“It’s very much a ‘Rocky’ story,” Adam Sandler told Entertainment Weekly this week about his new Netflix basketball drama, “Hustle.” “And I’m not Mickey in it — there’s never gonna be another Mickey — but I like being that kind of guy, getting to talk to a young man and getting him fired up.” The film centers on a washed-up basketball scout (Sandler) who discovers a phenomenal streetball player while in Spain and sees the prospect as his opportunity to get back into the NBA.
READ MORE: Summer 2022 Movie Preview: 50 Must-See Films To Watch
The player in question is Juancho Hernangomez, a Spanish professional NBA basketball player for the Utah Jazz. He is 26 and nearly 7 feet tall. The cast includes Queen Latifah, Ben Foster, Kenny Smith, Juancho Hernangómez, Raul Castillo, Jordan Hull, Maria Botto, Heidi Gardner, and Robert Duvall.
Directed by Jeremiah Zagar and written by Taylor Materne and Will Fetters, “Hustle” sounds more like a drama than comedy. “It had a lot of deep scenes that connected with me, playing a guy who’s just been working hard his whole life and not getting exactly what his goal was, being overlooked and people at work getting in his way,” Sandler said about the dramatic elements of the film. “A lot of people have dealt with this in their life. I knew this movie was a different feel for me, but it’s kind of a combination of stuff I’ve done in the past and a newer version of who I am.”
Here’s the official synopsis:
After discovering a once-in-a-lifetime player with a rocky past abroad, a down on his luck basketball scout (Adam Sandler) takes it upon himself to bring the phenom to the States without his team’s approval. Against the odds, they have one final shot to prove they have what it takes to make it in the NBA.
“Hustle” opens on June 8, 2022, on Netflix. Watch the trailer below.