In this modern remix of the iconic film, seemingly opposite street hoopers, Jeremy, an injury prone former star, and Kamal, a has-been prodigy, team up to take one final shot at living out their dreams.[2]
In January 2017, Kenya Barris was reported to be developing a White Men Can't Jump remake produced by NBA star Blake Griffin and NFL player Ryan Kalil.[4] In November 2021, Calmatic was revealed to be the director.[5] In March 2022, rapper and actor Jack Harlow was cast in the film, in the role originally played by Woody Harrelson.[6] In April 2022, Sinqua Walls was cast as Kamal Allen, the equivalent of Wesley Snipes' character in the original 1992 film.[7] Other characters include Jermaine, who often antagonizes Kamal; Bobby, Kamal's boss; and an opposing fan who trash-talks Kamal.[8] Barris produced the film under his Khalabo Ink Society banner alongside Hall, and Kalil, Griffin, and Noah Weinstein executive produce under their Mortal Media banner.[7] On May 5, 2022, Lance Reddick, Teyana Taylor, and Laura Harrier were cast in the film.[9] Additional castings included Tamera "Tee" Kissen, Myles Bullock, Vince Staples, and Zak Steiner.[10]
Filming began on May 11, 2022, in Los Angeles, with Tommy Maddox-Upshaw as the cinematographer.[11] It wrapped up by July 2022.[10] The film was scored by Marcelo Zarvos and will feature a soundtrack by DJ Drama.[12][13] By January 11, 2023, the film was in post-production.[14]
Release
White Men Can't Jump was released on May 19, 2023, on Hulu.[15]
Reception
Audience viewership
According to Whip Media's TV Time, White Men Can't Jump was the fifth most streamed film across all platforms in the United States, during the week of May 21, 2023,[16] and the ninth during the week of May 28, 2023.[17]
Critical response
On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 26% of 88 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 4.5/10. The website's consensus reads: "Never mind being able to get air - the White Men Can't Jump remake struggles to come up with reasons for its own existence."[18]Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 40 out of 100, based on 23 critics, indicating "mixed or average" reviews.[19]
Wendy Ide of The Observer gave the film three out of five stars, writing, "It's fine. But the abrasive edges of the original have been smoothed in favour of a safer, more generic template sport movie approach."[20] Robert Daniels of RogerEbert.com gave it one out of four stars, calling it "as unimaginative as it is corny, as dull as it is cheap, and as unfulfilling as any cash grab for a well-known property could be."[21]
