‘WHITE MEN CAN’T JUMP’
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, fast-rising White rapper making his acting debut, a vehicle for his laid-back charm. This limp, half-hearted, breezy remake makes some modest improvements. Directed by Calmatic, it bounces to a hip-hop beat, and the game 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. He’s now struggling through a job delivering packages while customers often ridicule him for how low he’s fallen. His girlfriend, Imani (Teyana Taylor), though, lovingly supports him. Harlow’s character is brash, as Harrelson’s was, but he’s sweeter. His trash talk is earnest. He meditates. The joke isn’t that he’s racially out of touch, it’s that he’s almost too sensitive. Mostly, he’s a chatty, charming nuisance that Kamal reluctantly turns to as an on-court partner with hopes of a big cash prize in a three-on-three tournament. Walls holds his own in “White Men Can’t Jump,” and Harlow has an easy charm. This version never gives its girlfriend characters much to do, though. They mostly recede as the on-court exploits take over, thus ignoring Perez’s wise words from the original: “Always listen to the women.” R. Available on Hulu. 1 hour, 41 minutes.