Only a slightly above average film, but with AMAZING performances by Leonardo DiCaprio and Mark Wahlberg!

This is an average kid with a horrorfying story, played by an anything but average actor. DiCaprio manages at the age of 21 in his first leading role to lift the entire movie. This was the first time Leo played a leading role and he shows us why he is one of the best paid actors in the business. The movie is average but DiCaprio elevates it out of obscurity.

When I was younger I used to keep a diary of my own basketball league that I would play (by myself) in my parent's driveway. I am pretty sure that no one ever saw this diary because I burned it when the league went bankrupt (long story). I must admit this diary is a heck of a lot more interesting then mine. I didn't have players dealing with drug addictions or weirdo coaches. My league was pretty much clean, minus a few ejections for jawing with the ref. Leo probably wouldn't have cut it.

Rough stuff.

I love this movie ! It tells a amazing tell . However the book is better !

Was kind of interesting, but was very kiddie and unrealistic to make the 'crushing' impact of the story stick.

I feel bad giving this such a low score. I didn't really enjoy the movie, although DI Caprio's performance was outstanding. The film is dark and there are no happy parts at all. Good acting, true story, bad direction, horrible movie.

Often underdeveloped, but a compelling watch in so many ways.

Leo might not have been the obvious choice for this role, but my God he really excels!

What this movie lacks in focused narrative it makes up for in a gritty realism that sucks you into the young adult life of artist, poet, and musician Jim Carroll. The performances from DiCaprio and Wahlberg are brave and top-notch, and the much underused and underrated Ernie Hudson has some great moments.

It does not avoid the danger of so many junkie war stories, of sounding as much like a boast as an admonition: a cameo appearance by Carroll himself proffers, in addition to his personal benediction on the project, living proof that you can hit rock bottom and still resurface as a Cool Dude; and a printed coda enumerates his subsequent attainments as a poet (a little belied by the unappetizing samples recited in the course of events), novelist, musician, and performance artist.

Maybe this deserves a better rank but I am fed up with the drug movies already. I was expecting a sports movie for obvious reasons. Would not have watched this if I knew what it was about in the first place.