You can discount Adam Sandler all you want. It doesn’t change the fact the man has verifiable dramatic talent – it’s simply a matter of whether he can actually be bothered. This is, after all, a man who has confirmed those sillier flicks we roll our eyes at are nothing more than paid vacations. And in terms of which category the upcoming Netflix basketball drama Hustle falls under, the trailer alone has made it abundantly clear the Sandman is serving up something closer to Punch Drunk Love and Uncut Gems than Grown Ups.
In his ninth original film by the crimson banner, Adam Sandler leads as Stanley Sugarman, a down-on-his-luck Philadelphia 76ers basketball scout who was “unjustly fired.” The tides begin to turn, however, when he discovers a once-in-a-lifetime player in Spain, Bo Cruz – portrayed by the real-life Spanish NBA player currently signed with the Utah Jazz, Juancho Hernangómez.
But Bo doesn’t exactly come free of baggage. As hinted by the official plot description, he has something of a rocky past. Stanley takes it upon himself to bring the phenom to America – more specifically, Philadelphia based on the principal shooting location – without the approval of Bo’s team. Against all odds, they both have one final shot to prove they have what it takes to make it in the NBA.
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In front of the camera, Sandler and Hernangómez will share a screen with Queen Latifah, Robert Duvall, Ben Foster, Jordan Elizabeth Hull, Ainhoa Pillet, Maria Botto, Heidi Gardner, Raul Castillo, as well as former NBA player slash current sportscaster Kenny Smith, real-life Sixers Tobias Harris, Matisse Thybulle, Tyrese Maxey, and even legendary, coach Doc Rivers.
Behind the camera, Hustle represents quite the unique collaboration from three different worlds: Oscar contenders, sports, and sports video games. The screenplay has been co-written by Will Fetters and Taylor Materne. Fetters was one of the scribes behind the latest incarnation of A Star Is Born starring Bradley Cooper and Lady Gaga; while Materne penned both NBA 2K19 and NBA 2K20. Yeah… we didn’t know the latter two titles required an actual story, either.
Jeremiah Zagar (We The Animals, Captivated: The Trials of Pamela Smart) sits in the director’s chair this time around, while Adam Sandler has also put his producer’s hat on as part of Happy Madison’s overall deal with Netflix, alongside LeBron James himself and Maverick Carter through SpringHill Company. So there’s plenty of credibility on all fronts here.
Hustle starring Adam Sandler and Juancho Hernangómez will be available to stream on Netflix from June 10th of 2022 – check out the full-length trailer above.
