‘White Men Can’t Jump’ Review: Director Calmatic Bricks His Second Remake of 2023
variety.comTodd Gilchrist editor “White Men Can’t Jump” holds a special place in a lot of moviegoers’ hearts; while not the enduring sports classic that writer-director Ron Shelton delivered with his baseball mash note “Bull Durham,” the buddy comedy vividly captures the world of pick-up basketball players, and features three standout performances by Wesley Snipes, Woody Harrelson and Rosie Perez.
Director Calmatic’s 2023 remake not only fails to recapture the energy of the first film but seems to misunderstand the cinematic language of streetball, and is largely uninterested in utilizing stars Sinqua Walls and Jack Harlow except as delivery systems for exposition.
Updated only in its excess of contemporary slang and overwrought backstories, “White Men Can’t Jump” exemplifies the aversion to risk and lack of imagination in storytellers mining intellectual property at the behest of blandest-common-denominator-seeking corporate overlords.
Walls plays Kamal Allen, a onetime pro ball hopeful turned parcel deliveryman who relives old glories by dominating pals Speedy (Vince Staples) and Renzo (Myles Bullock) at his local fitness club.
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