It’s the era of the reboot, the remake, the sequel, and what have you, so it’s simple to wonder how many movies and TV shows are going to be given another chance when it comes to seeing the big screen again, or being given a shot on a streaming network. One of those that is easy to wonder about since it does come off as a movie that could easily exist in the current period is White Men Can’t Jump. It’s not likely that we would see Wesley Snipes and Woody Harrelson at it again unless they happened to be part of the movie, but it would be interesting to see if the same formula would be followed, or if something different would be thought up. The 1992 sports comedy was a riot back in the day but it’s almost fair to think that people might find something non-PC about it that they would want to change. One thing is for certain, it doesn’t push a white savior them since Billy Hoyle, played by Harrelson, wasn’t exactly the brightest individual in the world and he made more mistakes than any two people in the movie.
Well, he made bigger mistakes than any two people in the movie since he was a hothead that didn’t know when to shut up or when he was being hustled. In short, Billy was a great basketball player and was even a little better than Sidney perhaps, but his life was a mess. Snipes played the cocky ballplayer that knew how to hustle but somehow not how to move forward with his life, which is understandable considering that he was trying to get his family out of a bad neighborhood. Together, Billy and Sidney were a nearly unstoppable team since their skills complemented one another so well that their game couldn’t be rattled by anyone. They weren’t perfect, but they were good enough to win competitions and to beat two legendary ballers that came back to offer an open challenge to anyone that could step up.
The idea of rebooting this movie isn’t that bad really, but perhaps remaking it would be better, and taking it down to the college level might be an interesting idea as well. The whole idea of white men not being able to jump is kind of irrelevant to be fair since back in the 90s white players in the NBA and in general weren’t known as much for their dunking skills yet. At this point, it’s still safe to say that it hasn’t changed that much, at least not in terms of representation. Perhaps a return to the college scene would be great to see something that might be akin to a prequel story to the movie, but with the two main characters meeting earlier in life and going through roughly the same story that Billy and Sidney did. The same kind of elements could still apply, and it could be shown that street games involving the exchange of money could become a serious issue that might threaten to derail the college careers of the main characters.
It might be a completely different story with familiar elements and story details, but it might be a nice upgrade to the original movie idea that could pull in a bit of interest and make people pay attention. Whether or not it would happen is a question that could hopefully be answered if one had the ambition to ask. White Men Can’t Jump wasn’t a problematic movie since it dealt more with the idea of hustling others on the basketball court rather than any real racial issues that might have come up. There were a few racial undertones here and there within the movie and subject matter that might have been noticed by several people. But otherwise, it was a plucky sports comedy that wasn’t exactly a blockbuster but it was comfortable since it allowed people to simply laugh and enjoy what they were seeing without having to think too hard about any of it. That was the beauty of the movie since it had a lot of possibilities to become a difficult and thought-provoking movie, but it didn’t do that.
A remake would no doubt try to become a little more dramatic, and possibly employ social mores simply because that’s the trend of the day. If the movie ever did get remade in one way or another, it would be a big hope that it would keep the comedic aspect and not worry too much about being serious or even bound to show one set of morals or another. By keeping this as a comedy and something that shows an inclusive, realistic view of how a lot of people would like to see the world, it might work just as much as the original. That would be a fun sight to see.
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