Adam Sandler, who was robbed — ROBBED, GOD DAMMIT! — of an Oscar nomination for his work in Uncut Gems, is going back to what he knows best: making movies for Netflix and playing basketball.
Variety says Sandler will star in Hustle, a new film from We The Animals director Jeremiah Zagar. The movie will be produced by Sandler, Roth/Kirschenbaum Films and LeBron James and Maverick Carter’s SpringHill Entertainment. Before you get too excited, it doesn’t look like LeBron will be co-starring in the picture, just producing it. He’s got his hands full with Space Jam 2.
Hustle will see Sandler as “an American basketball scout who, after being unjustly fired, discovers a talented player abroad and decides to bring him to the U.S. to prove that they both have what it takes to make it in the NBA.”
That plot sounds pretty basic, something we have seen variations of before (The Scout, Million Dollar Arm). Nothing too exciting there. But I am definitely interested in Zagar’s involvement with the film. Variety says Zagar directing was what caused Sandler to sign on, he is obviously a fan of the filmmaker. Zagar’s We The Animals was definitely not a low-brow comedy like Sandler has been making for Netflix. So maybe Hustle won’t be either. Maybe the Sandman is still riding high from the praise he received for Uncut Gems and is looking to make something with depth again. Or maybe poor Jeremiah Zagar got suckered into another Sandler-and-his-buddies fart fest. It remains to be seen. Obviously I am hoping Hustle will be something worthwhile and not just a return to the forgettable, lazy comedies that Sandler likes to make.
Variety notes that Sandler has been taking his time to find his next project following the success of Uncut Gems. That gives me hope. Now, how much hope should I invest in Adam Sandler? Am I just setting myself up for heartbreak? I suppose I will find out as Hustle unfolds.