White Men Can't Jump

Plot synopsis:
Billy Hoyle is a former Iowa Hawkeyes basketball player who makes his living by hustling streetballers that assume he cannot play well because he is white. Billy never degrades his race when joining on pickup games; he simply allows his opponents to falsely believe they have a natural advantage over him. Such a player is Sidney Deane, a talented but arrogant player who is beaten twice by Billy, once in a half court team game and later in a one-on-one shootout for money.
Billy and his Hispanic girlfriend Gloria Clemente are on the run from outbid mobsters because of a gambling debt. A voracious reader, making note of obscure facts, Gloria's goal in life is to be a contestant on the television show Jeopardy! and make a fortune. Sidney wants to buy a house for his family outside the rough Baldwin Village, Census's District neighborhood of Los Angeles. He talks Billy into a partnership and they hustle other players. When they unexpectedly lose a game, it turns out that Sidney has double-crossed Billy by deliberately playing badly alongside him, making Billy lose $1,700 to a group of Sidney's friends.
Gloria is incensed at Billy for blowing his money again and is also suspicious of how it happened. They go to Sidney's apartment and appeal to his wife Rhonda for fairness, and the women agree to share the money provided Sidney and Billy team up for a major two-on-two outdoor tournament. While they bicker incessantly, Sidney and Billy win the grand prize of $5,000, largely due to Billy's ability to disrupt his opponents' concentration. Billy's most notable claim is that he is "in the zone", a state of mind in which nothing can distract him. Sidney is pleased with the outcome, yet he cannot help mocking Billy about his inability to slam dunk. "White men can't jump," he notes.
Billy insists that he can indeed dunk, and after Sidney clearly disagrees, Billy offers to bet his share of the $5,000 on his ability to dunk. Sidney gives him three chances. Billy fails, losing his share. When he tells Gloria, she leaves him. Sidney reveals that he has a friend who works as a security guard at the TV studio that produces Jeopardy! The friend, Robert, agrees to use his connections to get her on the show if Billy can sink a hook shot from beyond the half-court line, which he does. Gloria initially stumbles over sports questions (such as naming Babe Ruth as the all-time NBA rebound leader), but makes a comeback with a pet topic, "Foods That Begin With the Letter Q." She wins $14,100 on her first episode.
Billy sings Gloria a song he has composed and wins her back. As Billy's life comes together, this time it is Sidney who needs Billy's help; his home is burglarized and his winnings stolen, so he and Rhonda become desperate for money. Gloria expects Billy to get a steady job and settle down, but Sidney asks him to play basketball for money again and use his share of Gloria's take. Gloria warns that if Billy gambles with her money they are through. Billy feels he must honor the obligation he owes Sidney for getting Gloria on Jeopardy! in the first place. They play a final game against two hoops legends of the L.A. scene, "The King" and "Duck." In a very tight game, Sidney and Billy prevail, the winning points coming when Sidney lobs an "alley-oop" pass to Billy, who dunks it.
Returning home happy, Billy discovers Gloria has kept her word and left him for good. He is crushed. The mobsters who are after Billy track him down, and he pays off his debts. Billy asks Sidney to set him up with a real job. Billy says that Gloria has left him many times, but this time is final; Sidney remarks that they may be better off without each other. Billy launches into yet another basketball argument with Sidney, and they return to where they began—but, this time, as friends.

Tags: cult, comedy, entertaining, humor

Review:
Granted the field of movies about basketball isn't nearly as deep as say movies with plots concerning baseball or boxing, Hoosiers still generally beats out what little competition there is.However in my opinion the best movie to ever capture the game of hoops is the criminally underrated and underseen White Men Can't Jump, by director Ron Shelton.
If any one word can describe White Men Can't Jump, that word is "fun." The movie tackles serious issues like hustling, family, relationships, race, life in poverty, and gambling debts.
However if Robert Rossen's pool hall film The Hustler presented the dark side of the life, Ron Shelton's White Men Can't Jump shows the flip side of the coin.
The basketball scenes are very well handled by director Ron Shelton, with slow motion spins and beady drips of sweat glistening in the heat, and the chemistry between Woody Harrelson (Billy) and Wesley Snipes (Sidney) is first class, but really it's the power of Shelton's writing that makes this a most engaging picture (see also Bull Durham & the similarly undervalued Tin Cup).After following these two guys thru their very rocky relationship you get to a point where you feel that we are about to wander down formula road, but Shelton pulls a trick to make the final last quarter an excellent, none conformity piece of film, one that judging by the less than favourable rating on this particular site, has not been wholly appreciated.
