Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, March 28, 1992 TAG: 9203280260
SECTION: EXTRA PAGE: 1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: CHRIS GLADDEN STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
That's no surprise when you consider that writer-director Ron Shelton was the driving force behind "Bull Durham." Shelton takes sport and gives it lyricism, wit and a refreshingly quirky spin.
His players aren't the megabucks big league players but the guys who scrap in minor league parks and on inner-city courts. Shelton casts an appreciative eye on their seedy surroundings, imbuing the dilapidated motels and run-down parks with their own kind of garish beauty. And he seems to have special knowledge about the lure and all-engulfing addictiveness of the game.
Wesley Snipes plays Sidney Deane, a master player who dominates his foes athletically and verbally. The basketball courts in Los Angeles are battlegrounds for the egos of the players. The insults have the crack of a slam dunk and every contest is a full-tilt challenge. Basketball is not a game; it's a ritual that rings with a power that harkens back to ancient times when sport was an extension of religion.
Onto Sidney's court wanders Billy Hoyle, the only white guy around. Billy has on a tie-dyed baseball cap and baggy shorts and is completely uncool in a place where being cool is paramount. He edges his way into a game and it doesn't take long to find out that Billy is a hustler. He takes Sidney's money and returns to the cheap motel that he shares with his girlfriend Gloria (Rosie Perez). Rosie spends her time drinking vod- ka and memorizing useless information because she thinks her destiny is to be on "Jeopardy." Billy and Rosie are on the run from mobsters and Billy hustles basketball to pay off the debt that's haunting the couple.
Originally stung by his defeat, Sidney grasps the possibilities of exploiting the convictions of his fellow players that white guys are inferior basketball players.
He tracks Billy down and makes him an offer to go into partnership. The movie tracks both the relationship between these rivals and possible friends and that of Rosie and Billy. Rosie has faith in the forces of change and destiny while Billy is a captive to his pride and self-destructive impulsiveness.
Shelton writes funny, eccentric dialogue and he has a swiftly moving visual style. His characters are more complex than they appear at first glance and the performers bring them to vivid life. Sidney, against his better judgement, finds himself liking Billy. Snipes brings both confidence and a growing frustration at the forces that are eroding his life to the character of Sidney.
Harrelson gives Billy both an inward drive and an unpredictable volatility. And Perez is spunky and funny. "White Men Can't Jump" 1/2 A Twentieth Century-Fox picture at Valley View Mall 6 (362-8219) and Salem Valley 8 (389-0444). Rated R for language and strong sexual content; two hours.
by CNB