User reviews

Queen Latifah shows us everything she's got in Just Wright, a charming romantic comedy about finding true love right in front of you. Just Wright is about Leslie Wright, a physical therapist who is also a massive basketball fan and so, when she gets the opportunity to become Scott McKnight's physical therapist, she is over the moon. The only thing is, Leslie wants their relationship to be more than professional, however her cousin Morgan wants to be a wife to any basketball player and her eyes are on Scott. So as you would expect, Just Wright is yet another predictable and cliché romantic comedy, however this is different as this is actually very enjoyable. The greatest quality about the movie is the story. Even though it's predictable from the first sixty seconds of the movie and had many rom-com clichés, it doesn't spoil the movie because the story was just very charming and is one of those heart-warming stories that will make you smile all the time. This isn't one of your usual Zellwegger romantic comedies where a ditzy woman falls in love with her perfect guy who she clapped eyes on in the first minute and slapstick comedy ensues. This is about a professional relationship growing into friendship growing into something more without the use of the woman falling over every ten seconds or getting out her over-sized knickers to get laughs, which is another quality I loved about Just Wright. The comedy used in Just Wright is basically through charm, the lines that Queen Latifah and Common's characters use can make you giggle in some parts. The acting was good and was a massive strength of the movie and Queen Latifah and Common stand out from the entire cast with their marvellous performances as their characters. The chemistry between Queen Latifah and Comm0n was brilliant and very believable.

The characters were written well and they actually had personalities, which is a little unusual to see in romantic comedies considering that most rom-coms have one-dimensional personalities. Just Wright really should have sunk with the very predictable story and the romantic-comedy clichés but writer Michael Elliot and director Sanaa Hamri have made it work and have both done a great job on this movie, you can tell the attention has been put into it. The movie might be predictable but it works because of the charm and the likable leads. Queen Latifah and Common both have done a great job in playing their characters and adding charm to the movie. Some people may think Just Wright is another one of those movies that mixes predictable romantic-comedies with sport and while they might be right, the movie is much more than that. With charming performances and a good story along with it, this beats quite a few movies in its genre.

I don't have anything bad to say about Just Wright, it's one of those movies that's good to watch because of it's nice and charming story and characters. Also, another thing that I loved about Just Wright is the fact that the leads are different to the usual characters you see in romantic-comedy movies and shows that love comes in all shapes and sizes, which was a nice change to see. Overall, this is a good little movie to see and not take seriously. It's very predictable and you'll more than likely guess everything within the first minute of the movie but it's such a charming movie and the story is a good story to follow. If you like Queen Latifah as an actress, then you need to watch this as she gives out a very good performance. This is definitely different to the other romantic-comedies that you see today and it's a welcoming change. To those who plan on making romantic-comedy movies, take a leaf out of this movie's book as the film was what the movie title suggests.

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In Just Wright, Queen Latifah's love life isn't her strongest suit. She's intelligent, responsible, skilled in her craft, kind, and supportive - all the qualities men repeatedly tell her make her a great friend. Her sister, Paula Patton, gets all the dates instead. Queenie's a big basketball fan, but Paula's only interested in becoming one of the player's wives so she can brag and have lots of money. When a basketball player, Common, gets injured, he gets taken care of by Queenie (she's a physical therapist). Do you think there's a love triangle in the works?

Paula Patton is so convincing in her role of the self-centered, foolish pretty sister, you'll want to throw something at the television set. It's hard to believe she's just acting, but let's give her the benefit of the doubt. If you have a sister, cousin, or friend who thinks her looks and charm can get her everything she wants, you'll love to hate her in this movie.

I'm always partial to Queen Latifah, since she's one of my favorites, so from the first minute of screen time I was rooting for her to find true love. I love her energy and confidence, and that in so many roles she's got a great head for business. This is such a cute romantic comedy, it'll have you coming back to it again and again. I've seen it three times already!