Shame that, because other than Rosie Perez doing her best to annoy the viewers to death as Billy's suffering girlfriend Gloria Clemente, White Men Can't Jump is one of the better sports movies of the 90s.
A gritty comedy set in some tough LA neighborhoods about two basketball hustlers, one white (Woody Harrelson), the other black (Wesley Snipes).
Especially so are the cheap motels where Harrelson and girlfriend Rosie Perez have to live, and the inner city apartment where Snipes and his wife Tyra Ferrel call home, all of which adds up to a realistic slice of life at the time, which now seems to look quite a bit different.
Woody Harrelson is perfect as the n'er do well Billy and Wesley Snipes is perfect as the fast talking Sidney.
Wesley Snipes(From the "Blade" Series)and Woody Harrelson(Who was just in Semi-Pro)are two of the best actors ever and they are superb actors in this movie.
If you like Wesley Snipes or Woody Harrelson you will for sure love this movie.
My overall rating on White Men Can't Jump is...8/10See it as soon as you can, rent it from a local movie store or even buy it and you will love it..
Nonetheless, Woody Harrleson as the white guy who turns out to be as good if not better than any of the black basketball players, is interesting as is his main counterpart Wesley Snipes.Snipes had a lot of funny put-down lines, providing much of the humor.
The trash-talking on the courts is great to watch and no matter how many times I see it it still makes me laugh especially when Billy is trying to psyche out his opponents at the 'brotherhood' tournament.
Despite my dislike of it in real life, it is actually the boisterous, fast talking, foul mouthed basketball matches that make this film fun to watch.
Overall this is not a great film because of the weaknesses in actual plotting, however it is fun and energetic mainly because it never goes too long with some fast-talking basketball action.
Ron Shelton-directed and written comedy about two street hustlers who join forces--despite their separate race--to form a great basketball team.
Rated R for Strong Language and Sexuality.White Men Cant Jump is my favorite movie that is mostly about basketball.I liked The Basketball Diaries more but that wasn't all about basketball.I saw this film a couple of years ago on showcase action.I was laughing out loud throughout!
You are sure to laugh.However the film is not all comedy.There is a good mix of comedy and drama as well.The acting is very good especially from Wesley Snipes who was in films such as Demolition Man,Woody Harelson who was in Natural Born Killers and Rosie Perez who was in Do The Right Thing.White Men cant Jump is a hilarious basketball film and I recommend it..
(gotta say Wesley Snipes and Woody Harrelson surprised me with their basketball skills those 2 really are very good players in real life obviously) Wesley played the typical over-confident "brother" on the playground with his great street wise banter and was very humorous and at times genius but towards the end of this film it was Woody who became the "brother" giving out his own banter to his opponents and being very funny and turning the tables showing we're all the same in the end.The title in itself is a racial barricade which is broken down i imagine most white people to not bother now about this title which is of course a racism idea but it is taken in a joking form and is said in a way we can speak about and not just push it into a dark corner call it racism and never speak of it again.
The people of America did this very well (the African/American sub-section that is when they started calling each other the "n" word i won't say as i still don't feel comfortable as a white man saying this to them but they have broken down the barrier and spoke about such things brought it out into the open and allowed for us to integrate in my opinion and be less taboo about such subjects.This film has it all people and for me its an absolute 10/10 i've seen it now around 60/70times (no joke) and its still absolute shear excellence!
The black people not understanding why this only white person, a chump is so good at basketball, and on Wesley's discovery the fact he can make even more of a living from it is excellent.
If Woody was good enough for the Arsenio show then I was going to watch his movie.White Men Can't Jump is still a classic.
The banter back and forth between Billy (Woody Harrelson) and Sidney (Wesley Snipes), the gamesmanship, the hoops--it was excellent.
Even Alex Trebek makes it a great flick.I have found myself talking on the phone in very relevant conversations and only half understanding what I was discussing when White Men Can't Jump was on - enough said.The writer/director also made Blue Chips (great movie) and Tin Cup (pretty enjoyable,) if that says anything..
He's helped in great measure by both Snipes and Harrelson, who were not only good enough at the game to be practically Division III-quality players according to one of the former NBA pros who served as a technical adviser on the film, but were also good enough to handle the fast pace of the dialogue.
You take a solid story, cast great actors, with a really good supporting actors, and tell the story like its meant to be told.White men Can't Jump, is about how basketball, life and relationships.
On an L.A. beachside basketball court, loudmouth Sidney Deane (Wesley Snipes) gets schooled by goofy white boy Billy Hoyle (Woody Harrelson).
In White Men Can't Jump, Billy Hoyle uses other players' expectations of what a typical street-ball basketball player looks like to his advantage to hustle them.
