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Hustle is a new drama starring Adam Sandler…. no, don’t run off!
He proved in 2019’s Uncut Gems that he can really pull of a gritty, dramatic role, and that follows on from 2002’s Punch Drunk Love, so I was so pleased to find out he’s made another, this time with a basketball drama, and to hustle is to play the sport on the street for a small amount of money, but here, he’s Stanley Sugerman – occasionally referred to as ’22’, aka Double Deuce – and is a scout looking for the next big thing…
The first potential star is Serbian, 8ft tall, claims to be 22 years old – yet is clearly mid-30s, and that his son is 10, despite obviously being about 18. Unfortunately, the basketball player lost his birth ceritificate in a fire… so he claims…
Everything’s setting up nicely, getting a nice office from Rex Merrick (Robert Duvall), has a happy homelife with wife Teresa (Queen Latifah, given a very underwritten character) and their daughter, but early on, Rex passes away, his son Vince (Ben Foster) takes over, and he proves to be rather a dick, leading to them locking heads over the future of any potential prospects Stan brings to the table.
The includes the main potential star, Bo Cruz (Juancho Hernangomez) – who has some hidden faults that may cost him his career – also the size of the Empire State Building. He’s Spanish, hasn’t played any big-league events, but can compete with the best of them, but is, as of yet, an unknown talent. Can Stan take him to NBA stardom? Teresa tells him not to give up on his dreams, to which he replies, “Men over 50 don’t have dreams – they have nightmares and eczema”. I have eczema, and the night before watching this, I did have two nightmares on the same topic!
So, Stan is very much the underdog, rather like his character in Uncut Gems, trying to scrabble a living owning a jewellers, always aiming to win big.
Now, I have no interest in basketball, but then the aforementioned 2019 Netflix movie was also largely based around the same sport, and on the whole, it was fairly engaging. They could cut down some of the training scenes, though, as they do go on a bit. Plus, it doesn’t throw any surprises at you. That’s not a major biggy, though. Look at Top Gun: Maverick – flying planes about and no surprises in the storyline!
Hustle is on Netflix now, but isn’t yet available to pre-order on Blu-ray or DVD.
Check out the trailer below:
Detailed specs:
Cert: 
Running time: 117 minutes
Release date: June 8th 2022
Studio: Netflix
Aspect Ratio: 2.39:1 (Anamorphic Panavision)
Score: 7/10
Director: Jeremiah Zagar
Producers: Maverick Carter, LeBron James, Jeff Kirschenbaum, Joe Roth, Zack Roth
Screenplay: Will Fetters, Taylor Materne
Music: Dan Deacon
Cast:
Stanley Sugerman: Adam Sandler
Vince Merrick: Ben Foster
Rex Merrick: Robert Duvall
Teresa Sugerman: Queen Latifah
Bo Cruz: Juancho Hernangomez
Big Serbian – Dimitri Jovanovic: Boban Marjanovic
Leon: Kenny Smith
Alex Sugerman: Jordan Hull
Paola: María Botto
Lucia: Ainhoa Pillet
Oscar Morales: Raúl Castillo
Kat Merrick: Heidi Gardner
Blake – VP of Player Personnel: Jaleel White
Mr. Everything: Elvin Rodriguez
Haas: Moe Wagner
Zeke Washington: Michael Foster
Himself: Julius ‘Dr. J’ Erving
Himself: Matisse Thybulle
Himself: Tobias Harris
Himself: Kyle Lowry
Himself: Tyrese Maxey
Himself: Seth Curry
Himself: Doc Rivers
Himself: Jay Wright
Himself: Jordan Clarkson
Himself: Trae Young
Himself: Aaron Gordon
Himself: Mark Jackson
Himself: Allen Iverson
Himself: Luka Doncic
Himself: Tim Young
Himself: Fat Joe
Himself: Mike James
Himself: Leandro Barbosa
Himself: James Goldstein
Himself: Aaron Owens
Himself: Larry Williams
Himself: Grayson Boucher
Himself: Ty Tanner
Himself: Chris ‘Lethal Shooter’ Matthews
Himself: Mark Cuban
Himself: Emeka Okafor
Himself: Jeff Schwartz
Himself: Pat Croce
Himself: Kristine Leahy
Himself: Howard Wood
Himself: Fran Fraschilla
Himself: Khris Middleton
Himself: Greg St Jean
Himself: Lonnie Cooper
Himself: Dan Patrick
Himself: Beanie Sigel
Himself: Torrel Harris Sr
Himself: Torrel Harris Jr
Himself: Tierra Whack
Himself: Freeway
Himself: Charles Barkley
Himself: Shaquille O’Neal
Himself: Ernie Johnson
Himself: José Calderón
Himself: Willy Hernangomez
Himself: Felipe Reyes
Himself: Àlex Abrines
Himself: Pierre Oriola
Himself: Jason Filippi
Himself: Igor Ormazabal
Himself: Peter Vecsey
Himself: Bobby Verdum
Reviewer of movies, videogames and music since 1994. Aortic valve operation survivor from the same year. Running DVDfever.co.uk since 2000. Nobel Peace Prize winner 2021.