White Men Can’t Jump
1992 brought with it a plethora of memorable pop culture that is still referenced today. Aladdin, Wayne’s World, Honey I Blew Up the Kids, Reservoir Dogs, along with many popular television shows and talented musicians. Nothing; however, screams 1992 more than the movie White Men Can’t Jump. This film is a melting pot of 90’s culture, with big name actors Wesley Snipes, Woody Harrelson, and Rosie Perez, director Ron Shelton, skillful cinematography exemplary of the times, funky Jazz notes, and ridiculous neon tie-dye shirts, shorts, and hats. Movies and iconic(and funky) as White Men Can’t Jump only come around one in a blue moon.
Woody Harrelson played the role of Billy Hoyle almost perfectly, his confidence and sly smirk making the character come to life on screen. Harrelson plays this character so well because he is Billy Hoyle, not that he goes and hustles basketball on the weekends, but in the sense that both are charming, quirky, intelligent, yet serious at times. This can also be seen in Harrelson’s later roles such as Tallahassee in Zombieland and Merit McKinney in Now You See Me. Harrelson managed to mix comedy and romance with masterful skill in one of his earlier acting roles, setting him up for future greatness.
Wesley Snipes dominated the 90’s and early 2000’s with roles such as Blade in the Blade series, John Cutter in Passenger 57, and, of course, Sidney Deane in White Men Can’t Jump. Comparing Snipes as Blade to Snipes as Sidney, is like comparing a block of titanium to a rubber ball. One is hard and unbreakable, the other is bouncy and malleable. That’s just who Sidney Deane is, always bouncing around getting into peoples faces, causing trouble. One scene in the film has Sidney (Snipes) and Billy (Harrelson) hustling some guys on a court, once their opponents catch on to their cheating one of the men on the opposing team threatens them saying “I’m going to my car, get my other gun, and shoot everybody’s ass.” Snipes played the role of Sidney Deane brilliantly.
Since her first major acting role in the movie Do the Right Thing, Rosie Perez has made waves, with fantastic performances in movies such as Pineapple Express, Fearless, and The Road to El Dorado. It is her skill and ability in White Men Can’t Jump, however, that is truly stunning. She combines comedy, love, passion, intellect into one witty and lovable character, Gloria Clemente. Throughout the movie, Gloria is seen attempting to get on the show Jeopardy, by studying a world almanac (if that doesn’t scream old school, I don’t know what would), and memorizing different facts, such as foods that begin with the letter Q (which was used as an actual category in 1995). In only her third major film role, Perez blows the audience away with her unique, caring personality.
Both the music and the cinematography in this film are side splitting and brilliant for the 90’s. The cinematographer(Russell Boyle) uses almost hilarious amounts of dramatic cuts and at points excessive bouts of slow motion, that make this movie a perfect representation of early 90’s cinematography. In other films this type of cinematography might not fly, but in White Men Can’t Jump it soars. For some reason the slow-mo melds with the goofy neon shorts and cut off tees to form a mass of sick basketball moves, jokes and hots. The music only amplifies this as over the entire pick up game intense yet funky jazz will come shouting out of the screen making is seems as if they are playing to the rhythm. These notes are credited ot musician Bennie Wallace, also known for his skill as a tenor saxophonist. These two elements (cinematography and music) change the world of Sidney Deane and Billy Hoyle into a 90’s utopia.
White Men Can’t Jump is not the first film to touch on race relations; However, it hits a different tone than most. In this film, Billy and Sidney aren’t held back by the racial tension like the characters in Remember the Titans are, but instead they thrive and manipulate the stereotype to win big. Most street ballers think that since Billy is a goofy looking white man, he will have no basketball skill what-so-ever. He shows them up, popping up threes and jumpers without a second thought. The main difference between White Men Can’t Jump and other race relation films, is that Billy is given a chance from the beginning, while in Remember the Titans there is a lot of hate and refusal.
Ron Shelton is a master at directing sports-based movies, boasting such classics as Bull Durham, Tin Cup, Play it to the Bone, and White Men Can’t Jump. His skill at directing shows in White Men Can’t Jump as he brings all the raw talent together to create a nearly flawless product of pure genius. Currently, Sheldon is working on a new project Just Getting Started, a boxing movie starring Morgan Freeman, Tommy Lee Jones, and Rene Russo. This film is set to be big, releasing in the U.S. December 8, 2017. Sheldon, with his talent for sports movies, will no doubt continue to create more films as great as, if not better than, his gem White Men Can’t Jump.
White Men Can’t Jump is an amazing cult classic that exemplifies the feel and innocence of the 90’s, while pulling on the heartstrings of the characters and the audience.
