65
Metascore
28 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- 100Time OutTime OutSnipes and Harrelson bounce off the screen like Michael Jordan, while Shelton and cinematographer Russell Boyd perfectly capture the agile thrills of the game itself. A double-whammy slam-dunker of a movie.
- 88Chicago Sun-TimesRoger EbertChicago Sun-TimesRoger EbertHere is a comedy of great high spirits, with an undercurrent of sadness and sweetness that makes it a lot better than the plot itself could possibly suggest.
- 80EmpireEmpireIt’s overly long and the Rosie Perez sub-plot leads it astray, but mostly, it rocks.
- 80The Hollywood ReporterDuane ByrgeThe Hollywood ReporterDuane ByrgeSmartly spreading his story beyond the end lines of the basketball court, writer-director Shelton has knocked down a sparkling, slice-of-life Americana story. As rough and shiny as chain nets on a sweltering summer day, White Men Can't Jump is a poetic, rag-tag triumph.
- 80Los Angeles TimesKenneth TuranLos Angeles TimesKenneth TuranGraced with good-humored comic energy, they overcome sizable script problems and turn Ron Shelton's White Men Can't Jump into a sassy and profane urban fairy tale that finds laughs in some very clever places.
- 70The New York TimesJanet MaslinThe New York TimesJanet MaslinThe terrifically confident Mr. Snipes gives a funny, knowing performance with a lot of physical verve. And Mr. Harrelson (of Cheers) further perfects the art of appearing utterly without guile. Their comic timing together shapes the film's raucous wit, and their basketball playing looks creditable, too.
- 67Entertainment WeeklyOwen GleibermanEntertainment WeeklyOwen GleibermanPerhaps the first sports movie ever made in which the characters talked as good a game as they played.
- 63Washington PostDesson ThomsonWashington PostDesson ThomsonFor the most part, it's a provocative one-on-one between racial opposites Wesley Snipes and Woody Harrelson. Their relationship -- or perhaps, their ongoing collision -- is the best part of the movie.
- 50Rolling StonePeter TraversRolling StonePeter TraversWhat Shelton fails to provide is a coherent structure; the film is wearyingly repetitive. The boys do the same hustle and hurl the same racial epithets as our goodwill dribbles away.
- 50TV Guide MagazineTV Guide MagazineRon Shelton's second outing since his breakout success with Bull Durham aims to be a high-energy remake of The Hustler in a street-basketball setting, but succeeds only intermittently.