Stanley Sugarman (Adam Sandler) is one of the best scouts in the National Basketball Association (NBA), and he works for the Philadelphia 76ers. One day, while in Spain, he comes across a massively talented streetball player named Bo Cruz (Juancho Hernangomez) and his life and career begin to spiral. He’s not yet sure which direction his life will spiral, but his Hustle will play a significant role in both his and Bo’s futures in the NBA. Together they can achieve anything, but they must work together.
If you’re a fan of sports, you will absolutely love Hustle. If you’re a fan of Adam Sandler you will absolutely love Hustle. If you’re a fan of drama, you will absolutely love Hustle. There are so many moving pieces in Hustle, and the many aspects of Jeremiah Zagar’s film will help it appeal to a wide-range of viewers.
From a sports aspect, Hustle dives deep into the NBA and the scouting process, something that’s not always seen this fleshed out in a mainstream film. The struggles of everyone involved come to light throughout the course of Hustle in ways that I can’t say that I’ve seen in a narrative sports film in the past. The struggle is always present in sports films, but I’m not sure that I’ve seen this in-depth of a look in the past. To see an NBA player transcend the ranks of the basketball hierarchy, alongside the scout that believes so much in him, is a wonderful twist on the typical narrative, and it’s welcome in this sometimes diluted cinematic world. The beautifully written narrative invites viewers into Bo and Stanley’s journey, and its riveting content begs viewers to stick around from beginning to end.
The world expects comedy from Sandler, because that’s his bread and butter. That’s what has allowed him to rise through the ranks of Hollywood stardom, and while Hustle may not be exactly the type of comedy that you’d expect from Sandler, comedy still exists. There are still some of the usual comedic zingers throughout the course of Hustle, but the comedy often exists more subtly than you may be used to in a Sandler film. Sandler is typically the driving force behind the comedic element present in the film, but everyone has their hand in the veritable pot, and the comedy ultimately acts as one of the major driving forces behind the film. Additionally, the comedy makes the characters and the story far more relatable to those who maybe aren’t too familiar with sports, and, once again, the writing of Will Fetters and Taylor Materne is beautiful, propelling Hustle forward.
The drama present in Hustle would work on its own; it would have been enough just to see the physical and emotional struggles of Bo and Stanley, but paired with every other fantastic aspect of Hustle, the drama simply takes the film to a new level. The passion and the emotion present in each and every facet of Hustle compares to some of the better films of the past few years, and the genuine emotion that comes through is incredible. Every minute of Hustle is full of drama, even the ones full of comedy, and it continues to lend itself to the success of the film as a whole. Every minute is beautifully written, and every minute continues to build on one another, creating a wonderfully entertaining film.
About halfway through Hustle where viewers see Bo in a montage of exercises and training drills, the cinematography is finally showcased in a way that allows viewers to see its brilliance. Throughout the course of this endeavor the cinematography takes over, and Director of Photography Zak Mulligan proves how talented he is. The collection of shots throughout this part of the film are both sophisticated and aggressively intimate–immersing viewers in this story, and making them feel like they are there throughout Bo’s journey. Mulligan’s work on Hustle allows the comedy, drama, and action to come to life and marry one another with brilliance.
Hustle is a sports fan’s dream–it encompasses everything about basketball that makes the game beautiful and attracts fans on a regular basis. Sandler brings a dynamic of both dramatic expertise and comedic prowess to the table that allows every minute of the film to flow beautifully–he’s the driving force, and with someone else in the driver's seat, Hustle doesn’t do as well. This is a wonderfully constructed film that reaches viewers and plays out nearly perfectly. There are twists and turns along the way that may have viewers scratching their heads, but the reality is that the things that occur in Hustle are reflective of the real world–and that makes the film even better. Hustle is one of the best sports films and Adam Sandler films that I’ve seen in a long time.
Directed by Jeremiah Zagar.
Written by Will Fetters & Taylor Materne.
Starring Adam Sandler, Queen Latifah, Juancho Hernangomez, Ben Foster, Kenny Smith, Anthony Edwards, Robert Duvall, Jordan Hull, Mariá Botto, Ainhoa Pillet, etc.
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐½/10