by Ron Anahaw
I played basketball a couple times as a kid before someone passed me the ball and it hit me in the face. I was so embarrassed that I didn’t play basketball again. Watching Hustle made me wish I didn’t stop playing.
There’s a lot of star power in the movie: Adam Sandler and Queen Latifah both obviously come to mind, as well as the scores of professional basketball figures playing themselves. But the heart of the movie is between Adam Sandler, playing a 76ers basketball scout named Stanley, and Juancho Hernangomez (a player for the Toronto Raptors in real life) as Bo Cruz, an unknown basketball phenom playing on streetside courts in Spain. There is magic to watching Bo play. He’s got length, he’s got presence, and he’s got an athletic dexterity that allows him to move through the court with the grace of a dancer and the power of a bear. When you watch Bo deny someone a point, you can’t help but shake your head and laugh.
Things get rocky because Stanley brings Bo to the States despite his new boss refusing to take on Bo. Bo’s got a lot on the line here: he’s the breadwinner for his mother and his daughter, and he quit his job under Stanley’s claims that he could get him a sure spot in the NBA. Not only that, but Bo’s past assault charge complicates his presence in the States.
This is your basic underdog story. Bo’s got raw, natural talent, but can Stanley help refine that talent into something that can withstand the scrutiny of the public, the mental stress of professional games, and catapult him into success despite not having the 76ers in his corner anymore? Adam Sandler plays Stanley really well: a man who loves the sport (much like Sandler himself) and wants nothing more than to be on the court again, even if it’s as an assistant coach rather than as a player.
Scratch that–something he does want more is to do right by Bo. And as a viewer, you want that too. Bo is written with a sweetness to him, an earnestness. But Hernangomez plays that sweetness hand-in-hand with a drive, a ferocity: to win, to succeed, to provide for his family. Stanley’s old friend and mentor says something to Stanley that becomes his mantra throughout the film: “Never back down.” Straightforward, but inspiring and effective–just like this movie.
SCORE: 95/120
| Enjoyment | Emotion | Aesthetic | Narrative |
| 10 | 8 | 6 | 7 |
| Cohesion | Originality | Execution | Impact |
| 9 | 7 | 8 | 6 |
| Ending | Rewatchability | Recommendability | Staying Power |
| 7 | 10 | 9 | 8 |
Ron Anahaw 