Hustle review: Netflix gives Adam Sandler his Jerry Maguire moment

Adam Sandler is the rare star who isn’t afraid to look vulnerable. It’s an innate talent that’s served him well in emotionally complex roles in Funny People, Punch-Drunk Love, The Wedding Singer, Uncut GemsSo on. Between his sharp jokes resides a stunning, often unlikely intimacy that makes Sandler into Hollywood’s biggest puppy dog. It’s why his pairing with an emotionally perceptive director like Jeremiah Zagar makes so much sense. Hustle, Zagar’s inspirational basketball flick for Netflix, is essentially Rocky meets Jerry Maguire.

And Sandler as weary NBA scout Stanley is the film’s rousing compass. Stanley, a former NBA scout, has been traveling the globe for eight years in search for a change-making player to help him win a championship with the Philadelphia 76ers. Stanley gets tired of traveling. Stanley wants to become a coach in order to have stability, spend more time with Teresa (Queen Latifah), their daughter Jordan Hull and be closer to his family. When he discovers Bo Cruz (Juancho Hernangomez), a tall Spanish construction worker with game, he thinks he’s found his once-in-a-lifetime lottery ticket.

Hustle is decidedly glitzier and bigger than Zagar’s previous film, the critical indie darling We the Animals. It deploys an all-star ensemble, ingenious camerawork, and sharp editing to uplift a cliché story about earnest fatherhood and distant hoop dreams. However, the story is a bit slow in its beginning. HustleThe bones of better movies can be seen.

Photo: Scott Yamano/Netflix

Stanley, a meek player who tries to play as a member of the team, gives ground to Vince Merrick (Ben Foster), son and owner of the 76ers. Stanley and Vince are ripped off after a fierce scouting meeting in which they disagree over the abilities of an international prospect Stanley feels lacks heart. Moneyball. Stanley placates Vince by routinely missing his own daughter’s birthday to be on the road, but they still maintain a heartwarming relationship, seen in a car ride where she explains her dream of attending film school. That sequence finds its inspiration from Sandler’s role as a sensitive dad in Noah Baumbach’s The Meyerowitz Stories.

Even Stanley’s discovery of Bo Cruz traces to another movie. After Rex gives Stanley his long-desired promotion to assistant coach of the 76ers, Vince bumps him back to the road, with a lone directive: If the beleaguered scout can find a generational talent, he’ll get his coaching job back. Stanley meets Bo in Spain. He not only plays basketball at Timberlands but also challenges the players to one-on-1s. (Why none of these athletes spot the 6’9” Bo as a ringer stretches the imagination.) Bo, who is single and wants to provide a better lifestyle for Lucia his little girl, uses basketball as an option. His fatherly drive recalls Ray Allen’s paternalistic character inHe got game.

Hustle Although there are plenty of positive avenues available, writers will Fetter (The Birth of a StarTaylor Materne and Taylor Materne are struggling to build their characters. When Stanley returns to America with Bo, Vince isn’t interested in the freakishly talented Spaniard. Vince is a clear villain, but the script doesn’t give him much motivation to wreck Stanley’s life. At least Foster’s ability to project an off-the-handle anger makes a meal out of the crumbs that script gives him. Heidi Gardner as Vince’s sister, who might have an unexplained crush on Stanley, scarcely finds any screen time, and neither does Duvall. Queen Latifah is relegated to the supportive-wife role, and Stanley’s relationship with his daughter lacks depth, in spite of their easygoing dynamic.

There’s a version of this movie where Sandler’s washed-up scout veers closer to the struggling alcoholic Ben Affleck plays in the recovery-through-sports movie How to get back. But Fetters and Materne aren’t interested in the darker, edgier corners that are fundamental to redemption stories. The movie is partially ruined for this. Hustle Yet, it is tender.

Photo: Scott Yamano/Netflix

Sandler and Hernangomez have a remarkable chemistry. A connection similar to Jerry Maguire’s Jerry and his client Rod Tidwell emerges between the pair, as Stanley becomes Bo’s hype man — describing him as “If Scottie Pippen and a wolf had a baby” — and a therapist and father figure for the gifted player. Sandler’s penchant for mixing laughs with heartache rises to the occasion to flesh out his surface-level character. Hernangomez is a 6-year NBA veteran and his charismaticism is infectious. As are the other basketball-world stars making cameos; Trae Young, Tobias Harris, Doc Rivers, Kenny Smith, Julius Erving, and so forth don’t gum up the works à la Space JamYou can add some realism to the mix.

Their inclusion also adds invaluable proficiency to the film’s basketball play. Where series like HBO’s Win Time sometimes put the sport’s acrobatics in the back seat, it’s front and center in HustleThe film was shot by Zak Mulligan, a cinematographer who contributed unique camerawork and compositions. Brian M. Robinson, Tom Costain, and Brian M. Robinson add to the excitement of the film’s editing by using exciting match cuts. Bo will be facing Kermit Wilts, a smack-talking evil in preparation for his clash with the top draft pick. HustleStanley uses a training program out of Rocky. Bo runs, jumps, dribbles, shoots for 10 minutes. Bo’s victory over hurdles brings forth a stunningly intense pace.

Bo will need to impress the NBA executive enough in his final game of basketball to win a contract. We know exactly where that is. HustleWe will be there. But that doesn’t make it any less satisfying to arrive at the familiar destination. Sandler’s sincerity and Hernangomez’s high-level craftsmanship are just two of the many reasons why Sandler is so fondly remembered. HustleProvides enough entertainment to lift our hearts up, even if it leaves us wanting more from these characters or their trials.

HustlePremieres at Netflix June 8