White Men Can't Jump

1992 "It ain't easy being this good."
6.8| 1h55m| R| en| More Info
Released: 27 March 1992 Released
Producted By: 20th Century Fox
Country: United States of America
Budget: 0
Revenue: 0
Official Website:
Info

Two street basketball hustlers try to con each other, then team up for a bigger score.

Genre

Drama, Comedy

Watch Online

White Men Can't Jump (1992) is now streaming with subscription on Prime Video

Director

Ron Shelton

Production Companies

20th Century Fox

White Men Can't Jump Videos and Images
View All
  • Top Credited Cast
  • |
  • Crew

White Men Can't Jump Audience Reviews

Sexylocher Masterful Movie
Sameer Callahan It really made me laugh, but for some moments I was tearing up because I could relate so much.
Billie Morin This movie feels like it was made purely to piss off people who want good shows
Dana An old-fashioned movie made with new-fashioned finesse.
FilmBuff1994 White Men Can't Jump is a good movie with a well written storyline and a great comedic cast.Its not an outstanding comedy,but it has plenty of funny scenes and there is good chemistry between Woody Harrelson and Wesley Snipes.The movie is almost two hours long which I think is certainly too long for a comedy like this,the plot definitely felt tiring after a while.Wesley Snipes was a really good comedic actor in this,I liked him even more than Harrelson,which says a lot because I'm a huge fan of Woody Harrelson,Snipes was really funny and confident and he definitely should have starred in more comedies.White Men Can't Jump is a good movie that I would recommend to anyone looking for a good comedy if they got some time to kill.A con artist who hustles basketball games joins forces with a talented player to double their chances.Best Performance: Wesley Snipes
tbromme I don't really know how to tag this one. A crime sports drama? Yes we will call it that, a crime sports drama. This flick is about Woody Harrelson and Wesley Snipes (two of my favorite actors) who combine their talents to hustle playground basketball games in Los Angeles, Billy all the while trying to maintain the affection of his girlfriend Gloria (Rosie Perez), and pay back mobsters whom he owes money to. Then of course Sidney Deane (Snipes) is trying to maintain a steady income to support his wife. So in short that is a little plot summary. Now onto what I liked about this movie.For starters, I thought that both Wes and Woody fit quite well into these roles. Snipes has always fit well into sketchy, shady, or villainous roles as observed in movies like the Blade Trilogy and Demolition Man, so a sort of scumbag hustler fit Snipes well in this movie. In addition I thought Harrelson was a good add to this movie as Snipes partner. Something about Harrelson's personality and acting makes him a perfect fit for this film.What was great about this movie were all of the twists in the already interesting plot. You have Harrelson, a white schmuck hustling these street ballers for income, the last guy you would expect to get whooped by in a game of basketball, so when he teams up with Snipes, another seasoned hustler it makes for an already great movie. Then you throw in Billy's girlfriend Gloria, an aspiring Jeopardite. Rosie Perez did a great job of keeping the movie exciting for me. Billy and Sydney would win, and then Billy would blow the money. Gloria's reactions to Billy's mistakes were part of what kept this movie entertaining. Then you throw in the mobsters on Billy's tail and you've got yourself a movie that really keeps you interested; interested in what would happen next. Another great thing about this movie was that there was some emotion, and the ending didn't leave me wondering what Bill and Sid were up to next. Now don't get me wrong, I was more than sad when Gloria left Billy forever, but I found solitude in the fact that Billy and Sidney carve themselves out a a promising future together. Chances are if you are reading this review you've probably seen this movie; whether you have or not I encourage you to watch it sometime, A-.
Jackson Booth-Millard I had heard of this film a few different places, but because of a Channel 4 countdown programme focusing on one of the lead stars, so I had to see if it was a worthy performance, from director Ron Shelton (Bull Durham). Basically former college basketball player Billy Hoyle (Woody Harrelson) makes a living hustling with street ballers who assume he can't well, because he is white, and his most recent play is with black arrogant but talented player Sidney Deane (Wesley Snipes) on Venice Beach. After being defeated twice and losing his money, Sidney thinks he could be useful, so he goes to see Billy and his girlfriend Gloria Clemente (Rosie Perez), who are on the run from mobsters demanding a gambling debt paid. He suggests a partnership to hustle other basketball players for money, but they lose their first game playing together, and Billy finds out that he was conned himself, and Gloria knows this. They go to his house and an appeal is made to Sidney's wife Rhonda Deane (Tyra Ferrell) and they agree to split the winnings and carry on a more trusting partnership, and they do win an honest game together, due to the ability to distract. Sidney does mock Billy about his inability to slam dunk, claiming "white men can't jump", but their friendship continues with playful bickering, but when they lose another game and of course the cash, Gloria leaves Billy. Sidney knows how he can win her back however, he has a friend who works as security for the studio that make the popular game show Jeopardy!, which she has dreamt of being on, and so he arranges it so she can be a contestant, and she gets the subject she knows best, leaving with a $14,100 prize. Billy wins Gloria back, but then Sidney gets burgled, so desperate for cash and knowing he owes a favour asks his fellow hustler friend to play a final game, but Gloria says she will leave if he gambles again, but he goes against her wishes. The end sees Sidney and Billy win this final, and the mobsters are paid, but it appears Gloria wasn't lying about leaving, but the friendship remains, and they walk away having a basketball banter. Also starring Cylk Cozart as Robert, Kadeem Hardison as Junior, Ernest Harden Jr. as George, John Marshall Jones as Walter, Marques Johnson as Raymond, David Roberson as T.J., Kevin Benton as Zeke and Nigel Miguel as Dwight 'The Flight' McGhee. Snipes gives a fun slick performance as the streetwise cool guy, Harrelson is equally great as the pro basketball playing white guy, and Perez also shines as the pro's sassy girlfriend, it is a film to enjoy for the basketball, the dialogue based jokes, and the small moments of serious stuff too, a most worthwhile sports comedy drama. Wesley Snipes was number 96 on The 100 Greatest Movie Stars. Very good!
Spikeopath 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