Sandler is great in this above average sports drama
I am not very familiar with basketball. I know it has something to do with shooting a ball into a couple of nets (the name does suggest that much) but aside from that, I know as much about basketball as I do about most other games. For this reason, I did not know whether I would look forward to watching Hustle, the latest offering from Adam Sandler for Netflix. High Flying Bird, a movie by Steven Soderbergh’s on the game set in 2019, was not an interesting watch for me either, and so after having witnessed that deeply verbose and intricate drama, I certainly did not look forward to another tiresome film on basketball.
But after going through the summary of Hustle, my attitude shifted to a more positive one but it appeared very similar to the dull movie mentioned before, so my expectations were not that high. The movie was entertaining but more than I thought it was going to be. Although I did not get the context behind the conflicts in the plot, I felt sympathy towards the antagonists who were pursuing a comeback after a personal breakdown as the story progressed.
The feature film tells a story about a completely fictional character, Stanley Sugerman, a talent scout for the Philadelphia 76ers who has seen better days, played by Adam Sandler. While on a work trip in Spain, he comes across a streetballer, Bo Cruz, who is a construction worker. In Sugerman’s eyes, Cruz is as a diamond in the rough and is a basketball star in the making. The fact is greatly in favor of Sugerman who sees MBS worthy of pursuing a career.
However, after some humorous moments in which Sugerman tries to relate to the young promising basketball player, both men are on the way to the US in search of fame and glory. However, things do not go as planned when Cruz, on the other hand, has the chance to demonstrate his skills. He loses his composure after being dogged by the opposing player on the court, which earns him no praises from the team manager Vince (Ben Foster) who makes it clear he wants no part of him.
After Vince’s decision, Sugerman rage quits and decides to keep Cruz as his solitary player agent. What follows is how the both of them go through a lot, how Sugerman brings Cruz into his house and gets attached to the tattoo dedicated body and finally tries to create opportunities that can allow them to get established in the annals of the NBA.
Sandler delivers an impressive performance, switching gears and focusing on the fragility of his character rather than the comic aspects that he is most associated with. When comparing his current role in this movie with his good performance in ‘Uncut Gems’, it’s same as it was back then; the man is a chameleon. Critics may think that being a comedian defines him, but there is more than meets the eye. He needs to get in line for such projects and ‘Hustle’ certainly is one of them. It is also an insult to the actor to lock him up in shows like ‘Grown Ups’ or ‘The Ridiculous Six’ where there was no room for his expanded talents.
The role of Cruz is taken up by actual basketball player Juancho Hernangomez who proves to be Sandler’s perfect match for the role. He has great screen presence in his first acting role and while we can be sure he would not leave basketball to act, it would be great to see him in a second role, if he doesn’t go down the same road as LeBron James who decided to pitch cartoons rather than act.
The two men take center stage in what is supposed to be a classic underdog sports narrative but they are not alone with the likes of Queen Latifah and Robert Duvall who are great performers, plus a couple of basketball icons who tend to steal the valuable time both on the court and off it. It’s thanks to their performances that the movie never dips a notch even when it appears that it is about to be burdened with backroom wrangling or the sporting move genre tropes.
There is nothing particularly original in Hustle as we have seen variations of this movie before. If the training montages of Rocky, and you expect them when you see Cruz train for his next games, The Way Back in which Ben Affleck’s character is a former basketball great trying to return to the league after being away for a while might say the same about this film.
Still, in spite of the similarities with older productions, Hustle is able to capture, in part because director Jeremiah Zagar is able to deliver exciting basketball moments and in part due to the two protagonists, whose success we are eager to watch in the face of the many challenges they constantly have to deal with.
Let me also mention that this is a more accessible film than High Flying Bird which was quite insular for people that did not understand basketball languages and the business of the sport in general. Soderbergh’s film gets favorable reviews from critics that I cannot stand it, but it had neither the warmth nor the soul of Hustle, which is a better movie, more pleasant with its essence on top of being interesting instead of all that time spent on the boring conversation.
After watching the movie, I still know nothing about basketball, but who cares. Watching Hustle for me was a lot of fun even though I cannot quite differentiate between a double dribble and a double-double, and while I wouldn’t go so far as to say this is an absolute must see movie, it still managed to pique my curiosity. This was due in part to the on screen rapport of Sandler and Hernangomez, and in part to the persistent drama of overcoming obstacles that never grows old.
So, regardless of how well you know the game of basketball, this might be interesting, especially to the fans of the sport. It is a lovely, humorous, and motivational narrative that appeals in all the appropriate areas of the heart. It may not motivate you to step onto the basketball court but it might be uplifting for Adam Sandler’s fans as an actor for he did not drop the ball this time.
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