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Just Wright
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Wikipedia article
'Just Wright' is a 2010 American romantic comedy film directed by Sanaa Hamri, starring Queen Latifah and Common. The film tells the story of a physical therapist, Leslie Wright, who falls in love with a professional basketball player, Scott McKnight.
It received mixed reviews from critics.
Plot
Leslie Wright, a physical therapist and die-hard basketball fan, is searching for a boyfriend but keeps being told by men that they see her only as a friend. After buying a house, Leslie allows her good friend and god-sister, Morgan, to stay at her home. The flighty and irresponsible Morgan dreams of becoming an NBA trophy wife.
Following a New Jersey Nets basketball game, Leslie helps star player Scott McKnight at a gas station. The two share a friendly conversation about basketball and jazz, and Scott invites Leslie to his birthday party. Leslie attends the party but also brings Morgan who quickly sets her sights on Scott. Intent on getting his interest, Morgan pretends to volunteer at a homeless shelter and claims to have no interest in Scott at all. Scott is intrigued and tracks her down. After dating for three months, he proposes to her and while Leslie expresses some skepticism about the relationship she is ultimately pleased that Morgan is happy.
At the 2009 NBA All-Star Game, Scott suffers a torn PCL injury that puts his entire career in jeopardy. Morgan becomes suspicious of Scott's physical therapist, a beautiful blonde woman, and begs Leslie to take over as Scott's live-in physical therapist. However, tensions arise as Morgan is now forced to spend more time with Scott and finds herself disliking him. As rumors circle that Scott's career could quickly end if he doesn't recover by the playoffs, Morgan decides to leave Scott by leaving him a letter.
Despite the awkward breakup, Leslie continues to work with Scott. She encourages and helps Scott with his recovery and helps to build his confidence. The two also bond over their mutual love of basketball and music. Scott expresses surprise that Leslie is not seeing anyone and begins to see her in a more romantic light and Leslie discovers that Scott plays piano, a talent he confides is his secret hobby.
Scott is able to return to the NBA just before the playoffs and wins his first game back after a pep-talk from Leslie. As a thank you, he presents Leslie with her grandfather's classic Mustang which he has had remodelled and refurbished, but also paid extra to leave a dent in the side door intact because Leslie says it reminds her of her grandfather. After taking her to dinner, Leslie and Scott share a kiss and spend the night together.
The next morning, Morgan arrives at Scott's door hoping to reconcile and revealing that she has been in therapy to work on the abandonment issues which led her to leave Scott in the first place. Broken-hearted, Leslie believes she has no chance against Morgan and decides to leave. Scott, who feels he owes it to Morgan to work things out, reluctantly lets Leslie go.
However, tensions quickly arise between Morgan and Scott as Morgan continues planning their wedding while Scott wants to take things slow. Meanwhile, Leslie is surprised to discover she's being headhunted by many basketball teams who were impressed by her notable work helping Scott recovery from his injury. Excited to get an offer from the Nets, Leslie realizes she would have to work with Scott and reluctantly turns the offer down. She then decides to interview with teams far from where she lives in order to put some distance between Scott, Morgan, and herself.
During a televised interview, Scott credits Leslie with his success. After praising her, he comes to the realization that he loves Leslie. Morgan, who has been watching the interview, also realizes Scott's feelings and urges him to go reunite with Leslie.
Chasing Leslie to a job interview, Scott tells her that he loves her and urges her to reconcile with him despite the anger she might feel. In response, Leslie places a phone call to the Nets and accepts a position with them.
A year later, Leslie and Morgan are watching Scott play. Leslie is now one of the Nets' athletic trainers and cheers loudly for Scott, who is at last revealed to be her husband.
Cast
*Queen Latifah as Leslie Wright
*Common as Scott McKnight
*Paula Patton as Morgan Alexander
*James Pickens Jr. as Lloyd Wright
*Pam Grier as Janice Wright
*Phylicia Rashad as Ella McKnight
*Laz Alonso as Mark Matthews
*Mehcad Brooks as Angelo Bembrey
*Michael Landes as Nelson Kaspian
*Leo Allen as Paul
*Dwight Howard as Himself
*Dwyane Wade as Himself
*Rashard Lewis as Himself
*Bobby Simmons Jr. as Himself
*Jalen Rose as Himself
*Rajon Rondo as Himself
*Chris Paul as Himself
*Doris Burke as Herself
*John Legend as Himself
*Elton Brand as Himself
Production
Part of the film was shot at Regis High School in New York City. It was also filmed at Meadowlands Arena (named Izod Center at the time).
Reception
'Just Wright' received mixed reviews from movie critics. The film's rating on Rotten Tomatoes was 46% as of December 2020. The critical consensus reads: "Well-intentioned but formulaic, 'Just Wright' has winning leads but can't overcome its preponderance of cliches." Conversely, Roger Ebert gave the film 3 stars out of 4.
The film debuted at number four behind 'Iron Man 2', 'Robin Hood' and 'Letters to Juliet' with $8,284,989 million on its opening weekend. 'Just Wright' grossed $21,540,363 million domestically and $29,900 globally to a total of $21,570,263 million worldwide. The film stayed in theaters 47 days, the equivalent of 6.7 weeks.
Awards
See also
* List of black films of the 2010s
References
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