Sandler’s basketball drama has uplift and ‘Hustle’
What to watch (or, in some cases, avoid) at home this weekend:
‘Hustle’
Minnesota Timberwolves player Anthony Edwards is excellent as the bad-sport bad guy in one of those inspiring, taking-a-chanceon-a-long-shot sports movies. Adam Sandler goes low-key as a desperate scout who discovers a Spanish player (Utah Jazz’s Juancho Hernangomez, good in a complex role). It’s not always clear why he’s a long shot, since Hernangomez plays the almost mythical “big man with a guard’s handle,” and it takes guts to set one of these movies in Philadelphia, home of “Rocky.” But the behind-thescenes basketball details are convincing, and there’s just enough grit to balance the uplift.
Where: Netflix
‘Leave No Trace: A Hidden History of the Boy Scouts’
This powerful documentary examines the downfall of the Boy Scouts of America in excruciating detail. Director Irene Taylor offers a history lesson in how the organization spent decades fattening executives’ wallets while fudging recruitment numbers. But the film resonates most when it turns the camera over to a few of at least 82,000 former Scouts who claim they were sexually abused by leaders they trusted.
Where: Hulu
‘Cha Cha Real Smooth’
You’d be surprised how charming a movie can be even if its protagonist is a selfish jerk. Cooper Raiff, who also directed and wrote the droll script, stars as a manchild who takes a job as a bar mitzvah party booster. At one shindig, he befriends an autistic girl and her mother (Dakota Johnson, who just keeps getting better and better), whose complex needs may finally help him grow up. Leslie Mann also appears in the comedy/drama, which won the audience prize this year at the Sundance Film Festival.
When and where: Premiered Friday on Apple TV+
‘Civil’
Attorney Benjamin Crump is the subject of this difficult-to-watch but absorbing documentary. It opens with audio of George Floyd’s family calling Crump immediately after Floyd’s murder, asking for advice. Minneapolis is heavily featured in “Civil” but it also follows Crump to his work with the families of Breanna Taylor and others killed by police officers. Crump is surprisingly subdued throughout, possibly to balance the shocking details of the cases, but details of his preparation — working with witnesses, mock trials — are fascinating.
When and where: Premieres today on Netflix
‘Dirty Daddy: The
Bob Saget Tribute’
Saget wasn’t as talented as Louie Anderson and Norm Macdonald, but his death seems to have hit fellow comedians the hardest. There are a lot of heartfelt testimonials from the likes of Jim Carrey, Dave Chappelle and Jon Lovitz in this sloppy, sentimental special, as well as a stirring version of “These Days” from Jackson Browne and John Mayer. But there’s also plenty of irreverent jabs — just as Saget would have wanted it.
Where: Netflix
Sun, Jun 19
(PG-13) 11:00, 11:30, 12:00, 12:40, 1:40, 2:40, 3:10, 4:10, 5:10, 6:20, 6:40, 7:30, 8:00, 9:10, 9:50, 10:20. (PG) 3:20, 9:00.
(PG13)
3:40.
(PG-13) 11:50, 3:00, 6:30, 10:00.