Nineties nostalgia has extended now to returning to the blacktop courts where Wesley Snipes and Woody Harrelson hustled and Rosie Perez studied B次元官网网址淛eopardy!B次元官网网址� answers for foods beginning with the letter B次元官网网址淨.B次元官网网址�

Why, you ask? The principal reason seems to be giving Jack Harlow, a charismatic, fast-rising white rapper making his acting debut, a vehicle for his laid-back charm.

The original B次元官网网址淲hite Men CanB次元官网网址檛 JumpB次元官网网址� thrived on HarrelsonB次元官网网址檚 goofball energy and the B次元官网网址淵ou canB次元官网网址檛 hear JimmyB次元官网网址� trash talk of Snipes, a criminally underrated comic actor (see B次元官网网址淒olemite Is My NameB次元官网网址�). The contributions of Perez, a hooped-earrings firecracker who makes any movie a little better, shouldnB次元官网网址檛 be minimized, either. B次元官网网址淲hite Men CanB次元官网网址檛 Jump,B次元官网网址� the rare sports movie where the woman (Perez) walks out on the guy (Harrelson), hinged mostly on its off-court drama.

This limp, half-hearted, breezy remake makes some modest improvements. The film, directed by Calmatic, bounces to a hip-hop beat and the gameplay action is smoother. But the drop off in personality from that original trio is like going from the Lakers to the G-League.

Sinqua Walls stars as Kamal, a once highly touted prospect whose professional career derailed in a rage-fueled incident the film slowly reveals through flashbacks. (The late Lance Reddick plays KamalB次元官网网址檚 father in one of his last performances.) HeB次元官网网址檚 now struggling through a job delivering packages while customers often ridicule him for how low heB次元官网网址檚 fallen. His girlfriend, Imani (Teyana Taylor), though, lovingly supports him.

One day at the gym, Jeremy (Harlow) makes a loud entrance, dressed like, as one character later says, a Sierra Mist can. KamalB次元官网网址檚 friend Speedy (Vince Staples) notices him and says, B次元官网网址淭hey let yoga instructors into the gym now?B次元官网网址� Jeremy, a former player at NCAA powerhouse Gonzaga now hobbled by knee pain, is there to hustle games and sell some detox drinks.

HarlowB次元官网网址檚 character is brash, as HarrelsonB次元官网网址檚 was, but heB次元官网网址檚 sweeter. His trash talk is earnest. He meditates. The joke isnB次元官网网址檛 that heB次元官网网址檚 racially out of touch, itB次元官网网址檚 that heB次元官网网址檚 almost too sensitive.

Mostly, heB次元官网网址檚 a chatty, charming nuisance that Kamal reluctantly turns to as an on-court partner with hopes of a big cash prize in a three-on-three tournament. Jeremy, meanwhile, has a girlfriend, Tatiana (Laura Harrier), whoB次元官网网址檚 pressing him to grow up and find a real job.

Calmatic worked in music videos (Lil Nas XB次元官网网址檚 B次元官网网址淥ld Town RoadB次元官网网址�) before making his directorial debut earlier this year with a reboot of 1990B次元官网网址檚 B次元官网网址淗ouse Party.B次元官网网址�

And he films with a polish that takes out some of the asphalt grit that the movie needs. If the original resided on the blacktop, as any pick-up basketball movie should, this remake curiously favors indoor hoops. Last yearB次元官网网址檚 surprisingly good basketball movie, with Adam Sandler, had the texture the game deserves.

Walls holds his own in B次元官网网址淲hite Men CanB次元官网网址檛 JumpB次元官网网址� and Harlow has an easy charm. His debut pales next to those of rappers like Ice Cube, Mos Def and Tupac Shakur. ItB次元官网网址檚 asking too much, though, for him to supply so much of the comedy here. The jokes, too, are timid. How is it possible that in todayB次元官网网址檚 fraught America, the biggest debate Jeremy and Kamal get into is over whether Spike Lee or Paul Thomas Anderson is the better filmmaker?

There are a few suggestions that betting on pick-up basketball might not be the hustle it once was. Try crypto, one character suggests. Another says itB次元官网网址檚 clear now that white players can ball. IB次元官网网址檓 not sure itB次元官网网址檚 so different than in 1992, when Chris Mullin and John Stockton were in the league. Now thereB次元官网网址檚 Luka Doncic, Nikola Jokic and Tyler Herro, who makes a cameo. No mention is made of the recent NBA dunk champ, the 6B次元官网网址�2B次元官网网址橞次元官网网址� Mac McClung, but an older winner of that contest, Blake Griffin, is an executive producer.

But one thing should not have changed. This B次元官网网址淲hite Men CanB次元官网网址檛 JumpB次元官网网址� never gives its girlfriend characters much to do. They mostly recede as the on-court exploits take over, thus ignoring PerezB次元官网网址檚 wise words from the original: B次元官网网址淎lways listen to the women.B次元官网网址�

B次元官网网址淲hite Men CanB次元官网网址檛 Jump,B次元官网网址� a 20th Century Studios release, is rated R by the Motion Picture Association for pervasive language and some drug material. Running time: 101 minutes. One and a half stars out of four.

B次元官网网址擩ake Coyle, The Associated Press

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