![]() One of the film’s final scenes is Bo’s redemption game, a privately organized pickup game between top prospects and current players, with NBA front office staff watching along. Julius Erving, Dirk Nowitzki, Allen Iverson, Shaquille O’Neal and Charles Barkley all make appearances - and that’s before we get to the other current NBA stars with their fingerprints all over Hustle. Anthony Edwards stars as the hilariously named antagonist “Kermit Wilts,” a highly-touted prospect out of Kentucky who grows frustrated with Bo’s growing fame - but beyond that the movie is littered with cameos from some of the biggest names in NBA history. Co-produced by LeBron James and Maverick Carter’s “SpringHill Company,” it’s clear that plenty of favors were called in for this movie. The uneven treatment of Bo is a small quibble, but takes away from what the character really is: A young man who feels like the weight of the world is on his shoulders, finally having someone to lean on in Stanley.Ī huge part of what gives Hustle its chops comes from the ungodly amount of NBA involvement in this film. A few scenes later he’s infantilized, fawning over free bread on the airplane to the United States and buying five cheesesteaks at once. On moment he’s a provider, thrust into working construction to support his young daughter and his mother. There are times the film’s treatment of Bo is inconsistent. I’m not going to say Hustle is perfect, by any means. Yes, there are the same tropes of “troubled player from a broken home,” we’ve seen in sports movies before - but the progression of Bo and Stanley’s relationship from being player-coach to father-son is organic and feels natural. ![]() Hernangomez is a revelation on the screen, showing incredible range as he expertly weaves his basketball chops with true dramatic range the role requires. So much of this is because of Utah Jazz forward Juancho Hernangomez, who plays Bo Cruz, the Spanish basketball prodigy that Stanley finds in Mallorca on a trip to see another player. However, where Hustle exceeds is by taking the “hidden gem” concept and recontextualizing it in a way that feels real, fresh, and unique. Hell, the story isn’t dissimilar to 1994’s The Air Up There, albeit without the disgusting racial stereotyping of Africans. This isn’t a unique take on the sports move genre. His dream is finally realized when team owner Rex Merrick (Robert Duval) informs Stanley he’s moving to the bench - only to pass away before the promotion is realized.įorced to deal with new owner Vince Merrick (Ben Foster), with whom he’s always butted heads, Stanley is put back on the road with a mandate: Find a difference maker, or be relegated to staying on the road as a scout forever. Stanley Sugarman (Sandler) is a long-time international scout for the Philadelphia 76ers whose aspirations have always been to get off the road and move into coaching. I’m stunned to now tell you not only is Hustle really good, it might be one of my favorite basketball movies of all-time. So my expectations were rock bottom for Hustle, the latest sports-adjacent movie from Sandler’s “Happy Madison” production company - which last gave us Home Team, the movie about Sean Payton that was so bad it caused me pain. Suffice it to say, I don’t share her steely resolve when it comes to Sandler flicks. They’re her two greatest loves, and I like to remind her that cafeterias exist, as does Don’t Mess with the Zohan. ![]() One of the most contentious points of debate in my house is my wife’s insistence there are two universal truths: There’s no such thing as bad mac and cheese, or a bad Adam Sandler movie.
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