White Men Can't Jump (1992) User Reviews

Woody and Wesley when dey was cool

[ztruk2001 · 8/10 · 12 March 2005]

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-

Can you, or should you hustle a hustler?

[hitchcockthelegend · 7/10 · 15 January 2009]

After Billy Hoyle hustles Sidney Deane on the basketball court, Deane offers Billy a proposition about teaming up to hustle the courts of Los Angeles. They are a great team, they are in fact wonderful players, but egos and greed are sure to become a problem, oh and Billy has some rather unsavoury characters after him to return a debt he owes. Can the boys resolve their differences? Can they keep their devoted women happy? All will be revealed in White Men Can't Jump.

White Men Can't Jump is a fine sports movie, offering up more than just a basic sport heart, it's funny, sly and really a rather effective piece of drama. The basketball scenes are very well handled by director Ron Shelton, with slow motion spins and beady drips of sweat glistening in the heat, and the chemistry between Woody Harrelson (Billy) and Wesley Snipes (Sidney) is first class, but really it's the power of Shelton's writing that makes this a most engaging picture (see also Bull Durham & the similarly undervalued Tin Cup).

After following these two guys thru their very rocky relationship you get to a point where you feel that we are about to wander down formula road, but Shelton pulls a trick to make the final last quarter an excellent, none conformity piece of film, one that judging by the less than favourable rating on this particular site, has not been wholly appreciated. Shame that, because other than Rosie Perez doing her best to annoy the viewers to death as Billy's suffering girlfriend Gloria Clemente, White Men Can't Jump is one of the better sports movies of the 90s. 7.5/10

courtship

[RanchoTuVu · 8/10 · 22 September 2005]

A gritty comedy set in some tough LA neighborhoods about two basketball hustlers, one white (Woody Harrelson), the other black (Wesley Snipes). After hustling each other, they finally team up to play in a tournament, where with a combination of skill and trash talk they defeat the two guys who normally would have left them in the dust. The trash talk gets silly at times, while the subplot of underworld characters who are chasing Harrelson for an unpaid debt seems to be there only to explain logically why he hustles in the first place, as if he would do something else with his life. In any event, the games go from Venice Beach to Watts, and the settings are as good as the stars. Especially so are the cheap motels where Harrelson and girlfriend Rosie Perez have to live, and the inner city apartment where Snipes and his wife Tyra Ferrel call home, all of which adds up to a realistic slice of life at the time, which now seems to look quite a bit different. Intelligently written and well photographed, it has laid in the back of the shelves at countless video stores waiting to be rediscovered.

Greed and Basketball. How Can You Not Like This Film?

[tfrizzell · 15 March 2001]

Wesley Snipes and Woody Harrelson team up on the playgrounds of L.A. to hustle all comers. The direction is sharp and the cinematography is surprisingly impressive as the mean streets of Los Angeles are caught with striking camera shots. The under-rated screenplay is intelligent, focused, and clever. All in all "White Men Can't Jump" is far from being a classic, but it is still a fine film that is better than many think. 4 stars out of 5.

Lively Basketball Adventure.

[rmax304823 · 7/10 · 12 April 2008]

You don't have to be a fan of basketball to enjoy this feel-good, humorous, dramatic, and lively story of two very good players, Wesley Snipes as Sidney and Woody Harrelson, and their women, Rosie Perez and Tyra Ferrell.

What lingo on the courts! What scurrilous insults are hurled back and forth with no one blinking an eye, what elegant contumely -- "Chump!", "Go on back to Mayberry," "Is your head made out of braille?" The basketball games played on neighborhood courts in LA are well shot, and the slow motion, finally, occupies an appropriate space in the narrative. Snipes, who is black, is a terrific action figure and his insults approach the rococo. Woody Harrelson, who is white, is not quite in the same acting league but manages to carry the part of Snipes' partner in the hustling game quite well. We don't get to see much of Snipes' wife, Tyra Ferrell, who wants nothing more than for her man to get a steady and sufficiently rewarding job to get them out of Vista Vue Apartments, where "there is no vista and there is no view and there sure as hell is no view of no vista." Perez also has vague longings of settling down and gives Harrelson two grand to buy smart-looking suits so he can make an impression in job interviews. (He squirts the money away, as usual.) The game of basketball, although it takes up considerable film space, is really not much more than a tool that allows the film makers to explore the relationship between a white guy and an African-American guy, neither of whom is more than usually predisposed towards racial harmony. There's an entertaining comic argument about whether Harrelson, who enjoys listening to Jimi Hendrix on the tape deck of his dilapidated car ("a classic") can really HEAR Hendrix. It's not enough just to LIKE him. Snipes is nonplussed to learn that Hendrix's drummer was a white guy.