Basketball and romantic comedy is a weird mix, but I happen to like both, so "Just Wright" worked for me. I'm concerned the producers probably thought that they were going to get the male sports market AND the female romance market, but they are very wrong on that. Too much corny romance for most male viewers and too many basketball references for most female viewers. This can probably only be enjoyed by romantic comedy fans who also like the sport of basketball.

The romantic comedy angle was very formulaic and obtuse. The entire story was laid out from the very beginning, and even earlier than that - it was all in the trailer. There was little depth to the characters and no depth to the situations. No laughs, no tears, but a few smiles.

If you won't get too pained by how obvious the story is, there are some positives. I enjoyed Queen Latifah and, surprisingly, the rapper Common was very enjoyable too. They both came across as likable people whom I wanted to succeed. The slim vs. fat conflicts were kept to a minimum because they aren't their weight, they are people. And, again surprisingly, there was even attempted thought put into the psychology of sports injuries. Although there is almost nothing new in "Just Wright", there is enough to keep fans watching.

Both Leslie Wright and cousin Morgan Alexander are big Nets fans; however while Leslie is a fan of the team, Morgan is more interested in landing herself a husband and becoming a NBA-wife. When Leslie chances upon a meeting at a gas station with loyal Nets point guard Scott McKnight, she gets an invite to his birthday party and of course Morgan springs into action. Morgan has the looks to capture her man but Leslie appears to have more in common with him. When Scott gets injured, Leslie is employed as live-in physiotherapist supporting his attempts to save his NBA career.

I didn't expect Just Wright to be a great film but I was happy to meet it on its own genre ground and play by its rules. The reason for this was my ongoing interest in Common's acting career; this is perhaps founded in bitterness since he has only done one album since he started focusing on the acting (and it was rubbish) – so I'm keen to see the projects that make the loss (IMO) of such a great artist worthwhile. Since he was the leading man here I thought perhaps this would be the one. The problems with it start immediately as the plot is overly messy, getting a lot of establishment done very quickly – meeting Scott, proposing to Morgan, getting injured, getting Leslie into the job; all work done just to get to the "once they spend time together they find one another" part of the film that we all know is coming. This rather serious and rapid stuff gives the first half of the film an overly earnest air that it doesn't warrant, can't carry and never escapes.

The second half of the film see the film become about the professional couple of Leslie and Scott and this focuses on them being together and finding a chemistry. It is obvious and a bit cheesy but it is what the whole film should have been like (and the film be only 90 minutes long as well). However this is not to say that this part is particularly good either – the main problem is that the material is not particularly inspired, nor is it particularly charming. It is this second quality that is missing most because this sort of film needs charm to make the formula work. Sadly the material doesn't produce it and the chemistry between the two leads is not all it should be.

This is not down to Latifah though, because she works her sparkle for every last drop – she literally gives 100% in every scene and it does show. Common, on the other hand, misjudges his material – partly because he has to deal with more of the "earnest plotting" in the first half. He carries his character too serious and too earnestly to get the mood right. He works "OK" with Latifah but the chemistry just doesn't work as well as it should and it is partly his fault. Patton looks good despite having a terrible character who is all about being a plot device in the weaker first half. Meanwhile the cast is packed with faces from black entertainment (Rashad, Grier) and lots of NBA players showing up – presumably to make the film more marketable thanks to their presence.

Just Wright does start to get a bit better in the second half when the messy and serious plot setting is done and Latifah's sheer work-rate starts to win the viewer over, but she cannot do it alone and indeed she doesn't. It is not an awful film but it should have been more formula focused, stayed closely to the genre and have delivered the material to match the effort put in by Latifah. Sadly this is another film that makes Universal Mind Control feel like an even worse album than it was.

I saw the story that was being told and at first I thought I'd enjoy it but I walked out of the theater with a little more emptiness than when I walked in. It felt like there was just a lot of stuff missing from the movie but it was thanks to Queen Latifah's performance that made it worth the watch.

