Hustle
Film Review
DISCLAIMER: SOME SPOILERS ARE INCLUDED
When evaluating a film which revolves around a particular sport, I try not to let my excitement of the latter influence my ranking of the former. Like Adam Sandler himself, I am also a die-hard fan of the NBA. Therefore, I can say that my normal predisposition to the subject matter of Hustle may be biased to a certain extent. And it doesn’t help when four days prior to watching the film, I got to witness Steph Curry and the Golden State Warriors reclaim the NBA championship for the fourth time in eight years. There’s something about the magic of a classic comeback story, or in the case of Hustle, the classic underdog story, which greatly appeals to the audience. From films such as Rocky and The Fighter, audiences have experienced time and time again, the exhilaration of seeing a character reach the pinnacle of self-actualization which no one thought they could ever achieve. Hustle is no different in that regard. Director Jeremiah Zagar along with screenwriters Taylor Materne and Will Fetters all tried to make this film as close to that as possible.
The film lays out a familiar storyline in which Stanley Sugerman (played by Sandler) is an experienced but underpaid and overworked scout for the Philadelphia 76ers. He is looking for a way back towards basketball significance in which his ideas and philosophies can be heard and implemented by the front office of the team. He is fed up of being consistently on the road and the personal toll that his job takes on his family. While he is liked by 76ers owner Rex Merrick (Robert Duvall), he often disagrees with the decisions and philosophies of Rex’s son Vincent. Towards the beginning of the film, Rex begins to trust Stanley’s judgements on up-and-coming prospects for the next year’s NBA draft. He offers Stanley a role as an assistant coach of the team, allowing him to stay in Philadelphia where he’d be able to spend more time with his family. The same evening, however, Rex passes away which leaves Vince as the new owner of the team. Vince does not keep Rex’s promise and retains Stanley in his position as a scout. While upset with this decision, Stanley is sent to Spain to evaluate a prospective player that the 76ers are interested in for the following year’s draft. During the trip, Stanley meets up with a former college teammate who encourages him to leave the 76ers and come work with him in his agency as a player-agent. Stanley contemplates this. As circumstances would have it, nothing works out with the player who Stanley was sent to evaluate. However, as he goes out for a walk, he spots Bo Cruz (played by Juancho Hernangómez) – an unknown athlete playing a local pick-up game. He is stunned at Cruz’s abilities and how he makes extra money for himself while hustling players on the court. Stanley convinces Cruz to workout with the 76ers, and strongly believes that he could be the next player to take the league by storm, if he is to be drafted the following year. He sees an opportunity – for both Cruz and himself. The rest of the film consists of Stanley helping Cruz hone his abilities, instilling a sense of urgency and discipline within him, while also helping him fight through his personal doubts, anger issues, and the inner demons of the past. The recurring theme of the film is resilience, and we see that time and again from Stanley, in which he has to constantly remind both Cruz and himself that “obsession’s gonna beat talent every time”.
In recent years, we have seen Adam Sandler diversify his work from his typical comic roles, moving into the foray of slightly more dramatic characters. In films such as Uncut Gems and The Meyerwitz Stories, we have seen the kind of range he is capable of delivering on. What’s surprising to me is how despite some of his unchanged mannerisms, he is still able to be effective regardless the change of genre. In Hustle, we see him play a three-dimensional character, which in my opinion cannot be pigeonholed as either a “dramatic” role or a “comic” role. He delivers the punches in the light-hearted scenes with his wife and daughter, while displaying a believable and passionate team personnel member who is trying to toe the line between fighting for his success while also not burning bridges so that he can have some hope of influencing a team management which wants to hear nothing he says. The remainder of the cast supports the script well in what it tries to accomplish. Juancho Hernangómez as Bo Cruz was entirely believable and casted well given his current experience as an NBA player. Robert Duvall’s role as Rex is brief but well-executed. Kenny Smith plays what seems to be a more serious version of his actual self in the role of Leon Rich, and certainly does not delve into the kind of humor he’s so well-known for with his team of Shaq, EJ, and Charles Barkley in Inside the NBA. Queen Latifah and Jordan Hull play their roles wonderfully as they display genuine comedic chemistry with Sandler throughout many scenes.
While the film’s casting was done very effectively, there are certainly no major surprises throughout the script. The film follows a predictable three-act structure in which the themes of hard work, hope, and relentlessness are drilled into the audience’s brain – as has been done numerous times before in films which have involved the underdog athlete or team. Though, I will say, viewers who closely follow the NBA are occasionally surprised throughout the film’s cameos, which consist of players and coaches, both active and retired, along with various media personnel. However, despite these sporadic appearances of familiar faces, the film does not seem to offer anything out of the ordinary.
For me, it’s tough to decide how a film like this should be ranked. I myself am someone who is obsessed with both basketball and movies. And being fresh off of the NBA finals in the month of June, the producers could not have picked a better time to release this film. I thoroughly enjoy the kind of cinema which revolves around the concept of a character defying all odds in order to reach a goal. And that sort of thing can certainly be seen throughout this film. But due to a highly formulaic screenplay and a lack of nuance towards the end of the second act, I can’t help but feel that this film may have had more potential than it was able to execute, even though the performances were of high praise. Due to these reasons, I rank this film with 3 stars out of 5. I would recommend it to an audience who loves the sport and can appreciate decent performances without much plot complexity.