight runs after Leslie at the end for the dramatic “I’m in love with you” moment. It comes off awkward and bizarre, which is cause for laughter because it is so ridiculous.
Even more ridiculous is the moment before when he’s in an interview talking about Leslie and he realizes his feelings. After finishing a statement, he takes off the microphone clipped to his lapel and dramatically says, “I have to go.”
After the fluffy film is over, there are two questions that remain in the mind. For one, what in the hell happened to that house that Leslie bought? And secondly, how in the world are Leslie and Morgan still friends at the end (the last scene shows them sitting together at a Nets game)?
Unanswered questions like these, along with the poor acting, predictability and a sucktastic script, make Just Wright all sorts of wrong.