The movie is a fantasy. The likelihood of these two oddly matched hustlers making scads of dough on the courts of Watts, and walking away with their body parts intact, never mind the money, isn't particularly high. Three of the characters -- Snipes, Harrelson, and Perez -- are extraordinarily bright and articulate within the limits of their conventions. Perez wins more than ten thousand dollars on "Jeopardy." And the two men are whizzes on the court. The film SEEMS to be about race, but it's not. Except for the insults, race doesn't enter into the story at all. Harrelson might as well be black himself. He not only talks the talk, he dribbles the dribble. The whole issue of white racism and black solidarity is swept under the rug.

That's not to denigrate the movie. It's a lot of fun. The air on the courts is foggy with the most gut-churning calumny. It becomes poetic at times. And the movie never turns sentimental. There are no important speeches on how we all have to live together -- men and women, as well as black and white. Thank God for small favors. The friendship that develops between Snipes and Harrelson never turns "warm." Like most male friendships, it turns on instrumental behavior -- joint effort on the courts. And the movie ends on exactly that kind of note.

Not bad.

More than just basketball

[Movie_Beta · 7/10 · 21 April 2023]

Recently seeing a trailer for a remake of this iconic but somewhat forgotten 90's film made me realise the original was long overdue a rewatch.

It is more than just a sports film, it's a an evolution of the 'buddy' movies and 'odd couple' movies of 80's (think Lethal Weapon, Stir Crazy, Twins, Trading Places). So in effect it is about the relationship, and the chemistry between Snipes and Harrelson is excellent. You really feel for each character in their highs and especially lows throughout the movie, and wonder how they will scrape themselves out the next scam they create.

The games scenes are really well shot with slo-mo action of the actors doing some cool skills and plays on the court, making me wonder how long they trained at basketball to prepare for this film!? The comedy element does not get overlooked either and the banter between the two leads is especially fun and does not feel forced. Also worth a mention is the scene of the store hold up robbery which is a genuinely funny moment.

On the downside, It does feel a little dated now, from the court fashion to the scenes of the tough neighbourhoods and the assorted hustlers and gangs, you don't get the impression of any true danger to the interlopers. Also some of the stereotypes are quite cliched, but then the film is really based wholly on the one big stereotype of the title.

Overall a good movie that is original and has a more genuinely fun interplay of characters than you might expect. A fun and somewhat underrated movie.

7/10.

entertaining

[abknor · 7/10 · 7 September 2003]

This movie is well-made: it tells a good story, and maintains high production values. The playing-off of different cultures does not really work, but then again that was not central to the story. The hustler being hustled theme could have done with some more Roald Dahl-like wit, but all in all this is an amusing comedy (it does not reach out enough to be considered a dramedy) and a worthy rental for those boring winter evenings.

Excellent

[bbc-2 · 9/10 · 28 June 1999]

This is a truly excellent movie! Lots of people have bashed it as a "basketball" movie, but the truth is, it ain't about basketball at all. It could have been hockey, dart playing or curling, it wouldn't matter. It's about human weaknesses and making new friends. Rosie Perez gave probably her best performance ever, and the interplay between Harrelson and Snipes is great. Don't miss it.

Funny, Wacky and Friendly

[Falcon-51 · 7/10 · 14 October 1999]

Wesley and Woody are great together. Perez is a plus. You don't have to be a fan of the game to love this movie. It's fast paced, funny and if you are a fan of hoops then you are in Basketball movie heaven. Hustle out to the video store and rent yourself a copy. The film also has more Mama jokes than you can shake a stick at.

The Funniest Sports Comedy Ever

[claudonio · 10/10 · 6 February 2000]

"White Men Can't Jump" is an hysterically funny movie that is one of the funniest I've seen. Director Ron Shelton has made other sports comedies before but this is his best one. Wesely Snipes and Woody Harrelson play off each other perfectly and make a memorable team. This film is highly profane but it has very inventive and witty dialoge. A very funny film.

Great chemistry from the leads

[Floated2 · 7/10 · 22 June 2019]

Wesley Snipes and Woody Harrelson star in this film as a couple of con men scheming their ways on the basketball court by betting on their opposing allies. With an intriguing story line added with likable and rootable leads, also with clever sub plots, this film succeeds as an entertaining piece of sports film. Although this film does feel outdated watching in today's day and age, it holds up and is better than initially expected. Rosie Perez is another piece which stands out for the better. White Men Can't Jump got its attention due to its title but it's more than just a sports film, it's further about life and relationships. Underrated film if anything.

