Rating: R
Genre:
Comedy
Theatrical Release: 03/27/1992(USA)
Release Date: 05/21/2002
SubTitles: English/Espanol
Dubbed: English/French
Sound: DS
Run Time: 115 Minutes
Flags: Violence, Nudity, Adult Situations, Not For Children, Adult Language, Profanity
Distributor/Studio: 20th Century Fox
Ron Shelton (
Bull Durham) wrote and directed the basketball-oriented
seriocomedy White Men Can't Jump.
Woody Harrelson plays
Billy Hoyle, a white con artist who hustles basketball games with black players, lulling his victims into the misguided notion that white men can't match up with black hoopsters. One of his victims, African-American
Sidney Deane (
Wesley Snipes), becomes
Hoyle's "agent," arranging his various inner city scams.
Deane doesn't feel as though he's selling out his own people; he goes along with
Hoyle to provide a better life for his wife,
Rhonda (
Tyra Ferrell), and son. The film breezes through several zany sequences, including one liberal-baiting satirical moment set at a black/white "solidarity" basketball game arranged by an ambitious politician. Crooked gamblers intrude upon the last scenes of the film, but
Hoyle is rescued by his girlfriend,
Gloria (
Rosie Perez), a
Jeopardy freak who realizes a lifelong dream by winning big on the
Alex Trebek-hosted
game show.
~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
;)
