Just Wright

In this Cinderella story set against a professional sports backdrop, Newark-bred Leslie Wright (Queen Latifah) is a hardworking physical therapist and diehard basketball fan who just can't seem to find Mr. Right—until suave NBA All-Star Scott McKnight (rap star Common) of the New Jersey Nets comes along. After meeting cute at a gas station where she's filling up her old Mustang and he's trying to figure out the gizmos on his new SUV, Scott invites Leslie to a birthday party and she naïvely takes along her gorgeous, gold-digging sister, Morgan (Paula Patton). Not surprisingly, Leslie warms the bench until a severe knee injury threatening to knock McKnight out of the playoffs places the hoops star in her capable hands as full-time trainer and in-house psychologist. Leslie is the “perfect homegirl” (she's a girl and a friend, but not a girlfriend), although Scott will, of course, ultimately succumb to her warm, wise, womanly charms. Unfortunately, however, Queen Latifah and Common exude zero chemistry in Sanaa Hamri's unbelievable rom-com, which is punctuated with energetic basketball sequences, innumerable Izod product placements, and tepid cameos by real NBA pros. Formulaic and featherweight, this is optional, at best. [Note: DVD/Blu-ray extras include “The One You Can't Live Without” featurette on the origins of the film (7 min.), “Common on the Fast Break” with costar Common (5 min.), a gag reel (2 min.), and trailers. Exclusive to the Blu-ray release are a “When Amazing Happens” featurette on the basketball player cameos (6 min.), and a bonus digital copy of the film. Bottom line: a small extras package for a so-so rom-com.] (S. Granger)