Arts&Living ‘White Men’ Remake Can’t Soar

Lacks the charm and originality of previous film

By Jake Coyle AP Film Writer

Nineties nostalgia has extended now to 1992’s “White Men Can’t Jump” returning to the blacktop courts where Wesley Snipes and Woody Harrelson hustled and Rosie Perez studied “Jeopardy!” answers for foods beginning with the letter “Q.”

Why, you ask? The principal reason seems to be giving Jack Harlow, a charismatic, fastrising white rapper making his acting debut, a vehicle for his laid-back charm.

The original “White Men Can’t Jump” thrived on Harrelson’s goofball energy and the “You can’t hear Jimi” trash talk of Snipes, a criminally underrated comic actor (see “Dolemite Is My Name”). The contributions of Perez, a hooped-earrings firecracker who makes any movie a little better, shouldn’t be minimized, either. “White Men Can’t Jump,” the rare sports movie where the woman (Perez) walks out on the guy (Harrelson), hinged mostly on its off-court drama.

This limp, half-hearted, breezy remake makes some modest improvements. The film, directed by Calmatic, bounces to a hiphop beat and the gameplay action is smoother. But the drop off in personality from that original trio is like going from the Lakers to the G-League.

Sinqua Walls stars as Kamal, a once highly touted prospect whose professional career derailed in a rage-fueled incident the film slowly reveals through flashbacks. (The late Lance Reddick plays Kamal’s father in one of his last performances.)

He’s now struggling through a job delivering packages while customers often ridicule him for