The story is about Leslie Wright (Queen Latifah) a physical therapist who goes to a Nets game and ends up meeting her favorite basketball player Scott McKnight (Common). After she gets him hooked up with her no less than shallow friend Morgan Alexander (Paula Patton) she thinks he changed her for the better. But after he gets injured she reveals shes just the same shallow person she always was and decides to leave him. So now with the help of Leslie, Scott is having to find the strength to go on to save his career and maybe find love in process. When Morgan comes back asking for forgiveness Scott has to make a choice between the beautiful girl or the girl whose beauty shows on the outside and inside.

While the story was good and there were a few funny moments I'm afraid it really didn't do anything for me. The performance by Queen Latifah saved the movie for me while it wouldn't be my first choice its a good movie to watch just to see Queen Latifah do what she does best. But there were performances that really didn't get to me like Queen Latifah did. Common for about half way through the film was not putting on a very good show. Most of the time he would make himself look pretty naive. Like when Morgan asks for forgiveness it just looked like he didn't learn a single thing. While I have to give the character praise for being a man who still has faith in mankind even after what he goes through. I think while it was annoying to see someone be so gullible and fall for acts like those it really helped the rest of the movie by giving the character something to change about himself and add to the drama of the film. There were moments of comedy but nothing truly funny to make me laugh out loud. And I think it would've been good to see more of the problems in the relationship between Leslie and her mother something to help add to the drama of the film.

In the end the film was enjoyable maybe if it was someone else besides Queen Latifah then the movie would've been ruined for me. Every time she went off screen I wouldn't shut my eyes because I knew she'd be back in just a minute. A movie mostly meant for people who just want to see Queen Latifah at one of her best moments.

(Credit IMDb) Leslie Wright is a straight-shooting physical therapist who gets the gig of a lifetime working with NBA All-Star Scott McKnight. All is going well until Leslie finds herself falling for Scott, forcing her to choose between the gig and the tug-of-war inside her heart. Oblivious to her romantic overtures, McKnight is instead drawn to the affections of Leslie's childhood friend Morgan, who has her sights set on being an NBA trophy wife. Is Leslie destined to play the role of "best friend" forever or will Scott finally see that what he always wanted is right in front of him?

I actually enjoyed bits and pieces of this movie, it was really starting off well, but it didn't take long to head into a downward spiral. I like the fact for once both love interests intentions are honorable and such, but it was all too predictable. For starters, it's possible yes, but am I really supposed to believe a big star like Scott McKnight (Common) could be that nice? It just felt a bit too dreamy to me, and while I think it would be lovely for today's world, I really don't see that happening. The performances aren't a question, in fact it's arguable that all of them were either above average or great, it's just the script is too phony and a bit too weak. The finale itself also reeks of clichés, and turns into your typical Romance ending.

The Acting. Queen Latifah is purely the heart of this film. She clearly put every ounce of effort she had in this movie, and it shows. Her performance is electrifying and full of energy and charisma, but the script just doesn't back all that up unfortunately. She is everything a Woman should be in this world, and she pulled it off with conviction and believability. Common himself is also pretty good, not as good as Latifah, but good. He's charmingly nice (Bit too nice if you ask me) and did as much as he could, while having competent and believable chemistry with Latifah. Paula Patton plays her deceiving, greedy role to a T, showing a little heart at the end. Pickens Jr. Rashad (Of Cosby fame) and Pam Grier do well as the respected parents. Dwight Howard, Dwayne Wade has amusing cameos.

Bottom line. I didn't mind this, and it kept me watching. But it could have been so much more, and it deserved more with all the effort the cast gave to it. Watch it just for Latifah, her performance is worth the price of admission.

5 ½ /10

A personal favorite, I love Just Wright, it's got the perfect romcom vibes and the leads have great chemistry. The storyline is simple and perfectly predictable. Common is a wonderful, handsome and sweet and he and Latifah compliment each other.

