X
- 1992
- R
- Twentieth Century Fox
- 1 h 55 m
- 1992
- R
- Twentieth Century Fox
- 1 h 55 m
Summary Black and white basketball hustlers join forces to double their chances of winning money on the street courts and in a basketball tournament.
Directed By: Ron Shelton
Written By: Ron Shelton
- 1992
- R
- Twentieth Century Fox
- 1 h 55 m
- 1992
- R
- Twentieth Century Fox
- 1 h 55 m
White Men Can't Jump
65
7.1
Where to Watch
Summary Black and white basketball hustlers join forces to double their chances of winning money on the street courts and in a basketball tournament.
Directed By: Ron Shelton
Written By: Ron Shelton
Where to Watch
Top Cast
Metascore
Generally Favorable
Based on 28 Critic Reviews
65
71% Positive
20 Reviews
20 Reviews
25% Mixed
7 Reviews
7 Reviews
4% Negative
1 Review
1 Review
Metascore
Generally Favorable
Based on 28 Critic Reviews
65
71% Positive
20 Reviews
20 Reviews
25% Mixed
7 Reviews
7 Reviews
4% Negative
1 Review
1 Review
Snipes and Harrelson bounce off the screen like Michael Jordan, while Shelton and cinematographer Russell Boyd perfectly capture the agile thrills of the game itself. A double-whammy slam-dunker of a movie.
Smartly spreading his story beyond the end lines of the basketball court, writer-director Shelton has knocked down a sparkling, slice-of-life Americana story. As rough and shiny as chain nets on a sweltering summer day, White Men Can't Jump is a poetic, rag-tag triumph.
User Score
Generally Favorable
Based on 27 User Ratings
7.1
70% Positive
19 Ratings
19 Ratings
30% Mixed
8 Ratings
8 Ratings
0% Negative
0 Ratings
0 Ratings
User Score
Generally Favorable
Based on 27 User Ratings
7.1
70% Positive
19 Ratings
19 Ratings
30% Mixed
8 Ratings
8 Ratings
0% Negative
0 Ratings
0 Ratings
Some of the moves, passes, and shots are so silly on a basketball level and it is awesome. I enjoyed this greatly from start to finish. Wesley and Woody were awesome.
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One of the simplest plots in all of film, and it works brilliantly because of the cast and script. The dialogue between Woody and Wesley is superb and so believable you'd think they were best friends in real life. Expertly crafted film that deserves nothing less than a 10. I found no faults in this film that warrant it anything other than a 10.
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It's a funny, frequently rousing film, with a warmly appealing acting partnership at its center-between basketball hustlers Wesley Snipes and Woody Harrelson.
The terrifically confident Mr. Snipes gives a funny, knowing performance with a lot of physical verve. And Mr. Harrelson (of Cheers) further perfects the art of appearing utterly without guile. Their comic timing together shapes the film's raucous wit, and their basketball playing looks creditable, too.
The basketball sequences are the most magical in the film -- both Harrelson and Snipes can play -- but more to the point, he also has a great gift for evoking the needling hostility of athletes, the way the games aren't just about talent but about ego, will, self-esteem.
This picture is packed with fun, but it doesn't really go anywhere, and elements that summon up memories of The Hustler don't work in its favor.
White Men Can't Jump clocks in at just under two hours of court-stomping, in-your-face, anything-goes street basketball. And that's all, folks. [31 Mar 1992, p.E6]
This is not a generic sports film with generic redemption arcs for our characters. White Men Can't Jump doesn't concern itself with setups and payoffs. As viewers, we are allowed to go with the flow and sink in. It keeps going and going, bursting into pure 90s excitement.
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This is at times an amusing and a laidback, fun watch. I wouldn't say its a film you can have on in the background and not pay much attention to it to still follow it but its still laidback in tone. Given the plot, you do have to pay a bit of attention to see where things don't play out as planned. I liked the main characters and I thought both Snipes and Harrleson got on well on screen and Rosie Perez also gives a decent performance. I also liked the music played - some street/urban type songs but also some soul and rock classics (Jimmi Hendrix, Boyz II Men, Ray Charles and the O'Jays).
I enjoyed this film and would recommend it to other, yes. The only thing I'd maybe say is that it has aged a fair bit in what people wear and so on - its a film dating from 1992, so that's hardly surprising.
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White Men Can't Jump is a really good movie. The movie's got a brilliant plot, which is about this lad called Billy (Woody Harrelson) who's pretty much making a living out by conning the African American basketball players. The way that he goes about it, is that he acts like he can't play basketball at all and he later teams up with Sidney (Wesley Snipes), who's pretty much one of the original people who he was conning but they come together and they try to double his chances on winning.
The acting throughout this movie is brilliant, especially from Woody Harrelson and Wesley Snipes, the two of them give some really good performances throughout.
Also, the dialogue from the characters throughout this movie is pretty good, nothing feels too forced in any sort of way, it just feels natural and it's very good.
Woody Harrelson and Wesley Snipes have got some great chemistry throughout this movie, which is really good and it adds to their characters.
Finally, the cinematography from Russell Boyd is pretty decent, he captures the moments pretty well, which end up happening throughout this movie.
Overall, White Men Can't Jump is a really good movie. It's got a brilliant plot, brilliant acting, pretty good dialogue, great chemistry and some decent cinematography.
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Awards
MTV Movie + TV Awards
• 2 Nominations
Chicago Film Critics Association Awards
• 2 Nominations
Image Awards (NAACP)
• 2 Nominations