Watched it a hundred times

[terrmoore · 10/10 · 5 January 2008]

Every chance I get I will watch this movie when it is broadcast. I just love it, if not for the sport, but the characters and the scenery. I feel like I am at a California Beach with them. I love the way Wesley and Woody interact with each other and could not imagine any other actor taking either of their places. I wish they would have made a WMCJ II. Their skill in playing is quite remarkable and very entertaining. Their lines that they hit off each other with immediate comebacks are very witty. The admiration that they had for each other was kept very well hidden until the director decided to let you get a glimpse of their feelings. A great movie with great actors.

Takes me back 30 years

[moivieFan · 7/10 · 11 March 2023]

I first watched white men can't jump years ago around the time it came out. Back then I had no idea it was directed by the same person Ron Shelton who directed Bull Durham. Of the two movies Bull Durham is my favorite.

I thought Woody Harrelson and. Wesley Snipes were good. When I was watching the movie I thought that maybe it was not realistic for actors who were 5'10 and 5'11 to be basketball hustlers.

I thought Rosie Perez was good as Billy's girlfriend. And the fact that she was studying waiting for Jeopardy to call was was mildly interesting..

And I thought the fact that Gloria and Billy were on the run from the stookie brothers was something that led to the funniest scene in the movie.

At the end of the movie the stookie brothers finally catch up to Billy. He gives them the money and then we see billy laying on a couch cushion with blood coming out of his mouth. The stookies take pictures and then bill gets up. He is alive.

So while if I thought about it I could tell before watching the movie that Billy and Sidney would be good as basketball hustlers and that Gloria would get on Jeopardy and win big.

I still that that white men can't jump was and entertaining movie to watch.

A nice duo

[SkullScreamerReturns · 5/10 · 4 January 2020]

Somewhat funny comedy of two wacky guys who paired together almost equal Eddie Murphy class of motormouthness. I liked the beginning the best when the two guys meet and start to plan their great tricks together. But for some reason the latter half I started to lose my attention.

It's an average comedy. Not essential for everybody but can be recommended for basketball/sports movie fans and those who want to see every 80's/90's comedy.

The Hustler of Basketball Movies

[Sargebri · 14 April 2003]

Ron Shelton does it again. He does a great job of capturing the culture of basketball hustlers and how they go from court to court hustling games and making money. He gets everything right even down to the trash talk on the court. Woody Harrelson is perfect as the n'er do well Billy and Wesley Snipes is perfect as the fast talking Sidney. This also to me is the breakout performance of Rosie Perez. Perez is perfect as Billy's kookie girlfriend Gloria. This film is definitely a classic.

"The Hustler" for Basketball

[Cineanalyst · 7/10 · 22 July 2021]

"White Men Can't Jump" is one of the better sports films from writer-director and former baseball player Ron Shelton's inconsistent oeuvre. I mean, "Bull Durham" (1988) and "Cobb" (1994), but also "Blue Chips" (1994), "Tin Cup" (1996) and "Play It to the Bone" (1999). This street-ball one is amusing, though, especially the trash talking and hot-dogging on the court, and Woody Harrelson, Wesley Snipes and Rosie Perez are all at the top of their games.

The flashy play makes sense, though. There's really only one play for a two-on-two match involving smaller players, like Harrelson and Snipes: picks with the option to roll or pop. They face similar dilemmas off the court. Otherwise, there's mostly futile give-'n-goes, a lot of putting the ball between legs and behind backs, spinning it of the backboard for layups and, of course, the jocular insults. So, it's impressive alone that the basketball scenes aren't an utter bore. Decent scoring helps, too, but I think there's something there in "The Hustler" connection. The players are always playing the angles, gambling riskily, and the interpersonal stakes are constantly in flux. The added dynamic from the team sport is the prospect of a buddy picture, so maybe it's more "The Color of Money" (1986) in that respect, to continue the pool-hall comparison with the sequel to "The Hustler," or to move to the card room of another "Hustler" knockoff, "Rounders" (1998). There's also the added racial dynamics at play, on the eve of the Bird-Magic era in the NBA, and, graciously, this is kept at a personal level without laboring any wider social message.

