White Men Can’t Jump

“The sun even shines on a dog’s ass some days”, and 32 years following its release, this 1992 classic is still a winner.

Jun 07, 2024

PRE-GAME 🏀

Welcome back to Balls on Film! 👋🏻

I’d like to thank everyone who read last week’s A League of Their Own edition, and everyone who left a comment, subscribed and shared the publication with others. Your support means everything, and has had me feeling energised with new ideas for future reviews and features all week long. The fantastic community here on Substack helps too. Everyone is so supportive and there’s a real sense of writers wanting to lift each other up, which is so refreshing. I’ve been coming up with new ideas faster than I can write them all down, and it’s been a great feeling.

I’m currently in New York City, taking in the New York Yankees-Los Angeles Dodgers series, and consuming far too much food and coffee. Well, by the time you read this I will be. At the moment, I’m somewhere over the Atlantic Ocean, writing this on a tiny British Airways tray table and receiving updates about what my dog is doing back home. The wonders of technology!

As I mentioned last week, this trip was a gift from my wife, for my 40th birthday. It’s been a pretty rough start to the year with my skin cancer diagnosis, surgery and recovery, so this couldn’t have come at a better time. I’m excited to share all of the ridiculously overpriced, indulgent stadium food that I’m going to eat over the course of the trip with you, once I get back home.

For this week’s edition, we’re departing New York City and heading west to Venice Beach for some basketball and plenty of ‘yo mama’ jokes with White Men Can’t Jump. No, not the 2023 Jack Harlow/Sinqua Walls remake - that’ll be for a future newsletter. Today, we’re heading back to 1992. Maybe we’ll go to Sizzler on the way…

FIRST HALF 🏀

If you were to ask me to name some classic 90s films, White Men Can’t Jump would always be one of the first titles out of my mouth. Everything from the character’s wardrobes, the beach setting and the soundtrack to the ‘yo-mama’ jokes is all very of it’s time. Yet, somehow, the film still feels timeless. Not only is it a great basketball movie, it’s also one of the best buddy movies too. Despite a few flaws, White Men Can’t Jump remains an infinitely rewatchable classic that still holds up all these years later.

The story follows Billy Hoyle (Woody Harrelson), a basketball player who portrays himself as a goofy, inexperienced amateur in order to hustle money from others.

When he arrives in California, Billy meets Sidney Deane (Wesley Snipes), a talented street ball player who initially falls for Billy’s ‘white men can’t play basketball’ scam. Recognising each other’s skills, they decide to form a partnership to hustle other players and make money.

Meanwhile, Billy’s trivia-obsessed girlfriend, Gloria (Rosie Perez), is determined to get on Jeopardy! to win enough money to help them with their financial woes, and pay off the dangerous mobsters to whom they owe a large debt. Hoyle, on the other hand, can’t help but constantly gamble away the couple’s security in the constant pursuit of the next big win. In the process, he also has to navigate whether he’s able to trust Sydney, who’s also out to improve his own family’s living situation and feeling the pressure from his own partner.

The script is razor-sharp, filled with memorable one-liners and plenty of references that feel authentic and of the time. The dialogue between Billy and Sidney, is energetic and vibrant, and even when they’re doing nothing more than talking trash and insulting each other’s mothers, adds depth to their slowly-evolving friendship and on/off rivalry.

Ron Shelton does a fantastic job of capturing the essence of street basketball, with its fast pace and colourful atmosphere. It feels very romanticised, yet gritty and authentic. The constant chatter and trash talk between the players, and the well-choreographed game scenes leave you feeling like you’re right there court-side. It’s a great backdrop for the story, particularly in the film’s opening 20 minutes, which I can’t speak of highly enough. I still remember watching the film for the first time, and almost feeling a sense of disappointment when we finally leave that first basketball scene. It plays out so perfectly, and serves as such a great introduction to the characters, that I found myself just wanting to stay there and watch these guys play basketball in the summer sun all day long. I still feel that way when I watch it today.

Harrelson and Snipes apparently spent six hours a day training and learning basketball in the run-up to filming. Harrelson is clearly the better player - his character’s inability to dunk aside - but the effort put in by both men really shines through in all of the game scenes.

Though much of the attention is placed on Wesley Snipes and Woody Harrelson, Rosie Perez delivers a standout performance as Gloria. Her goal of getting on to Jeopardy! adds plenty of heart, and provides a welcome contrast to the basketball scenes. I’ve found myself enjoying her character more and more with each rewatch, particularly when having to navigate Hoyle’s gambling addiction and inability to know when to walk away.

Not enough is said about the ways in which these characters stories are resolved, but I appreciate the film not opting for the typical, easy sports movie happy ending and instead, trying something a little different and managing to stick the landing in the process.

There are plenty of other entertaining characters peppered throughout the film, particularly during the basketball scenes. Kadeem Hardison as Junior, brings plenty of laughs as Sidney’s sidekick, In addition, the Stucci Brothers never fail to make me chuckle at just how unthreatening and comical they come across - although I’m not quite sure if that was the intention at the time. It all helps create a world that I never want to leave any time I hit play on this film.