Hollywood has turned many a hip-hop artist into an actor over the past two decades. Whilst some were surprisingly decent (Tupac, Mos Def and LL Cool J spring to mind), the majority were somewhat painful to watch (Eminem, 50 Cent, DMX). Queen Latifah lies in the former category, she's likable, funny and has a lot of screen presence. The same cannot be said for her Just Wright co-star, hip-hop artist Common. In his first starring role he seems to have channelled Keanu Reeves in his heyday, stare blankly and the audience will fill in the emotion you're trying to convey. It's somewhat surprising that his performance is stilted considering he was being guided by Sanaa Hamri, director of The Sisterhood of the travelling Pants 2........Exactly.

Latifah plays Leslie Wright, a sports physiotherapist who, wait for it, just can't seem to get a man! We know this because its explained to us roughly 14 times in the first 25 minutes. Her god-sister Morgan, played by Paula Patton, is beautiful but shallow and the guys always seem to go for her. To quote one of Common's collaborators, Kanye West; 'She a golddigga'. Her main aim in life is to bag an NBA all-star and become a ballers wife. Scott McKnight is the New Jersey Nets finest player, so when the two girls get invited to his exclusive birthday bash, who does McKnight choose but Morgan. Poor Queenie. After a whirlwind romance the two get engaged. All seems to be going to Morgan's plan until McKnight suffers a possibly career ending injury. Imagining that her multi-millionaire NBA star fiancé will somehow become penniless because of this, Morgan decides to leave him. In steps Leslie Wright to nurse him back to health with a Rocky style training montage. Their blossoming romance is painfully explained to us in a scene where McKnight spoon-feeds Leslie some chicken soup. After his heroic comeback game Morgan appears on the scene once again but McKnight chooses his true love. In the end they're all friends. Ah.

Whilst its not insultingly awful, Just Wright is so predictably formulaic that you have it figured out 10 minutes in and from there it's just a waiting game. In the Hollywood screenwriters edition of Microsoft Word there seems to be a template entitled 'Sports Rom-Com between $15M and $30M'. Change the sport to Baseball and the lead actress to Drew Barrymore and you basically have The Perfect Catch. I've never been a huge fan of romantic comedies, simply because there aren't many decent ones. Just Wright makes no attempts to push the boat out or break the rom-com mould in any way. Its is the film equivalent of a pot noodle meal, whilst its edible, it has no nutritional value whatsoever.

I really liked this movie. It was a charming way to spend an afternoon. I would watch it again. I like that Queen was accepted on her own terms. No make over needed or wanted by either party. I also liked the theme of working hard whether as a therapist or the clinic. Inspirational to me.

"Just Wright" was "just bad". I'm sorry to say I gave up after watching over 1 hour 20 minutes of the film (there were about 20 minutes left). And I love basketball themed films.

Pam Grier (minimal screen time) is one of my favorite actresses and Queen Latifah is always excellent. But this was as lame as movies get. My guess is that between the poor writing (or was there no writing and the actors were allowed to improvise the whole script) and lack of any direction they couldn't pull off a save.

It was clear that Common has had zero acting classes and it sorely showed. He was un"Common"ly bad and should stick to the music that's making him money. His best acting was when he feigned an injury on the court and when he was flying a toy helicopter. Common should fire his manager for setting him up to crash and burn so badly.

I've always liked Phylicia Rashad as she always does a great job. Unfortunately she didn't have enough screen time to make a difference in this movie either. With Pam Grier and Phylicia Rashad having so little screen time, that left it all to Queen Latifah to carry the weight of the entire failing movie. And she did a truly admirable job of carrying the entire movie. But no one, no matter how good, could succeed when such a poorly written script and bad (or lack of) acting surrounded them, stacking the odds so badly against them.

Honestly, if Pam Grier, Queen Latifah and Phylicia Rashad were allowed to create their own improvised script (since there was no real script anyway) on anything they wanted and with no direction (and it also seemed like there was no direction anyway), I'm sure this movie would have come out better than it did.

If you recorded this, save yourself and hit the delete button. There was a nice concept, but no one wrote a script or gave any direction to this film.

I love a nice rom com on a Sunday, non brainer movie for a lazy afternoon. I also love basketball and Q. L and Common but gawddam this movie is like all the cliches came alive for an hour and something. A little too cringey for a rom com. Towards the finale I was watching through my palms like I was watching a bunch of people going (against advise) in a dark forest preparing for some chop chop (in a horror movie)

Overall is not that bad but prepare for rolling ur eyes while going "of course that happened".

