September 11, 2022 – There haven't been very many top quality movies made about basketball. The best basketball movie of all is the 1994 documentary “Hoop Dreams.” A lot of people also think highly of “Hoosiers” (1986) others like Spike Lee's “He Got Game” (1998) or “Love and Basketball” (2000) or “One on One” (1977) or “White Men Can't Jump” (1992) or “Glory Road” (2006) or “Blue Chips” (1994) or a few others along those lines.

I did not really expect to see an award worthy basketball film from Adam Sandler's Happy Madison production company, but that is what I got last night when I saw “Hustle.” Most basketball movies don't focus on the NBA, which is the pinnacle of basketball, but this one does. One of the producers of the film is basketball star LeBron James. There are so many real NBA stars, ex-NBA stars, NBA coaches and other NBA figures in this film when the credits role, there are what appears to be a record-setting number of “himself” credits.

Come to think of it, there was a big NBA star in a previous Adam Sandler film, the good 2019 drama “Uncut Gems.” That former player was NBA Hall of Famer Kevin Garnett, playing himself, just like a lot of NBA figures do in “Hustle.” There have been several good performances by NBA players in previous films, such as the one by Alex English in “Amazing Grace and Chuck” (1987) and the one by Ray Allen in “He Got Game.”

Adam Sandler himself stars in this film as Stanley Sugerman, an aging, worn-out scout for the Philadelphia 76ers. He is tired of the constant travel all over the world looking for new talent. He finally gets his big break, becoming an assistant coach for the 76ers, when team owner Rex Merrick (played by Robert Duvall) promotes him the day before Merrick dies. Merrick's son Vince (played by Ben Foster of “Hell or High Water”) takes over the team and promptly demotes Stanley back to scout.

Vince tells Stanley he will promote him to assistant coach again only if he finds a player for the 76ers who has the talent to turn the team's fortunes around. Vince goes back on the road again, reluctantly leaving his wife Teresa (Queen Latifah of “Hairspray”) and young daughter, Alex (Jordan Hull) at home. In Spain, Stanley happens across a pickup basketball game on an outdoor court and luckily discovers a very talented player, Bo Cruz (played by NBA player Juancho Hernangómez of the Toronto Raptors).

Excited, Stanley contacts the 76ers and puts Bo on a flight to the U.S., where he is dismayed to discover Bo's criminal past. He is told by a league lawyer that if Bo gets into any kind of legal trouble in the U.S., his visa will immediately be revoked and Bo will immediately be sent back to Spain. This lowers Bo's value to the NBA.

Stanley is anxious to prove to 76ers owner Vince Merrick that Bo is an elite basketball player, so he arranges for him to play in a practice game against other talented players hoping to be picked in the NBA draft. Bo, who is a great defensive player, is selected to guard Kermit Wilts (played by NBA star Anthony Edwards of the Minnesota Timberwolves) who uses trash talk to put Bo off his game. Bo ends up looking bad in the game.

Vince is unimpressed and says he is not interested in having Bo play for the 76ers. Angry, Stanley quits and decides to become an agent and represent Bo himself. He believes in Bo and works to get him into the NBA Combine, a showcase for young players who want to be drafted by NBA teams. He trains Bo hard to get him into shape for the Combine tryout.

While all of this is going on Vince is running low on money, his marriage is under stress because of this and the fact he quit his job without consulting his wife. Stanley fails to let Bo know that he is no longer working for the 76ers, and that gets him into more trouble. His old boss, Vince starts attacking him and Bo publicly, hurting Bo's chances of being selected to compete in the Combine.

While the story eventually develops as expected, there are some plot twists along the way. “Hustle” wears its well-worn sports story uniform very well. I was rooting for the underdog and Stanley's redemption all the way. This is an emotionally satisfying movie, with fine performances by Sandler and Queen Latifah, and there are some good basketball scenes, too.

Certainly, this is not a movie for everyone, but it is definitely a movie for people who love pro basketball. In that genre, it is one of the very best. It rates a B+.

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