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:

Get Ready for Hustley

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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

The musical R&B quintet Riff recorded a song and accompanying music video called "White Men Can't Jump" for the movie. The music video featured Woody Harrelson, Wesley Snipes, and Rosie Perez. It can be seen on the DVD release with bonus features.

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Goofs

Just before Gloria packs up her clothes and leaves the motel room, she takes off her red shirt and tosses it on the chair next to the front door. When she's packing her suitcase, the shirt is on the bed.

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Quotes

Billy Hoyle: [while lying in bed] When I say I wanna make love, it means, "Let's screw." That's the kind of thing I thought you would say.
Gloria Clemente: I don't like the word "screw," OK? I prefer "make love" or "fuck." Screwing is for carpenters.
Billy Hoyle: [pours a glass of water in her face] Oh, you're gonna get it!
Gloria Clemente: Oh, honey!
Billy Hoyle: Oh...
Gloria Clemente: We're you going?
Billy Hoyle: [irritated, while getting dressed] Anywhere to get the hell away from you. Psycho, chiquita nut case!
Gloria Clemente: Oh, come back, I want to make love. Honey, come back, I want to screw!

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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

References Casper (1949)

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Soundtracks

Can You Come Out and Play
Written by William Harmon, Christopher Troy, Derrick Edmondson, Theodore Martin, Jr. and Rodney Lee
Performed by The O'Jays
Courtesy of EMI Records USA

User Reviews

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-

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