Hustle (2022) Review

Stanley Sugerman is a basketball scout who wants nothing more than to be a coach, he discovers a street ball player in Spain named Bo Cruz and thinks he has the potential to play in the NBA.

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Stanley had a very good relationship with Rex Merrick who owned the Philadelphia 76ers and promised to make him a coach within the set up after many years of working as scout. He had travelled around the world trying to find new and exciting talent who could make it in the NBA. When Rex suddenly passes away his son Vince who wants to try and make a name for himself as the new owner sends Stanley back on the road and does not trust his judgment.

With the support of his wife Teresa we see Stanley make some very interesting choices especially when he comes across Bo Cruz and wanted him for the 76ers, something which Vince rejects instantly. Stanley is so sure on his find that he ends up quitting his job and really putting everything into training Bo in the US in the build up to the draft.

I thought the training sections were very good to watch showing the level of determination and what needs to be done in an attempt to become a professional athlete. Setting targets and attempting to hit them, as well as looking at the psychological impact of people trying to put you off and getting personal. I feel as though that aspect of top level sport isn’t often explored by was in this one.

I am not an Adam Sandler fan at all but I thought he was impressive in this film and gave a very good performance. His character was ambitious which made him likeable while also having the ability to stand up for himself. Juancho Hernangomez was a pro basketball player for Spain and in the NBA so was good to have an actual basketball player as part of the film. Queen Latifah was very good alongside Sandler and they worked well off each other.