For starters, 1992's original "White Men Can't Jump" is by no means a classic, nor should it be considered hallowed ground that mustn't be desecrated by modern hands. But its lead stars, Wesley Snipes and Woody Harrelson, had a live-wire chemistry that allowed them to make several more movies together, and their pairing is fondly remembered in the '90s pop culture canon.
There's no such luck for Sinqua Walls and Jack Harlow, the duo at the center of the dully conceived, low-energy "White Man Can't Jump" remake. Walls and Harlow go together like wallpaper and toothpaste, or like jalapenos and Twinkies. In short, they don't go together, which makes for a pretty sloppy game of pickup basketball.
Walls is Kamal, a former high school basketball star who flamed out due to his bad temper and the interference of his overbearing father (the late Lance Reddick, to whom the film carries a dedication). Rapper-turned-actor Harlow is Jeremy, whose hoop dreams were squandered by knee injuries, and who is looking for a quick fix (enter an odd subplot about regenerative stem cells) in time for one last shot at the league.
These down-on-their-luck opposites at first rub each other the wrong way — Jeremy likes Paul Thomas Anderson, Kamal prefers Spike Lee! — but they come together to hustle opponents, further their individual goals and lightly comment on the current state of race relations. But there's little edge and no drama in the screenplay by the "black-ish" team of Kenya Barris and Doug Hall, and Walls and Harlow are too timid to liven up the staid material. Even the on-court action is flat.
For music video director turned feature helmer Charles "Calmatic" Kidd II, "White Men Can't Jump" marks his second early '90s remake of the year, following January's lame "House Party" retelling. He's reshaping the VHS tentpoles of his youth, but if his execution is going to be this feeble, some things are better left in the past.
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'WHITE MEN CAN'T JUMP'
Grade: C-
MPA rating: R (for pervasive language and some drug material)
Running time: 1:41
How to watch: On Hulu Friday
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