White Men Can't Jump (1992)

Director:

Ron Shelton

Writer (WGA):

Ron Shelton (written by)

Release Date:

27 March 1992 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Drama | Sport

Tagline:

It ain't easy being this good.

Plot:

Black and white basketball hustlers join forces to double their chances.

Plot Keywords:

Basketball | Racial Slur | Cult Favorite | Gay Slur | Vulgarity

Awards:

2 nominations

Cast

Wesley Snipes	...	Sidney Deane
Woody Harrelson	...	Billy Hoyle
Rosie Perez	...	Gloria Clemente
Tyra Ferrell	...	Rhonda Deane
Cylk Cozart	...	Robert
Kadeem Hardison	...	Junior
Ernest Harden Jr.	...	George
John Marshall Jones	...	Walter
Marques Johnson	...	Raymond
David Roberson	...	T.J.
Kevin Benton	...	Zeke
Nigel Miguel	...	Dwight 'The Flight' McGhee
Duane Martin	...	Willie Lewis
Bill Henderson	...	The Venice Beach Boys
Sonny Craver	...	The Venice Beach Boys

Runtime:

115 min | USA:118 min (VHS version)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Colour:

Colour

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby SR

Certification:

Canada:A (Nova Scotia) | Canada:AA (Ontario) | Iceland:L | South Korea:15 | Australia:M | Canada:13+ (Quebec) | Canada:PA (Manitoba) | Finland:K-14 | Germany:12 | Netherlands:12 | Norway:11 | Singapore:M18 | Spain:13 | UK:15 | USA:R

Filming Locations:

Baldwin Hills, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation

Trivia:

Ron Shelton successfully sued 20th Century Fox for $10 million in profits. He has never worked for the film studio again.

Goofs:

Continuity: When Billy and Sidney are driving back from their first basketball hustle, Sidney is in the middle of the backseat for all of his lines. When Billy is talking, however, Sidney's left arm is clearly visible on the left-hand side of the car.

Quotes:

Billy Hoyle: [playing in tournament prelims-overdub] Don't let him pull that move, don't let him pull that move! That's the move! Oh that's the move!

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "NYPD Blue: Black Men Can Jump (#1.17)" (1994)

Soundtrack:

AREA CODE 213

Woody and Wesley when dey was cool

Undeniably Hoosiers would get the win, if they ever polled film buffs and critics asking what the best movie is revolving around basketball. Hoosiers, the movie about a failing Indiana high school basketball team being led to success by their new coach played by Gene Hackman and the drunken assistant coach (Dennis Hooper) has enjoyed its fair share of the spotlight. Granted the field of movies about basketball isn't nearly as deep as say movies with plots concerning baseball or boxing, Hoosiers still generally beats out what little competition there is.

However in my opinion the best movie to ever capture the game of hoops is the criminally underrated and underseen White Men Can't Jump, by director Ron Shelton. Shelton also brought us the more popular baseball film Bull Durham and the golf flick Tin Cup. But I'd argue White Men Can't Jump is his centerpiece. The story revolves around two street court b-ball hustlers. One new in town, smooth, and white (Woody Harrelson), undoubtedly to his advantage. The other man, a black, a veteran of the LA courts, and fast-talking (Wesley Snipes). After Harrelson hustles Snipes the two form an unlikely partnership "ebony and ivory" but as always it is on edge and lacks a required amount of trust.

For a film that was released in the aftermath of the Rodney King beating and the L.A. riots and just before the O.J. Simpson debacle, White Men Can't Jump is surprisingly mature, witty, light hearted and open-minded in its approach to the race issue. Ron Shelton's dialogue is amazingly rapid fire and smart. It bites and certainly has a sting to it, but it's all in good fun. The multi-flamboyant personalities on the outdoor L.A. street courts hustler each other, crack "yo-mama" jokes with one another, and try to look better than the other. This is the movie that really put Wesley Snipes on the map and showed that Woody Harrelson was far more than just another face in the "Cheers" ensemble. Both provide excellent work in not only playing the characters but also learning how to play basketball and talk like actual street hustlers. There's very few standins here. Both Snipes and Harrelson learned to play the sport as well as any actor could be expected to. Rosie Perez is good as Harrelson's annoying and overbearing Puerto Rican girlfriend. If any one word can describe White Men Can't Jump, that word is "fun." The movie tackles serious issues like hustling, family, relationships, race, life in poverty, and gambling debts. However if Robert Rossen's pool hall film The Hustler presented the dark side of the life, Ron Shelton's White Men Can't Jump shows the flip side of the coin. How hustling can be fun and games.

Grade: A-