White Men Can't Jump is a good movie with a well written storyline and a great comedic cast.Its not an outstanding comedy,but it has plenty of funny scenes and there is good chemistry between Woody Harrelson and Wesley Snipes.The movie is almost two hours long which I think is certainly too long for a comedy like this,the plot definitely felt tiring after a while.Wesley Snipes was a really good comedic actor in this,I liked him even more than Harrelson,which says a lot because I'm a huge fan of Woody Harrelson,Snipes was really funny and confident and he definitely should have starred in more comedies.White Men Can't Jump is a good movie that I would recommend to anyone looking for a good comedy if they got some time to kill.A con artist who hustles basketball games joins forces with a talented player to double their chances.Best Performance: Wesley Snipes.
This flick is about Woody Harrelson and Wesley Snipes (two of my favorite actors) who combine their talents to hustle playground basketball games in Los Angeles, Billy all the while trying to maintain the affection of his girlfriend Gloria (Rosie Perez), and pay back mobsters whom he owes money to.
Something about Harrelson's personality and acting makes him a perfect fit for this film.What was great about this movie were all of the twists in the already interesting plot.
You have Harrelson, a white schmuck hustling these street ballers for income, the last guy you would expect to get whooped by in a game of basketball, so when he teams up with Snipes, another seasoned hustler it makes for an already great movie.
But Ron Shelton's film, about a pair of basketball hustlers, buzzes with such energy and fizz that you really don't mind, and the cast led by Woody Harrelson (who plays a man frequently as stupid as he looks) and Wesley Snipes (a huckster with a day job) play off each other with aplomb.
Though "Hoosiers" is the all-time greatest basketball movie ever made, "White Men Can't Jump" is an easy second.
Wesley Snipes and Woody Harrelson have incredible chemistry in this movie as opponents, teammates, and friends.
why are movies like this allowed to be made and make White people be intimidated playing sports like basketball?
WHITE MEN CAN'T JUMP (1992) *** Woody Harrelson, Wesley Snipes, Rosie Perez.
Very amusing basketball comedy with Woody and Wesley teaming up again (they first co-starred in "Wildcats" with Goldie Hawn) as jive-talking hustling b'ball cons for big bucks and Perez as Woody's fast-talking, "Jeopardy!" obsessed girlfriend.
White Men Can't Jump (1992): If this movie, written and directed by sports-film guru Ron Shelton, consisted entirely of basketball scenes, it would rate a perfect 10.
The story of con men Billy (Woody Harrelson) and Sidney (Wesley Snipes) teaming up to hustle opponents on the court is only a small part of a convoluted script, which is merely a mess of unimportant subplots rather than one solid storyline.
the best scene to watch is when woody harrelson and wesley snipes first meet a lot of laughs.
Wesley Snipes as Sidney Dean is the hotshot, hotdog, street wise hoops hustler who sees some value in an undersized white guy who plays better than he looks, although he can't jump.
Snipes and Harrelson, by the way, can play a little, although it's mostly the camera work and the slow-mo that makes them look good.(Note: Over 500 of my movie reviews are now available in my book "Cut to the Chaise Lounge or I Can't Believe I Swallowed the Remote!" Get it at Amazon!).
For the film's sake, that's good, as the jokes and quick-witted dialog remain relevant, but still....White Men finds Woody Harrelson and Wesley Snipes living hand-to-mouth as hustlers on the early 1990s LA street ball scene.
Knowing a good con when he sees it, Snipes's Sidney Dean quickly convinces Harrelson's character to team up so they can exploit the perennial myth that white men can't play basketball.
The relationship throws front-and-center each character's (mis)perceptions about the other's race, the permanent divide between men and women, and the crazy logic us dudes will often apply to justify taking a risk "just one more time."Great on-court scenes and sharp-tongued wordplay between Snipes and Harrelson keeps the movie on track.
Having been duped out of $7800, he takes to hustling the black neighbourhood players, getting them to bet big money that they'll win, on their naíve assumption that a white man can't be a good basketball player.
I thought that Sidney (Wesley Snipes) and Billy (Woody Harrelson) were very good at the game of basketball.
In conclusion, I highly recommend this movie to all you Wesley Snipes, Woody Harrelson, or Rosie Perez fans who have not seen it..
White Men Can't Jump is a story of two men named Billy (Woody Harrelson) and Sydney (Wesley Snipes) who both think they are the best players on the court and hustlers in basketball on the streets of Los Angeles, so then they join forces in a two-on-two basketball championship.
