Here is an underdog sports movie with the longest training montage I think I have ever seen – it pretty much had an interval. Hustle is co-produced by its star Adam Sandler and real-life basketball legend LeBron James, whose presence has essentially licensed a huge roster of real-life cameos from basketball stars, players and coaches, who are namechecked in the closing credits. The whole thing looks a bit like a corporate promo for the NBA, and certainly does not admit of anything unwholesome in the world of pro basketball.
Admittedly, Sandler sells it hard. He plays Stanley Sugarman, a talent scout working for the Philadelphia 76ers: a harassed, overweight guy joylessly jetting the world looking for the next big thing, occasionally calling his smily, supportive wife, Teresa, from his hotel room (this is a truly thankless role for Queen Latifah). The team’s owner, Rex Merrick (Robert Duvall) has a real regard for Stanley’s old-school passion for the game, as opposed to the stat-heads and moneyballers who now predominate, and Rex has promised Stanley a promotion to the coaching job he dreams of. The problem is that Rex’s nasty son and heir, Vince (Ben Foster), winds up calling the shots – he doesn’t like Stanley and sends him back on the road with the promise that if he really can bring in some dynamite talent, he might just let him coach.
