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Title: White Men Can't Jump (1992)
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| 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 |
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. Written by Rob Hartill
When Sidney Deane is beaten by goofy looking white boy Billy Hoyle he realises that he has been hustled. He seeks out Billy and the two of them strike up an uneasy partnership where they trade on his goofy nature to hustle on courts around LA. As their relationship grows, Sidney agrees to help Billy when he gets into trouble with some local gangsters whom Billy owes a lot of money to. However while they are sharp on court, neither of the pair have a great deal of luck or skill when it comes to their relationships with their female partners.
I must be honest and say that part of the reason I stopped playing/refereeing basketball in local leagues and playing on outdoor courts was because of the trash talking: good players who insist on every point and every call being the cue for insults and back chat instead of sportsmanlike behaviour. So I wasn't sure, watching it again after many years, that I would still like this film since so much of it is based on these very things. Despite my dislike of it in real life, it is actually the boisterous, fast talking, foul mouthed basketball matches that make this film fun to watch. The actual story is pretty weak when you look at it and it is easy just to see it as a basic frame that allows the on-court action to occur. The stuff involving Gloria and Rhonda is not as fun and not as convincing as the rest of the film. The stuff about the gangsters is also unlikely and is simply a plot device to set up an enjoyable tournament that serves as a fitting end to a series of one-off hustles. Of course, if you dislike basketball and dislike 'yo' moma' style banter then there will be little for you here, but I enjoyed it for what it is (even if it is starting to show its age in terms of dialogue, attitude and, most notably, the clothes!).
In fitting with the material, the male cast outshine the female cast. Snipes and Harrelson have good chemistry so good in fact that they thought it could carry the rather poor Money Train (it couldn't) but here it works. They both give as good as they get but, given the 'goofy' nature of Harrelson's role, it is Snipes that comes off looking a lot better. Perez is a little annoying but no as much as she has been in other films and Ferrell doesn't make too much of a mark only acting as a plot driver for Sidney to help Billy late in the film. Minor roles from people like Cozart and Hardison are very minor roles but generally they do their 'street-ball' clichés well enough.
Overall this is not a great film because of the weaknesses in actual plotting, however it is fun and energetic mainly because it never goes too long with some fast-talking basketball action. The games are well shot, funny, exciting and skillful and, if you like these, then you'll enjoy the film; otherwise, there isn't that much to tune in for.