It just wasn't a good movie, and the culprits, as usual, was the very poorly written script and horrendous game-play. It's hard to pinpoint one particular part of the script, because it was mostly all bad. It was bad to the point that Queen Latifah, a very credible actress, looked amateur, proving you cannot act your way out of a terrible script. Common, who was to make his mark as a leading man, had no chance in this one. I'm wondering if his star will lose a bit of luster in some regard, due to what will seem to most like bad acting - which is, again, directly related to the script. So what was wrong with the script? It was the following: unoriginal, predictable in every way, and generally not very believable. The other downer was the game-play was horrendous. Not that Common doesn't look like a ball player, but the shooting of the hoop scenes, just had no reality to them - the pacing of the games were incredibly slow, they didn't feature enough real players, and situations weren't realistic. How many die-hard Nets fans are there? Die-hard, physical therapists? That meet pro basketball players at a gas station? One of the killers was that it's highly, highly doubtful ANY player, even LeBron James, comes back from a serious knee injury, to play a game 7 of the Eastern Conference Finals, and play well at that. Just not well done at all, and I was trying hard to enjoy it.

Leslie Wright (Queen Latifah) is a straight arrow physical therapist. The Jersey girl drives a crappy car and is always in the friendzone. She lives with her manipulative godsister Morgan (Paula Patton) who is working on becoming an NBA wife. Leslie is an avid New Jersey Nets fan. She befriends Nets star Scott McKnight (Common) and he invites her to his birthday party. She brings Morgan along and Scott falls for Morgan. They plan to get married. Scott gets a possible career ending injury and Morgan abandons him. Leslie helps him recover and that's when Morgan comes back into the picture.

In a cliché rom-com, Leslie would be played by a cute girl turned ugly by a pair of glasses. The reason this is better is that Queen Latifah is so much more. She's no shrinking violet and has personality to boot. Is the story predictable? Absolutely. That's not a real sin in my opinion for a rom-com. This genre needs to follow a certain formula. I think people are so used to the hidden beauty Leslie character to be an actual beauty queen. Queen Latifah throws a lot of people off in this role. This works because of her and Common.

The main problem with this romance movie was that the 2 leads didn't have a whole lot of chemistry. Sorry, but Queen Latifah is not believable as a 35 year old looking for Mr. Right. First of all, she looks older and is older than 35. Could they have not used her real age? And we all know she isn't looking for a mister. She is best as the best friend in a movie like this. Common, the rapper playing the basketball player, was OK, but is definitely wooden when it comes to acting.

The movie plays sort of like a Cinderella story, but I'm afraid it's not going to come true for most. Paula Patton plays the gold digger best friend and is so shallow. They should have used her character more for more laughs.

FINAL VERDICT: I'd skip it.

I learn something new every day: For instance, I would have thought the out-sized Queen Latifah could save any film by the force of her wry smile. In Just Wright, as physical therapist Leslie Wright she smiles a bit, not enough really, but she flashes no wit or sass except in a brief scene with Phylicia Rashad as the mother of NBS star Scott McKnight (Common). The film is like a Catholic basketball league next to the NBA. There's really no comparison.

Leslie falls for the star while she attends to his injury; her adopted sister, Morgan (Paula Patton) has the looks to catch the much too introspective and vulnerable prize, especially as she makes it her job to become am NBA trophy wife. Unfortunately, the outcome fits the title just right, and the formulaic steps are never varied by director Sanaa Hamri.

At 6'2," Common just about makes it as a guard; at 5'10"and some serious weight, Latifah almost overpowers him (in heels she does). I had a hard time keeping all the imbalances from making me feel imbalanced about the film, whose lack of dramatic challenges and surprises leaves me feeling as if I need the therapy as well to remember what engaging romantic comedy really is. The humorous complexities of a Judd Apatow Knocked UP are absent.

