Just Wright

With all the unproduced screenplays in Hollywood, did we really need a movie as numbingly predictable as Just Wright? Latifah plays a physical therapist named (you guessed it) Leslie Wright. A basketball obsessive, she falls for favorite Nets player Scott McKnight (Common) during a chance encounter at a gas station. But the next time they meet, he swoons for Leslie’s prettier, gold-digging roommate (Patton), who—like all gold diggers—is callous enough to break off their engagement the instant after an injury threatens his career. Said injury clears the way for rehab, however, which means Leslie can spend some quality time with him.

You can’t blame the actors, who are likable enough, though Common is both a bland leading presence and almost comically shorter than the average NBA player. But the failure to add any surprises or complications gives the movie a dribbling inevitability. There’s never any doubt that the vacuously charming Scott is Leslie Wright’s Mr. Right. (You could call him a one-note character, but it turns out he’s also a highly accomplished pianist and eats Leslie’s favorite foods.) Whoever pitched this film forgot to bring the drama.

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