White Men Can’t Jump (1992)
74%RT Audience Score: 62%
Awards & Nominations: 4 nominations
White Men Can’t Jump provides a fresh take on the sports comedy genre, with a clever script and a charismatic trio of leads
White Men Can’t Jump is a slam dunk of a movie that proves that basketball and comedy can go hand in hand. With the dynamic duo of Wesley Snipes and Woody Harrelson, this film is a hilarious ride that will have you laughing and cheering at the same time. While it may not have a deep message about race, it does highlight the hypocrisy of men in a way that will make you shake your head and chuckle. So grab some popcorn, sit back, and enjoy the game!
Production Company(ies)
Distributor
NA
Release Type
Theatrical
Filming Location(s)
Venice Beach, Venice, Los Angeles, California, USA
MPAA / Certificate
Rated R for language and sexuality
Year of Release
1992
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Color:Color
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Sound mix:Dolby SR
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Aspect ratio:1.85 : 1
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Runtime:NA
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Language(s):English
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Country of origin:United States
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Release date:Release Date (Streaming): Jul 25, 2000
Genre(s)
Comedy
Keyword(s)
starring Woody Harrelson, Wesley Snipes, Rosie Perez, Tyra Ferrell, Cylk Cozart, Kadeem Hardison, directed by Ron Shelton, written by Ron Shelton, produced by Don Miller, David V Lester, comedy, R rating, box office performance, $71.6M gross USA, reviewed by Duane Byrge, David Ansen, Gene Siskel, Kenneth Turan, Terrence Rafferty, Jay Boyar, Wayne Broadway, David Nusair, Leigh Paatsch, Malcolm Johnson, Bill Kelley, David Sterritt, sports comedy, basketball, hustler, con game, Los Angeles, mobsters, Jeopardy, fresh, clever script, charismatic trio of leads, streetwise wit, funky, lived-in sexuality, versatile young actors, exuberant romantic comedy, smart about playground basketball, male hypocrisy
Worldwide gross: $90,753,806
Worldwide gross (inflation-adjusted): $194,260,841
Worldwide gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 710
Worldwide tickets sold (est.): 21,184,388
US/Canada gross: $76,253,806
US/Canada gross (inflation-adjusted): $163,223,220
US/Canada gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 470
US/Canada opening weekend: $14,711,124
US/Canada opening weekend (inflation-adjusted): $31,489,537
US/Canada opening weekend ranking (inflation-adjusted): 433
Budget and Earnings Details
Production budget (est.): NA
Production budget (inflation-adjusted): NA
Production budget ranking: NA
Marketing and distribution budget (inflation-adjusted est.): NA
Box office net earnings to date (inflation-adjusted est.): NA
ROI to date (est.): NA
ROI ranking: NA
Woody Harrelson – Billy Hoyle
Rosie Perez – Gloria Clemente
Tyra Ferrell – Rhonda Deane
Cylk Cozart – Robert
Kadeem Hardison – Junior
Director(s)
Ron Shelton
Writer(s)
Ron Shelton
Producer(s)
Don Miller, David V. Lester
Film Festivals
Awards & Nominations
4 nominations
Academy Awards
All Critics (57) | Top Critics (18) | Fresh (44) | Rotten (13)
As rough and shiny as chain nets on a sweltering summer day, White Men Can’t Jump is a poetic, rag-tag triumph.
March 27, 2018
Duane Byrge
Hollywood Reporter
TOP CRITIC
Shelton’s strength is character, streetwise wit and funky, lived-in sexuality. Snipes, one of our most versatile young actors, gets to demonstrate his wonderful comic chops, and Harrelson, whose goofiness is part of his scam, partners him beautifully.
February 9, 2018
David Ansen
Newsweek
TOP CRITIC
A fresh and exuberant romantic comedy that is as smart about playground basketball as Bull Durham was about minor league baseball.
April 2, 2014 | Rating: 3.5/4
Gene Siskel
Chicago Tribune
TOP CRITIC
They’re black and white instead of fat and thin, but Wesley Snipes and Woody Harrelson have the makings of a classic comedy team, the Laurel and Hardy of the half-court game.
April 2, 2014
Kenneth Turan
Los Angeles Times
TOP CRITIC
Harrelson’s performance is rich, subtle, and delicately funny. And Snipes is just amazing: everything he does seems to leap off the screen.
April 2, 2014
Terrence Rafferty
New Yorker
TOP CRITIC
White Man Can’t Jump is most effective at the beginning — when it’s bouncing along with the exuberance that Shelton brought to such other sports-minded movies as Bull Durham and The Best of Times.
April 2, 2014 | Rating: 3/5
Jay Boyar
Orlando Sentinel
TOP CRITIC
Where ‘White Men Cant Jump’ fails to make any enlightening point concerning race, it does an amazing job highlighting male hypocrisy.
March 1, 2022 | Rating: 3.5/5
Wayne Broadway
Black Girl Nerds
…a mostly entertaining comedy that receives plenty of mileage out of the stellar work of its stars…
May 6, 2021 | Rating: 3/4
David Nusair
Reel Film Reviews
Slam-dunkingly satisfying sports comedy about two basketball hustlers (Woody Harrelson and Wesley Snipes) teaming up for an alley-oop of a payday, despite crying foul about each other’s off-court lifestyle.
July 31, 2020 | Rating: 3/5
Leigh Paatsch
Herald Sun (Australia)
Shelton is clever, and he obviously loves sports and beautiful women and even Los Angeles. Yet when it comes to telling a story, he can’t seem to hit this time around.
May 30, 2018
Malcolm Johnson
Hartford Courant
[Shelton] contributes a uniquely eccentric point of view that is simultaneously obsessed with and ambivalent about sports, athletes and competition.
April 2, 2014 | Rating: 3/4
Bill Kelley
South Florida Sun-Sentinel
Wesley Snipes and Woody Harrelson give lively performances as the heroes, who relate better to basketballs than to women or the business world. The movie doesn’t add up to very much, though.
April 2, 2014
David Sterritt
Christian Science Monitor…
Plot
Billy and Sydney think they’re the best basketball hustlers in town, so when they join forces, nothing can stop them, except each other. To add to their problems, Billy owes money and is being chased by a pair of gangster types.
Trivia
Goofs / Tidbits
No goofy or funny or odd comments were found in the Fresh Kernels database for White Men Can’t Jump.
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