White Men Can't Jump

I will say up front I didn't see the entire movie. I watched for 40 minutes and I had to turn it off! TOTALLY depressing movie. No fun, no excitement, just two lousy, bum dudes talking a lot of crap.

The first WMCJ was fun, had great realistic basketball action, romantic and sad all at the same time. It was a great movie from the opening scene until the end. This here, don't waste your time! Neither dude looks or moves like a baller. ESPECIALLY the black dude! He was so mis-cast in this movie. All he does is snarl, frown and be depressed. And he is the FURTHEST thing from a baller you could find. He's really not that good of an actor. I've seen him in other stuff and same role. Always a jerk. Nothing likeable about him at all. Together they have no chemistry and they definitely aren't funny like Woody & Wesley. The movie just went nowhere and I found zero joy in the 40 min I watched.

I'm sure most people will give it a watch based on the original but you'll see...

SKIP!

Obviously, I only watched this because I'm a huge fan of the original. It was odd because this version copies the basic structure of the original, even going to each iconic basketball court, like the fenced in court and the Watts court. There is zero tension though. Everything is just rushed though and none of the pick up games had any of the fun of the original. We don't really know why Jack Harlow's character is meant to be the underdog in the pickup games or why/how this is a hustle. I didn't like the director's choice to constantly use slow motion during the games either. It really detracted from excitement of the games/moves. Jack Harlow has a few nice moments, like when he's posing next to his car while Ed Sheeran plays. That was a funny scene, but for the most part, his acting is distractingly bad. We don't get any real moments with him, and there is a lack of commitment to either the trash talking or the zen. There's just a lot thrown into the back story of his and Sinqua Walls' characters with no pay off. Harlow's character seems to have a drug problem but is not addressed in the end. Walls' has a tragic moment, and a couple of minutes later is all smiles and jokey in (what's supposed to be) a comedic with Blake Griffin. Also not addressed. Ultimately, everything is unearned: Harlow and Walls' friendship, falling out, and redemption. The entire movie just goes through the motions. It was nice seeing Laura Harrier though.

If you've seen the original, seriously, don't waste your time. It doesn't come close!

The best thing about this was Andrew Schulz and a few of the jokes scattered throughout the film.

To be honest this misses the mark and is just an average film, I know they had to change it up compared to the original, modernise it etcetera and they did that well, although in an annoying way, in my opinion, but I'm old enough to remember the original lol...

Which is a classic and still stands up today, there was no reason for a remake. This is just an average streaming film about basketball.

I'm trying to be vague here to avoid spoilers, but it feels like there's none of the ICONIC moments from the original, a lot of content and story missed out. It doesn't even feel like it's about the 2 of them, one is an extra in the others story and now the title doesn't even make sense...

Some okay acting performances and some of the soundtrack was alright I have to admit, but other than that nothing stands out.

The original is streaming for free as well, personally I feel like I've wasted an hour and a half odd, when I could have just watched the original, but I had to find out for myself since I'm a huge Schulz fan and he's mentioned it on Flagrant.

5/10 bang average streaming film, the funny moments saved it from being lower than that!

The original was more raw and a decent representation of the times.

The new version is also good representation of the times, but feels less raw and has Hollywood polish all over it. It's hilarious that this qualifies as an rated R movie when it seems more like a PG or G rated movie.

There were some laughs and the story was okay, but don't expect too many similarities or a connection to the original. The only thing that was similar was that there was a black and white guy that randomly team up to enter a 2 on 2 basketball tournament. Everything else was pretty different.

I wish Disney/Fox would stop remaking classics to make a quick buck off of fans. It's disappointing because they're ruining the memories people have of the original versions.

If you have nothing better to watch then it's a decent time filler, but don't dedicate your time to watching it.

I don't think it's a 1/10 rating, but it's certainly not above a 6/10 rating. I'd put it around a 3 or 4 out of 10 rating. The characters were likeable, so I went with 4.

Is this the greatest movie ever made? No.

Is it the greatest remake ever? Also no.

Was it a fun watch? Absolutely!

If you can just understand that this borrows the premise and setting from the original and understand that this is its own movie you will enjoy it so much more. Quit trying to compare it against the original. It really has some great dialogue and witty humor. The basketball scenes are fun and the drama seems believable.

Jack Harlow did a great job and was a believable hustler. Sinqua Walls really killed it and gave some serious heart.

Just go into this expecting to have fun and be entertained and you won't be disappointed.