by John Tillyard, Contributing Writer
Over the years, Adam Sandler has become known as the guy that plays the idiotic goofy oddball. However, he found himself a much more complex role as Howard Ratner in Uncut Gems, which showcased that not only could he play more serious characters with depth and an emotional arc, but he was simply a good actor. The sports drama Hustle is further evidence of that. It tells the story of Stanley Sugerman (Sandler), a scout for the NBA team, the Philadelphia 76ers. While scouting in Spain, he finds the complete unknown talent Bo Cruz (Juancho Hernangómez,) and Stanley works with him to get him into the NBA.
While not like your typical Sandler comedy, it has a higher humorous element than anything in Uncut Gems,and a much more lighthearted story. Sandler’s character is far more mindful of things than Howard. Bo’s arc, meanwhile, has the typical rags to riches structure portrayed in many sports films, but it’s shown through the eyes of the scout. It’s not about trying to make it to the big time; it’s about finding someone that can make it to the big time, a much more complex and unappreciated aspect of professional sport.
At the story’s beginning, Stanley is in a pretty good situation as a scout. He has a good relationship with the 76ers’ owner Rex Merrick (Robert Duvall), a loving wife, Teresa (Queen Latifah), and daughter, Alex (Jordan Hull). The only real problem in his life is spending a lot of time away from home, since his job requires a lot of traveling. Possibly because of this, Stanley has an arc where he wants to become a coach. His relationship with Bo feels more like a coach than a scout. So the main character’s journey has a bit of a confusing feel to it for me. He doesn’t want to be a scout, so why is he one? There is a brief backstory at one point about how he injured his hand, but it doesn’t tie into anything he did in the present day, so I didn’t understand the point of it other than to explain why he never made it as a basketball player.
The comedy here is relatively sparse, as it’s not the typical full-fledged comedy for which Sandler is best known. It’s a drama first and a comedy second; however, most of the humor works. I remember laughing pretty hard a couple of times, and I only cringed once because of the overly forced nature of one joke.
Basketball fans will get a lot of enjoyment out of the countless number of NBA players that appear, led by Hernangómez, who occasionally gives an emotional performance. A lot of his acting happens through playing the sport, but a decent amount of chemistry between him and Sandler makes their scenes compelling. Bo does not have a father, at least not one that ever appears, so his relationship with Stanley is given an unmistakable father-son vibe as the story progresses. His being an actual NBA player made the scenes where he played far more believable. I liked how his signature move was swatting the ball away. It’s nice to see defense highlighted.
The central drama comes from a rival player named Kermit Wilt-Washington (Anthony Edwards), the closest thing to a bad guy in the story. His intimidating Bo with smack talk during tryouts distracts him and ultimately makes him lose control. But most of the camaraderie between the characters is entirely positive, with several charming scenes between Stanley and Bo’s families. I’d say there probably isn’t enough conflict in these scenes; there are a couple of brief falling-outs between the two main characters, but they get resolved so quickly it felt a bit jarring.
The biggest shortcoming is the lack of anything that makes it stand out from any other sports story like it. There were no story beats or character traits that felt like something I hadn’t seen before. Of course, there is nothing wrong with sticking with what has already worked, especially if done well. But the lack of anything unexpected gives everything a bland and safe feel. No twists or clever setups made it hard to tell where the story was going. With the setting of Philadelphia, it felt like they just wanted to do the basketball version of Rocky; there’s even a training montage that ends with a scene where Bo runs up a set of stairs and celebrates at the top. But that is still interesting because it’s a modern take on this type of story with elements like him gaining attention through social media, and who doesn’t love a good Rocky story?
The closest thing to an original idea is seeing Bo’s journey to the NBA through Stanley’s eyes. There is one point where Bo performs poorly at a scrimmage. This disappointment is shown in Stanley’s frustration because he knows he can play better and has no control over what happens on the court. Early struggles are a common trope in sports stories. I’m not sure I’ve seen one that shows the mentor’s side of it, being under a lot more pressure to succeed and having no control over what happens.
On the whole, while Hustle may not take any significant risks with the type of story it tells or how it tells it, it’s still a reasonably compelling watch with an engaging lead character. There is enough for sports fans to appreciate, with a decent amount of action and performances by actual players. Non-fans will be able to enjoy it for the pleasant tone it has as a retelling of Rocky, and should feel an emotional connection to Sandler’s performance, which is a real standout from start to finish.
Score: 7/10
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