But the film is briefly saved by Latifah's presence, Common's ability to project pain, and Patton's beauty. Unfortunately the only winner is the casting director.

It's a love triangle for a physical therapist who falls in love with a handsome basketball player, who is also being woed by her gold-digger best friend. Love eludes her when he marries her best friend but destiny boomerangs him back into her arms when he gets injured and she is the only one who can fix him.

This romantic comedy is a real treat. For someone who is not a fan of romantic movies, I was pleasantly surprised. I don't think that this movie got the credit and publicity it deserved.

Queen Latifah and Common have a nice on screen chemistry. Mind you, it's nothing over the top but it is sweet. Phylicia Rashad plays Common's mother. Pam Grier plays Queen Latifah's mother. This is sweet romance. I recommend it.

I actually really liked this movie even though (for me) it had three strikes against it going in. I'm not a huge fan of Queen Latifah, movies about basketball or even romantic comedies but this just had that something that hooked me. It could have had something to do with Common and with all those shirtless scenes this suddenly became very watchable.

In the end Latifah wasn't as annoying as usual and I found myself really enjoying this story about a tough talking physical therapist who gets the job of a lifetime when she is hired to rehab an injured NBA star. Shortly after, his fiancée also leaves him when it looks like his career is over, Latifah falls for him and he starts dating her sister.

Ultimately this was your usual light, predictable rom-com with moments of humour but it also had a great cast attached; Phylicia Rashad, Paula Patton, it was also nice to see Pam Grier (briefly) and 'Greys Anatomy' chief (James Pickens Jr) outside of the hospital. There wasn't a whole lot of chemistry between our leads but this was still a very sweet movie. 08.13

I love Queen Latifah; I think she is an under used actress. This movie is good for her and Common but the dialog makes it drag way too much. That's the real problem with most of the movies these days, dialog. It's just doesn't sound like the way real people talk to each other. This could have been a really interesting movie if the characters had been drawn better, especially Pam Grier and Phylica Rashad's. Here you have two great talents that are given almost nothing to do or interesting to say. So much more could have been done with both of them. As entertainment goes it's a good popcorn flick, but not worth a ticket at the theater.

JUST WRIGHT – CATCH IT ( B- ) Watching African American acting like White Americans was quite Odd. The whole movie is sugar coated and evens the performances, characters the love everything. And at one point it become to fake to be real. Still movie had its charm at times it become really interesting. Queen Latifah did a fine job and tried her best to fit in the Romantic Lead. Common height is really an issue, even Queen Stands taller then him which looks weird on screen, still both of them mange to create some chemistry. Paula Patton looks stunning and extremely hot. Overall an average movie with predictable ending and story.

Come on people it's a cute movie. I smiled throughout it was sweet.

"Just Wright" is the latest rom-com starring Queen Latifah, and it is not bad considering some of the awful work she's done in the past ("Last Holiday," "Bringing Down the House"). It is sweet and charming, with a decent enough story to make it worth watching. There are a few funny parts, but I didn't really laugh out loud once. It kept my interest and I found myself rooting for Latifah's character throughout the movie.

Queen Latifah plays Leslie Wright, a physical therapist who is tired of being the girl that guys want to hang out with but not be with. She lives with her beautiful childhood best friend, Morgan, who wants to be an NBA trophy wife. Both of them are huge basketball fans, but Leslie knows everything there is to know about the Nets and their star player, Scott McKnight.

After attending a Nets game, she goes to get gas and sees McKnight. He is having trouble finding the gas tank, so Leslie helps him find it, and he invites her to his birthday party. She goes and takes Morgan with her, but of course McKnight is immediately attracted to Morgan. They start a romance, and Leslie is once again just the friend. McKnight gets injured, and Leslie becomes his physical therapist.

If I say any more there would be no point in watching the movie. It is a chick flick, but it is enjoyable enough for men as well. Queen Latifah is a little too likable, and I had a hard time believing the character. All in all it's pretty entertaining, but in the end "Just Wright" is just slightly above the average romantic comedy.

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