White Men Can’t Jump – A Remake That Pales to the Original

White Men Can’t Jump is the remake to the 1992 sports comedy classic (not 1991 as this film’s end credits incorrectly states) and stars Sinqua Walls and Jack Harlow in roles previously played by Wesley Snipes and Woody Harrelson although as almost entirely different characters. It’s oddly enough the second remake of a 1990’s comedy directed by Calmatic to release this year following early 2023’s House Party. The film has a similar formula to the original and essentially follows the exact storyline as that film with a few minor changes. Kamal (Walls) and Jeremy (Harlow) are both down on their luck basketball hustlers who decide to team up to earn extra cash for numerous different reasons. That being said, the film is far from what most would consider a good movie and never justifies its existence as a remake, but honestly, it’s a lot more tolerable and entertaining than what one would expect especially given its current reviews and middling trailers. Many have already called this an R-rated Disney channel film and while that’s not necessarily a bad thing, it is a pretty accurate way to sum this up.

There are many things to complain about with this remake, but the lead performances aren’t one of them. White Men Can’t Jump marks rapper Jack Harlow’s acting debut and he’s a lot better than expected and honestly gives a halfway decent performance. He doesn’t completely nail the dramatic moments especially when he’s matched up with Laura Harrier as Tatiana, however, he also has pretty good comedic timing and is responsible for some of the films’ biggest laughs. Walls is solid as well as Kamal, a character that is a lot different than Snipes’s Sidney which adds another dimension to this remake. Harrier and Teyana Taylor as Imani aren’t given that much to do but with the time they have, they each bring a lot of energy and work well with their on-screen counter parts. Lance Reddick (RIP), as Benji, is probably the best thing about the entire film while his storyline and performance imbues heart and genuine emotion. With his limited screen time, he consistently it picks up considerably whenever he’s on screen which only made his scenes all the more heartbreaking and effective due to his real life passing. Meanwhile, the basketball scenes are pretty entertaining to watch as Calmatic films them well like he did in the House Party remake.

But make no mistake, as watchable as this is in the moment, it is still heavily flawed and not exactly all that good. Walls and Harlow both give solid individual performances, but they lack the chemistry this needed in comparison to the dynamite chemistry and performances Snipes and Harrelson brought to the original. It just isn’t as fun or amusing to watch these two guys bicker back and forth and ultimately become friends as much as it was in the original because they don’t work all that well together which makes the audiences not care as much about them or their problems. It also just isn’t very funny, and a lot of the humor feels recycled from other comedies despite Harlow and a few others having good timing even with the lazier jokes. As a remake, it fails to update this story to modern times and doesn’t really bring anything new or fresh to the table. It follows the original pretty closely and all the changes it makes (mostly character related) are inferior to the 90’s version. In the end, that is the biggest problem. It lacks so much of what made the original so memorable. The film just doesn’t have the same kind of heart, charm, style, laughs or energy and the fact that it shares the same name only hurts it even more. This is one of those remakes where they could’ve made a few additional changes and just called it something else to avoid being negatively compared to the superior original.

If anyone finds themselves bored one day or struggling to find something to watch on Disney+ or Hulu (depending on where they find themselves), White Men Can’t Jump is a decent enough way to pass a couple hours especially for fans of basketball or sports comedies. The film is merely a middle of the road remake that should’ve been a lot better but also could’ve been way worse. It’s harmless and watchable even if that’s the highest praise this remake earns.

still courtesy of 20th Century Studios

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Connor Carey

www.connorsmoviereviews.com/