I also find it amusing that even though they account for Harrelson's inability to dunk--it's in the title--the film still frames the narrative as possibly a dream, as if that he can play at all might be unbelievable. Note, that is, that he goes to sleep on the court in the opening scene. This is further framed by music, and there's much made within the possible-dream narrative of him hearing the music. Personally, I suspect the entire movie a dream given that its Venice Beach looks rather pleasant and the buskers charming. My experiential prejudices aside, though, movies, after all, are like a dream. Probably the main shortcoming of "White Men Can't Jump" to my mind is that it doesn't do much with this prospect, or any, although I'm not opposed to the ambiguity, or the simplicity necessarily. The arc of Perez's character of her dream of appearing on TV's "Jeopardy!" fits well enough into this aspect, but I'm not sure that Harrelson's protagonist fits as well--dreaming of showboating to locales over a few thousand dollars and struggling to keep his girlfriend and not be killed by game fixers to whom he owes money. Both performative and a sort of fame, I suppose, and the hustling, or con, which by its nature is to be revealed when it turns out he can play, adds another reflexive dimension, but still a small dream.

Good

[manitobaman81 · 7/10 · 30 August 2014]

Recently I have been so trapped in another round of emotional lows that I can't turn to anybody for any comfort. I am always thinking that I lack talent and that the only way I can be qualified, not successful, in competitions with others is to work harder than them so that my diligence makes up for my weaknesses. I admire the talented so much.

With this in mind, I rented WHITE MEN CAN'T JUMP and it made me feel like a new person. Wesley and Woody are great together. The screenplay is intelligent, focused and clever. This is a truly excellent movie, and it becomes poetic at times. Overall, I can give it no less than 7 out of 10.

Snipes character is... ummm

[TheLastDon81 · 7/10 · 11 August 2021]

This movie was great when I was a kid, it holds up now that I'm an adult. As I age I notice that Wesley Snipes character is kind of a piece of crap lol. He makes up for it though. Woody isn't any better. He has his own issues as well. Horrible boyfriend. Gambling problems. Sheesh, what a mess.

With that said, it's a fun movie and gives us the classic line.... "white men can't jump"

One knock is Rosie Perez's voice is like an air raid siren lol.

not really about basketball at all

[sjmdd · 9/10 · 11 August 2009]

A movie that on the surface appears to be about sport - basketball- has a much deeper undertone if you look closer, a movie that uses the sport as a metaphor for the distinctions between blacks and whites in America. I've always loved this movie, i first saw it many years ago when i was about 14 and felt the wit and chemistry between harrelson and snipes is top notch, now im older i see things i didn't see before. Personally i feel you can take the movie in two ways. you either see it as a buddy comedy or a movie which shows how blacks and whites view each other. the way in which snipes is presented may be a cliché - black man, ultra confident, feels that coz hes black hes better than harrelson - but is this a cliché? most of the black guys in the movie feel that harrelsons character billy is a 'chump', and are quick to put him down. even the movies title 'white men cant jump' is a thinly vieled reference to the viewpoint of black America. this is not a racist perspective, its simply how it is, sidney (snipes) even gets into a discussion with harrelson about jimmy hendrix, about his apparently white drummer and how billy cant listen to hendrix, he can only hear him. billy for his part, uses the fact that hes a white guy to his advantage when he and snipes are hustling. these class colour elements serve to make white men cant jump a far better movie than it is given credit for, and is worth a better look if you think its just another sports comedy. David Ford

Great basketball scenes, nice vibe

[thehoff · 7/10 · 25 May 2023]

Movie with a great vibe. The basketball scenes are really well made and fun to watch. It's nice to see actors Wesley Snipes and Woody Harrelson at the start of their careers.

The trash talking is a bit too much and gets boring near the end of the movie. This makes it sometimes hard to sympathize with the main characters.

The partners of Woody Harrelson and Wesley Snipes are both quite annoying women. Especially Rosie Perez is so irritating that you wonder why he is staying with her.

The subplot with gangsters is not very strong.

All together a fun movie to watch, with some great scenes and a good overall vibe.

Classic!

[Sean-96 · 10/10 · 22 April 1999]

Don't believe any of those comments which claim this is a bad movie. However, I must admit if you do not come from a basketball background you won't appreciate it as much. If you love B'ball you'll go mad over this film.Woody and Wesley are perfect for the roles and go so well together. The one-liners really do make the film what it is, brilliant. Here are a few:

'Your momma's so fat she fell over broke her leg and gravy poured out.'