Snipes is a husband and father between jobs but making a lucrative career out of hustling pickup basketball games; Harrelson is a clever charlatan who couldn't manage money if his life depended on it; despite their mutual distrust and dislike of one another, the two reluctantly decide to join forces and work the courts of Los Angeles to their advantage by taking money from unsuspecting opponents, eventually developing a mutual respect along the way.
I guess the only thing that kept me attached to the film was Snipes and Harrelson's good acting and Rosie Perez who I found to be somewhat attractive , on the whole this film is one of those chill out summer movies which will just fly past your head .
Funny Funny Funny, Woody Harrelson and Wesley Snipes play a great game, of basketball and hustlin'.
The two men in question are Woody Harrleson's Billy Hoyle and Wesley Snipes' Sidney Deane; two fairly young and wholly fit males whom enjoy the sport of basketball so much so that it will come to act as the manly catalyst for each of their respective on-screen plights, just as engaging as a fighter pilot did for the leads in Top Gun and engaging in warfare did for the scantily-clad warriors of 300.
Don't expect a social commentary on the black 'n white boundaries and life in the ghetto or a senseless showcase of how entertaining great basketball is to look at, although Snipes and Harrelson surely deliver.
For every fans of basketball like me, this movie is the best I have ever seen about it.
You don't have to be a fan of basketball to enjoy this feel-good, humorous, dramatic, and lively story of two very good players, Wesley Snipes as Sidney and Woody Harrelson, and their women, Rosie Perez and Tyra Ferrell.What lingo on the courts!
Woody Harrelson, who is white, is not quite in the same acting league but manages to carry the part of Snipes' partner in the hustling game quite well.
most of the black guys in the movie feel that harrelsons character billy is a 'chump', and are quick to put him down.
This is mainly due to the genuinely funny script which cleverly makes use of white/black cultural comparisons while tastefully playing the two ethnic groups against each other, with enjoyable results.Woody Harrelson and Wesley Snipes give two fresh, lively performances as a couple of basketball hustlers who go from court to court taking on other hot shot players in high priced games of two on two.
White Men Can't Jump stars Wesley Snipes, Woody Harrelson, and the quite sexy Rosie Perez.
Filmed at the height of the hip-hop era, this movie is a basketball based comedy/drama that challenges some popular stereotypes.The story begins as a dorky white boy, Billy played by Harrelson, becomes part of a street basketball scene in LA.
As you can tell, I'm not a fan of Woody Harrelson, but especially when this film came out I was quite a fan of Wesley Snipes.
And Snipes is great here, and near the peak of his career.I'm also not a basketball fan, or of sports in general...another reason I know this is a really good movie.
Wesley Snipes and Woody Harrelson star in this sports comedy about streetball hustlers in White Men Can't Jump.Screenwriter and director Ron Shelton tells a story of two con artist who picks up basketball games.Rosie Perez co-stars.Caucasian Billy Hoyle and African-American Sidney Deane become partners in hustling street games for basketball by lulling their black players as victims with the notion that white men aren't good ballplayers.Both try to raise money for their needs.But later,Deane realizes his actions aren't morally right especially selling out on his own people.They try to renew their wrongful deeds and redeem themselves as the story progressed.The movie provides a lot to themes that deal with racial stereotypes like blacks superior talent in basketball and white being less athletic.Added to that,we also get to see Hispanics come into the picture with Rosie's character of Gloria being in an interracial relationship with a Caucasian in Billy and her ability as a Jeopardy contestant.Overall,it was just more of a sports movie as it tries to disprove misguided notions about racial stereotypes..
Basically former college basketball player Billy Hoyle (Woody Harrelson) makes a living hustling with street ballers who assume he can't well, because he is white, and his most recent play is with black arrogant but talented player Sidney Deane (Wesley Snipes) on Venice Beach.
He suggests a partnership to hustle other basketball players for money, but they lose their first game playing together, and Billy finds out that he was conned himself, and Gloria knows this.
Snipes gives a fun slick performance as the streetwise cool guy, Harrelson is equally great as the pro basketball playing white guy, and Perez also shines as the pro's sassy girlfriend, it is a film to enjoy for the basketball, the dialogue based jokes, and the small moments of serious stuff too, a most worthwhile sports comedy drama.
The story centres on a highly talented white basketball player (Woody Harrelson) who hustles a cocksure black guy (Wesley Snipes) on his own court.
All the characters are great, and the story is quite clever, plus Wesley Snipes is simply amazing in this!, and Woody is fantastic.
This is a great Basketball comedy that's very underrated, with fantastic chemistry between Snipes and Harrelson!
Woody Harrelson is fantastic here, he is very funny, likable, had fantastic chemistry with Wesley, and Rosie Perez and I loved his trash talking during the Basketball games!, he was awesome!.