WHITE MEN CAN'T JUMP

I'm not into basketball but this film was a critical and commercial hit, and it stars Woody Harrelson and Wesley Snipes, so I thought why not give it a go?

And it's fine.  But it’s a classic case of a film where the individual scenes are entertaining enough but they don't cohere into anything much of a narrative arc.

The only thing at stake is that Billy (Harrelson) and his girlfriend Gloria owe £8,000 to some gangsters, the Stucci brothers, but no real attempt is made to make this seem important.  It’s just a plot device to get Billy to join forces with Sidney (Snipes) to hustle up some cash.

The relationship between Bobby and Gloria  exemplifies the narrative fuzziness.  Early on, the film goes out of its way to show us that she has an alcohol issue, but this then gets dropped or forgotten.  And the resolution of their relationship issues is odd, with her just walking out of his life.

The actress who plays Gloria (Rosie Perez) is a memorable screen presence and went on to get an Oscar nomination the next year.

We also get some fuzziness as to Billy himself.  Early on it is established that when he is hustling on the basketball court he is focused on what he needs to do.  Yet in a later scene where he and Sidney are in a big money tournament he starts badmouthing the opposition for no good reason, upsetting Sidney.

So what we are left with are some entertaining basketball sequences, though maybe a bit samey, and a lot of high energy banter, mainly in the form of jibes, which outwore their welcome after a while. 

Still Harrelson and Snipes are always watchable, especially the latter, here at an early stage in his career and exuding charisma from every pore.

RATING: x Find Something Better To Do