Talk about a busy man!
That’s Matt Krentz, who wrote, produced, directed and stars in "Streetballers," a feature film debut that opens here today, showing considerable style and talent, shot on locations ranging from our streets, parks and playgrounds to St. Louis Community College at Forest Park to Dogtown in time for the St. Patrick’s Day parade.
Krentz and Jimmy McKinney, former Vashon and Mizzou basketball star, are neighborhood pals and basketball players, with Krentz, as the short, white Irish kid needing a lot of conditioning work and some friendly camera angles to even be on the same court with McKinney. Nicholas Gartner’s cinematography is swell.
As a young writer (he’s three weeks past his 29th birthday), Krentz makes the youthful mistake of bringing too much material. His palette includes basketball, gambling, abuse of alcohol, single parents, sibling relationships, an auto accident, several folks visiting from the other side of the Great Divide, racial animosity, college classes, sex, gunplay and a glitter of Shakespeare to wrap everything up.
Most of the actors are in their first films, but Krentz has them fixed solidly on good characterizations, a powerful script and lots of basketball. That sometimes like watching ESPN highlight shows because the shooting percentages, no matter what the range, are higher than St. Louis summer humidity and Alley Oop is a constant companion.
McKinney is a delight; he may not be a trained actor but he has good instincts, and while he brings his own touch to Shakespeare, he turns it into a lovely scene. And solid work from Adrieanne Perez as the girl who first attracts Krentz’s attention with her rifle, later fits in as "a girl to spend time with," one of his dreams.
Krentz breaks his movie into what might be considered "chapters," with sporting philosophy from various people. However, his Joe DiMaggio comment, "A ball player’s got to be hungry to be a big leaguer. That’s why no boy from a rich family ever made it to the big leagues." obviously overlooks Bill Bradley. Krentz, a St. Louis-born basketball player, should remember Bradley, son of a bank president and good enough to be an NBA Hall of Famer. Another quote comes from Ralph Waldo Emerson, whose name should not be misspelled.
But over all, Krentz has put together an outstanding first effort, with a mostly exciting film that shows he understands both basketball and relationships. We can look forward to his next.
At the Tivoli and Ronnie’s
–Joe