White Men Can't Jump (1992)

Black and white basketball hustlers join forces to double their chances of winning money on the street courts and in a basketball tournament.

Director:

Ron Shelton

Writer:

Ron Shelton

Stars:

Wesley Snipes, Woody Harrelson, Rosie Perez

4 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
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

Storyline

Billy and Sydney think they're the best basketball hustlers in town, so when they join forces, nothing can stop them, except each other. To add to their problems, Billy owes money and is being chased by a pair of gangster types.

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Plot Keywords:

basketball | racism | cult film | gender in title | tournament | 

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Taglines:

It ain't easy being this good.

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama | Sport

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for language and sexuality

Did You Know?

Trivia

When Woody Harrelson dunked, it was not on a ten foot hoop, but actually a nine and a half foot hoop. He couldn't quite dunk on a ten foot hoop.

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Goofs

Sidney claims he presented Billy with an option to play Eddie The King Duck Johnson in a basketball game but in fact Sidney reminded Billy that he owed him a favor therefore Billy is obligated to return the favor to Sidney.

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Quotes

Billy Hoyle: [before donating money to The Venice Beach Boys] You are so stupid. It would take your mother 1, no. 2 hours to watch 60 MINUTES.
Sidney Deane: Don't start that shit again.

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Crazy Credits

In the opening credits, we can hear the classical 20th Century Fox Fanfare in a hip hop style.

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Alternate Versions

Some U.S. video versions are three minutes longer.

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Connections

Referenced in Horror Business (2005)

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Soundtracks

Mood Indigo
Written by Duke Ellington, Barney Bigard and Irving Mills

User Reviews

courtship

A gritty comedy set in some tough LA neighborhoods about two basketball hustlers, one white (Woody Harrelson), the other black (Wesley Snipes). After hustling each other, they finally team up to play in a tournament, where with a combination of skill and trash talk they defeat the two guys who normally would have left them in the dust. The trash talk gets silly at times, while the subplot of underworld characters who are chasing Harrelson for an unpaid debt seems to be there only to explain logically why he hustles in the first place, as if he would do something else with his life. In any event, the games go from Venice Beach to Watts, and the settings are as good as the stars. Especially so are the cheap motels where Harrelson and girlfriend Rosie Perez have to live, and the inner city apartment where Snipes and his wife Tyra Ferrel call home, all of which adds up to a realistic slice of life at the time, which now seems to look quite a bit different. Intelligently written and well photographed, it has laid in the back of the shelves at countless video stores waiting to be rediscovered.

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

27 March 1992 (USA)

Also Known As:

White Men Can't Jump

Filming Locations:

Baldwin Hills, Los Angeles, California, USA

Box Office

Opening Weekend USA:

$14,711,124, 29 March 1992

Gross USA:

$76,253,806

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$90,753,806

Company Credits

Production Co:

Twentieth Century Fox

Technical Specs

Runtime:

115 min 118 min (video)

Sound Mix:

Dolby SR

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1