Jack Harlow made headlines back in March thanks to the exciting announcement of his official film debut. The Kentucky-raised star landed the lead role in 20th Century’s forthcoming reboot of White Men Can’t Jump, a well-loved classic about a privileged guy who ironically turns out to be the secret weapon in a basketball tournament. His rival-turned-friend is played by Sinqua Walls.
Walls (Friday Night Lights) and rapper Harlow — making his film debut — take over the roles played by Wesley Snipes and Woody Harrelson, respectively, in the 1992 hit comedy by writer-director Ron Shelton.
The trailer is full of the on-court trash-talk that the original machine-gunned so deftly, with Harlow being referred to as “a yoga teacher” who is allowed to enter the gym and told he’s dressed like “a white girl at Whole Foods” and “wearing a fake-ass Richard Simmons outfit,” among other slams.
In the new film, Sinqua Walls “stars as Kamal, once a promising player who derailed his future in the sport, and multi-platinum rap superstar Jack Harlow makes his movie debut as Jeremy, a former star of the game whose injuries stalled his own career. Juggling tenuous relationships, financial pressures and serious internal struggles, the two ballers — opposites who are seemingly miles apart — find they might have more in common than they imagined possible.”
The film is directed by Calmatic (House Party) and also stars Teyana Taylor, Laura Harrier, Vince Staples, Myles Bullock and the late Lance Reddick. White Men Can’t Jump is written by Kenya Barris and Doug Hall. The film is produced by Barris and Hall; it’s executive produced by Blake Griffin, Ryan Kalil, Noah Weinstein, Calmatic, Doug Hall, E. Brian Dobbins and James Powers.
The release from 20th Century Studios beings streaming on Hulu on May 19.
