I rarely like sports films, but HUSTLE seems to have some serious content. Adam Sandler stars in the story of a basketball scout (and would-be coach) for the Philadelphia 76ers who finds an amazing player in Spain, and works against all odds to train him to make it into the NBA. Robert Duvall (in spite of fairly high billing) has a small part. There is also Juancho Hernangomez (an actual professional basketball player) as the prodigy (and reminiscent of Lock Martin as Gort in THE DAY THE EARTH STOOD STILL (1951)), as well as many real basketball players and personalities. (If you are not a basketball fan, you won't recognize the players, or even their names, and the jargon will probably confuse you as well.) This covers the ethics of basketball management as well as the nuances of coaching. Though it is predictable in that it follows a well-worn sports film trajectory it is still fairly enjoyable.

[As for the more informed viewers, a friend of ours who is a basketball fan from Philadelphia said, "It was super-fun and well worth the watch."]

Released on Netflix streaming: 08 June 2022. Rating: low +2 or 7/10

Film Credits: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt8009428/reference

What others are saying: https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/hustle_2022

					Mark R. Leeper
					Copyright 2022 Mark R. Leeper