Direction: Jeremiah Zagar
Country: USA
Co-produced by NBA star LeBron James and actor Adam Sandler, Hustle plays like a smooth, aerodynamic sports drama film that, failing to inspire me completely, managed to retain a certain surface-level charm. The film stars Sandler in a sober role alongside real NBA players, including Juancho Hernangómez from the Utah Jazz and Anthony Edwards from the Minnesota Timberwolves.
The script by Taylor Materne and Will Fetters (A Star is Born, 2018) is not particularly innovative, and the film, competently directed by Jeremiah Zagar - who put out the wonderful indie drama We the Animals four years ago - systematically falls into stale formulas. However, it was great to see Sandler stepping out of his comfort zone and carrying an unrestrained, totally convincing passion into his role, which is both refreshing and invigorating to watch. He is Stan Sugarman, a former player turned scout turned assistant director, and then demoted to scout again by Vince Merrick (Ben Foster), the stuck-up co-owner of the Philadelphia 76ers. Stan has been in the business for 30 years, refusing to give up on his newfound talent Bo Cruz (Hernangómez), a constructor worker and single father from Mallorca, Spain, who delights the crowd at every street basketball court he enters.
Taken to the US, it is revealed that the Visa bureaucracy involved in the process is not the main problem but rather Bo’s lack of concentration and temper each time he’s provoked or insulted in the field. The film is basically divided into two aspects: the flourishing friendship between Cruz and Sugarman, and the exciting moments of basketball. Forgoing cheap shots, Hustle is fairly entertaining and possibly something more for the fans of the sport.