'I do detect a smell of cash, in the air'

'Ain't no thing but a chicken wing on a string from Burger King'

Brilliant

Exciting basketball action in "White Men" can't jump over inextricable plot

[SwingBatta · 7/10 · 4 March 2002]

White Men Can't Jump (1992): If this movie, written and directed by sports-film guru Ron Shelton, consisted entirely of basketball scenes, it would rate a perfect 10. The story of con men Billy (Woody Harrelson) and Sidney (Wesley Snipes) teaming up to hustle opponents on the court is only a small part of a convoluted script, which is merely a mess of unimportant subplots rather than one solid storyline. For instance, two Italian heavies pursue Billy and his bitchy girlfriend Gloria (Rosie Perez in an ear-torturing performance) over gambling debts throughout the entire picture. She later dumps Billy after he loses $2,500, and everything slows to a crawl as he embarks on a quest to get her back. Plus, she is busy trying to get on Jeopardy, because Lord knows Alex Trebek can never get enough publicity. Little things like that serve to build up an anticlimactic conclusion. It doesn't help either that the characters badly lack development and are given such flat dialogue. Billy is so annoying that it's hard to believe people like Sidney – and the equally irritating Gloria – would actually befriend him in the first place. Despite the film's title, the subject of racism never comes to the fore through the jumbled plot; the act of swindling opponents who believe the white guy can't play is scarcely a serious anti-racist message. Plenty of plot holes as well: A gun Gloria points at Sidney at the beginning is never seen again, and she's also an alcoholic, but that's conveniently forgotten as the movie progresses. Many ballers (like myself) will enjoy the great court action and the humorous trash talk, which is the film's only saving grace. Look for former NBA stars Marques Johnson and Freeman Williams as two of Billy and Sidney's opponents, and the late Los Angeles Times sportswriter Allan Malamud as a Jeopardy contestant. While the aforementioned basketball spectacles are a slam dunk, it's unfortunate that the rest of "White Men" throws up an airball. 6/10

6.8 for this movie is ridiculous

[hstteach · 10/10 · 18 October 2019]

Are I serious? This is an absolute classic and if you didn't enjoy this movie then you don't enjoy much of anything I guess. 6.8? Some of you have issues.

Good in all areas, but great in none

[SpinalTapFan · 7/10 · 1 January 2008]

A lot of different ideas come together in 'White Men Can't Jump'. Essentially, the lead character tries to succeed in something that, due to his appearance, demeanour and background, few would expect him to be good at. The twist is that he's a white guy playing basketball. Having been duped out of $7800, he takes to hustling the black neighbourhood players, getting them to bet big money that they'll win, on their naíve assumption that a white man can't be a good basketball player. Adventure, plus a fair share of hilarity, ensues.

I liked the minor prejudices Hoyle and Deane had against each other's races, especially Sidney refusing to believe that Jimi Hendrix's drummer was white. The Brotherhood event is funny, especially the "this could cost us our sponsors" reaction. The Jeopardy satire is neat - it's a good sign that Alex Trebek agreed to have the show's integrity questioned like this. The whole role of money in an impoverished community is tackled in this film - the lengths you go to for it, the risks you take in the process, and the way it may not be everything.

The basketball scenes are filmed impressively, with lots of high-angle shots, and feature what appear to be smart tricks (I'm not much of a basketball watcher, but I gather that the coach who worked with Harrelson and Snipes said they reached college standard, despite both being short for basketball players). The trash-talking is believable and occasionally funny, although I find it juvenile as a concept (although it reminds you that 2Pac and Shakespeare may be more alike than most would assume).

The choice of title is brave, and successful - society has put an inbuilt 'block' on Hoyle, much as it has for non-whites in many areas, and his determination to prove others wrong becomes an undoing. Sexual differences are touched on as well; the film notices the way men are generally more obsessed with victory than women - it is Sidney's wife Rhonda who finds a solution to their initial problems, despite Sidney and Billy's macho attitudes.

It all amounts to one of the few quality sport-themed films, a tight but not over-serious look at race in early 90s America. Parts of it are a little dated, but most of the humour and action still shines through.

Big disappointment

[Dukesquay · 4/10 · 10 March 2008]

What a disappointment. Ron Shelton has written and directed some great movies but this isn't one of them. The action sequences make basketball seem pretty exciting and the on-court dialogue is fast, snappy and funny. Unfortunately, off-court the main characters are generally irritating. I had very little sympathy or respect for the characters played by Woody Harrelson and Rosie Perez. Unltimately I couldn't care less what happened to them so my attention wandered towards the end of the movie. There is a sub-plot involving debt-collecting gangsters which is unconvincing. The performances from Wesley Snipes and Tyra Ferrell are excellent (I wish Tyra would do more.)