Page 29 - Boca ViewPointe - July '22

July 2022 Viewpointe, Page 29
Film Review: Hustle

In This World Of Giants, Stanley Sugarman, an for the NBA draft, where he can demonstrate his skills on
Here, Sandler plays
the court against other top candidates.
Adam Sandler Stands Tall experienced scout for As it turns out, Cruz’s one weakness on the court is the
the Philadelphia 76ers kind that Sugarman can help him correct. It has nothing to do
By Nils A. Shapiro who travels around the with basketball—but makes all the difference in the world.
world most of the year The on-court action throughout this film—and there is
If anyone were searching for players plenty of it—is unquestionably “the real thing.” The cast
to experience sports with the talent to make includes more than two dozen current and former NBA
exclusively through it in the NBA. The players, including some very big names – and they are a
films, it would be natural opening scene makes treat to watch. (LeBron James co-produced the film.)
to assume that the most clear the difficulties of And it is a delight to see Saturday Night Live’s Heidi
exciting aspect of any that job, showing him Gardner in a small—but ultimately significant—role as
professional game would on a whirlwind tour, the late team manager’s daughter.
be the back-office business with some of the typical But here again, as with the other sports films, it is what
side of the league. problems he faces along goes on behind the scenes that holds our attention—and in
As examples, think of the way. this case the credit for it goes to Adam Sandler, director
Moneyball, based on the best-selling nonfiction book Back in Philadelphia, in the team’s front office, a Jeremiah Zagar, and the remarkable Hernangomez, who
about how Billy Beane, the young general manager of grateful owner (in a brief role by Robert Duvall) shows is as impressive in front of the camera as he is blocking
the Oakland A’s—portrayed in the movie by Brad Pitt— Sugarman a small office with a plaque on the desk that opponents’ shots or dunking his own. 
turned major league baseball’s annual draft procedures reads, “Stanley Sugarman—Assistant Coach.” The
upside down with a unique formula that enabled him to welcome promotion is the owner’s gesture of appreciation
pick up highly rated players at a small fraction of the for his scout’s years of devoted service, enabling M O V I E
prices being paid by the other teams. Sugarman to stay with the team, working from the bench
Or Draft Day, in which Kevin Costner in the role of during games, and finally making it possible for him to
the Cleveland Browns executive in charge of the team’s spend much more time at home with his wife (played by
decisions during the annual National Football League’s draft Queen Latifah) and their young daughter.
plays his initial “picks” like a poker hand and outsmarts the But the Sugarman family’s celebration is short-lived:
other teams’ managements to get the players he needs. The team owner dies suddenly, and the son who takes Current Events
And, of course, Jerry Maguire—Tom Cruise’s over the team’s management reverses the promotion and
terrifically popular portrayal in a film that underscores orders Stanley to go back out on the road and find him a
the thin line between loyalty and betrayal between sports top player quickly. Group
stars and those who represent them in their negotiations On a trip to Spain in search of a prospect, Stanley is
with teams. frustrated. But during some free time, he comes across
Such films offer more than a hint that there is often a massive crowd watching a basketball game ... and is The Current Events Group meet every Monday from
more action going on behind the scenes than on the field. awed by the player that everyone has come to see: a 10am-11:30am at the BPCA office. The members consist
Hustle—a film just released last month on Netflix— 6-foot, 9-inch young man, Bo Cruz, who is a dynamo of both men and women and all Boca Pointe residents are
adds professional basketball to this mix, while at the same both offensively and defensively. invited to attend. If you would like more information or
time earning for its leading star, Adam Sandler, some of Cruz is played in the film by Juancho Hernangomez, to sign up, please call 516-835-2670. 
the highest critical acclaim of his career in his second who in actuality is currently a power forward for the Utah
straight serious role after a long and successful string of Jazz, one of several teams he has played for in the NBA.
comedy films. Sandler had impressed both theatregoers The film, from that point on, focuses on Sugarman’s
and reviewers with his serious acting chops in the 2019 efforts to convince the 76ers to give Cruz an opportunity
film, Uncut Gems. to prove himself or, failing that, to get his discovery ready

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