Adam Sandler’s new basketball movie with heavy family themes, coming to Netflix on June 8th. This is definitely not your typical Happy Madison film. It actually has very little comedy. Mostly sports action and drama. It’s like Jerry MaGuire meets Blue Chips meets Million Dollar Baby meets… let’s just say it… meets Uncut Gems.
Adam Sandler plays a disgruntled NBA talent scout for the Philadelphia 76ers (directed by Philly native Jeremiah Zagar), and he’s chomping at the bit to get a coaching job so he can stay home more and spend more time with his family. I get that. He has a minor setback with the team owner’s spoiled and ignorant son, played by the always excellent Ben Foster.
He decides to put his whole career and livelihood on this one player that he has sparked an interest in. He ends up being like a father figure to him, since his Dad is kinda MIA.
We follow Stanley (Adam Sandler’s character) and his relationship with his protegé Bo Cruz, in all the ups and downs they have. We also follow Stanley’s family life with his daughter and his wife, played by the amazing Queen Latifah.
We get a beautiful story about mentorship, redemption, family relationships. Man, this film just hits me hard as a dad and as a sports fan. Aside from the adopted father-son relationship between Stanley and Bo, we also get the added element of Bo having a daughter. And he mentions that this is his first time being away from her. I can definitely feel that right now. My kids and wife are out of town, and this is my first time being away from my kids for more than like two days since they were born. I get it. This hits me in the feels.
I highly recommend it to everyone when it hits Netflix next Wednesday, June 8th. Definitely check it out if you like basketball, Adam Sandler, or if you are just a Dad who loves his kids.
It’s crazy how many famous people are featured in this film. It features several NBA players like Luka Doncic, Kyle Lowry, Trae Young, Aaron Gordon, Jordon Clarkson, Khris Middleton, Toby Harris, Tyrese Maxey, Seth Curry, and Anthony “Ant-Man” Edwards. Ant-Man actually has a pretty significant acting role, which was surprising. It also has several former players and media personalities like Mark Jackson, Kenny Smith, Mo Cheeks, Mark Cuban, Ernie Johnson, Dr. J, Barkley, Shaq, Dirk, and AI. We even have Jaleel White, AKA Steven Q Urkel, in this film.
Definitely give this a shot (maybe a free throw) when it comes out on Netflix on June 8th. It has a lot of basketball. which is a rarity in sports films. Usually we get very little sports action with heavy personal drama of the court/field/etc. Not with this film. It has a lot of action. Just watch it and thank me later.
Listen to my short spoiler free review of this on the first episode of my new segment called First Takes.