Despite it feeling like one of the most 90s films of all time, the bubbling friendship between our two main characters, and the hilariously fun and sharp dialogue ensure that the movie isn’t left behind in 1992. Watching it feels like you’re being transported back to that time, rather than just observing it.

White Men Can’t Jump isn’t without its flaws. At almost two hours, it does feel a tad too long. There’s a good chunk of the middle section that’s a bit overstuffed and repetitive. Some of the plot points begin to feel a bit played out as we reach the film’s third act. This is particularly evident when a game is lost, which then leads to a falling-out between the characters. You’ll feel like you’ve lost count of how many times Billy shyly confesses that he’s “lost the money” to Gloria in the film’s second half. It also suffers from never being able to quite reach the glorious heights of the strong opening scene again.

The film also attempts to tackle some deeper themes, with some commentary on race and identity which doesn’t quite always land, particularly watching in 2024.

Despite all of this, the insane like-ability of Billy and Sidney, as well as Ron Shelton’s energetic direction always keeps things entertaining.

White Men Can’t Jump remains every bit as fun and engaging, 32 years following its release. Its combination of witty dialogue, complex characters, hilarious trash talk and the energetic direction make it a must-watch. It’s easy to overlook a few minor flaws when it’s just this entertaining.

If you didn’t know, it’s also one of Stanley Kubrick’s favourite movies of all time. What more of an endorsement do you need?

HALFTIME 🏀

Let’s take a break for halftime. Grab a coffee and settle in for the second half.

It was brought to my attention earlier this week that the newsletter may not be arriving in everyone’s inbox, and might be going straight to the junk mail folder instead. If this is happening, please be sure to locate the mail in your junk folder, and mark it as not spam. Alternatively, just reply to any email from me with a quick hello, and it shouldn’t happen again! 😊

Has anyone been watching anything good on TV? I always like getting show recommendations and recommending stuff to other people, so let me know in the comments. 👇

This week, I wanted to highlight one of my current favourite shows on television, which just returned for its fourth season and is better than ever. Trying on Apple TV+ stars Rafe Spall and Esther Smith as Jason & Nikki, a couple who desperately want to become parents but are struggling to conceive a child. They decide to adopt, and face a whole new host of challenges in the process. I cannot recommend this show enough. It’s incredibly funny and heartwarming, but at the time will also have you fighting back tears. Jason and Niki are two of the most likeable characters I’ve seen on television in some time, and you’ll find yourself rooting for them at every step of the way. They are joined by an entertaining cast of characters who, despite their flaws, are always on hand for support - for better or worse. You won’t regret checking out this absolutely wonderful comedy.

Let’s get back to the court. It’s time for the second half.

SECOND HALF 🏀

Let’s jump into some weekly awards and bonus content.

BEST SCENE 🏆

The first basketball scene and meeting of our two main characters, which lasts for fifteen minutes, takes this award easily. As good as the rest of the film is, it never quite reaches the same heights as it does here. I could listen to that trash talk all day long.

BEST LINE 🏆

“You can put a cat in the oven, but that don’t make it a biscuit.”

Words so wise, that even the great Dr. Frasier Crane referenced them just a few years later.

MVP AWARD 🏆

It has to be Sidney Deane. The sheer number of memorable lines, the like-ability of the character even when he’s being a complete asshole, and Wesley Snipes’ undeniable charisma make this an easy choice.

IMDB TRIVIA HIGHLIGHT 🏆

The category "Foods that start with the letter 'Q'" was an actual category on an October 1997 episode of Jeopardy!

BEST LETTERBOXD REVIEW 🏆

Sometimes less is more, and this quick review from Noah DiVincenzo had the laughing way too hard. Check that first tag on the review too. A bit harsh there, Noah!

BONUS FEATURE 💿

This ESPN SportsCenter feature reunites writer/director Ron Shelton with the cast for a special look back at the film, 30 years following its release. It’s a brilliant watch, and actually just left me wanting a sequel.

The digital and blu-ray releases of the film features this quintessentially 90s self-titled music video by Riff, that I couldn’t not include here. I’d love to see film studios bring this sort of thing back in 2024. Let’s have bands doing music videos for movies, where the songs have the same title as the film and feature all the cast members. I can only imagine a band like Green Day doing, say, a video and self-titled song for Furiosa today. I’d love to see it!

I also love Rosie Perez here, just wearing a sweatshirt with the movie title on it. Peak 90s marketing.

POST-GAME 🏀

With the Stanley Cup Finals underway, we’ll stay in 1992 and step on to the ice next week with The Mighty Ducks. If you want to watch before then, and join in the discussion, I’d love to see you there.

I’d also love for you guys to suggest what I should review in future too. Last week,

Alexandria Marrow

left a comment and said that she’d like to see a review of The Sandlot, which is one of my all-time favourite movies. I’ll review that after The Mighty Ducks next week. Let me know what your favourite sports movie is in the comments, or what you’d like to see covered next. If you don’t feel like suggesting a film, you can always just channel your best Sidney Deane energy, and leave your best ‘Yo Mama’ jokes or bit of trash talk below instead! 😃

Stay safe, everyone! See you next week.

~James